Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Breeding Bird Survey

12100 Beech Forest Road

Laurel, MD 20708-4038

www.pwrc.usgs.gov

Memorandum to Cooperators

SUMMER 2006

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS —

1 — QUICK GUIDE TO ONLINE ENTRY 4 — RECORD TYING YEARS

2 — CD-ROM TRAINING REGISTRATION 5 — COORDINATOR UPDATES – UT, OH, MS

3 — MAPS & SIGNS 6 — TIPS FOR CORRESPONDENCE

QUICK GUIDE TO THE ONLINE DATA ENTRY PROGRAM (V3.0) (Back to top)

The Online Program (V3.0) Currently Allows You To:

§ Take and review the observer training (click to learn how!)

§ Update your contact information (click to learn how!)

§ Enter bird data for a given route (click to learn how!)

§ Add or edit stop descriptions (click to learn how!)

§ Add or edit stop coordinates (click to learn how!)

—— To Access The Site:

1. Visit the BBS home page at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/

2. Click the “Data Entry” link under the “Get Involved!” section.

—— To Log In:

1. Click the “Data Entry Program (V3.0)” link

2. Enter your observer number and country and then select the region, route number, and run year. This will gain you access to all of your routes.

—— Navigating:

· Use the four links located at the top of the page -or-

· Select the desired shortcut from the center of the screen

—— Known Bugs (we are working on these as you read!):

· Database may not accept your excessive noise values. If so, please skip and continue.

· After finalizing your bird data, an inaccurate species total may appear on review page.

· Stop description printouts may display an incorrect route name at the top of the page.

· Currently the ‘paste coordinates’ function works for 17 stops. The rest can be typed.

CD-ROM TRAINING REGISTRATION (Back to top)

Times change, programs change, but unfortunately for us, pre-burned CD-ROMs stay the same! While we encourage all observers to take their methodology training online now, we recognize that the CD-ROM is still the best alternative for those who do not have regular online access. If you are amongst those who plan on using the CD-ROM, please disregard the (now inactive) certificate registration address that the program points you to. The new page to register certificates can be accessed via the “Data Entry” link on the BBS home page or directly at:

http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/Begin BBS Data Entrydataentry/regBegin.cfm.

PLEASE RETURN MAPS AND CAUTION SIGNS (Back to top)

Many observers think, “I’m running the route next year so why not hold onto the map to save the office the trouble of having to mail it again?” While we certainly appreciate this consideration, we do not have the means of tracking when materials have been kept intentionally and when they have been lost. And since we must err on the side of caution by stuffing all packets with an accompanying route map each spring, this translates into weeks of wasted effort in copying new maps and re-highlighting route paths. Please do your part to save us this time and expense by returning your route maps at the end of each field season. We most appreciate your cooperation!

RECORD TYING YEARS! (Back to top)

A collective “Congratulations” is in order for all BBS participants! Recently received late data has been added to the tally and it’s official -- the BBS broke the 3000-routes-sampled mark in both 2001 and 2005. Keep up this great work and we’ll soon beat the 1995 record of 3055 routes!

3027

3007

3055

COORDINATOR UPDATES (Back to top)

After 33 years with the Bureau of Land Management, Utah coordinator Steve Hedges has decided to take on perks that only retired life has to offer. He has passed the coordinator’s torch to Jim Parrish, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Partners in Flight coordinator.

In Ohio, we’re sorry to see that Scott Hull is moving on and we thank him for arranging with Nathan Stricker to keep the position filled in his absence. Nathan will serve as the interim Ohio coordinator until a more permanent replacement is found.

We are also seeking suggestions to fill David Watts’ big shoes as state coordinator for Mississippi. Like Steve, David has decided to try his hand at retirement, giving him more time to bird and run BBS routes. We thank Steve, Scott, and David for their generous service and wish them the best in their future endeavors. We also welcome Jim and Nathan to the flock of state coordinators and look forward to productive relationships with the both of them.

Utah Ohio Mississippi

Jim Parrish Nathan Stricker Vacant

Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Olentangy Wildlife Res Station

1594 W. North Temple ODNR-Division of Wildlife

Box 146301 8589 Horseshoe Rd.

Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6301 Ashley, OH 43003

801-538-4788 740-747-2525 x22

jimparrish@utah.gov Nathan.Stricker@dnr.state.oh.us

Current contact information for all other state coordinators can be found under the “Contact Us” link on the BBS home page.

TIPS FOR CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE BBS OFFICE (Back to top)

Top five steps for faster and more productive responses:

· Update the online database with your current email address and phone number.

· Provide your observer number in all communications.

· List a specific route number with its name for verification.

· Describe your situation in as much detail as possible.

· For pressing issues, fill out a comment form but contact us directly to be sure.

Thank you again for participating and we look forward to hearing about your adventures and experiences with the BBS!

Good luck & good birding.

Keith Pardieck David Ziolkowski, Jr.

BBS Director Program Biologist

kpardieck@usgs.gov dziolkowski@usgs.gov

301-497-5843 301-497-5753

APPENDIX –

FURTHER GUIDANCE ON THE ONLINE DATA ENTRY PROGRAM (V3.0)

TRAINING (Back to top):

The observer’s methodology training status is indicated on the page following the Login.

· New Observers are instructed to complete the training and are provided a link to

directly access the training program. Successful completion of the program must

occur before new observers can access other online features.

· Veteran Observers are asked to complete the training and are presented with a link to

access the training program. Completion of the program, however, is not required

to access the other online features.

· Certified Observers have successfully completed their training and are provided with a

link to the training program as a convenience, should they wish to review it.

UPDATING CONTACT INFORMATION (Back to top):

We encourage all observers to keep their phone number, email address, and other personal information current. Observers can edit their contact information at any time using the “MY INFO” navigation link located at the top of the page. To maintain the referential integrity of the observer number, the first and last name fields can not be edited.

ENTERING BIRD DATA (Back to top):

Entering bird data online is easy and straightforward and simply requires that you mail a copy of the datasheets that you used in the field, along with your maps and caution sign, to the BBS office for editing and archiving at the end of the season.

—— To Begin entering data from the current year:

1. Click the “ROUTE LIST” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “Start” link appearing in the Bird Data column and corresponding to the appropriate row of the route that you would like to enter.

3. Proceed through the series of pages by clicking “Next” to save and advance.

4. Be sure to click “Save” if you would like to exit and return later to data entry.

5. Click “Submit” when data entry is complete to finalize your data.

—— To Return to entering data:

1. Click the “ROUTE LIST” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “In Progress” link appearing in the Bird Data column and corresponding row of the route that you would like to continue entering.

3. Continue through the series of pages by clicking “Next” to save and advance.

4. Click “Submit” when data entry is complete to finalize your data.

—— To Review finalized data from the current year:

1. Click the “ROUTE LIST” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “Completed” link appearing in the Bird Data column and corresponding row of the route that you would like to review.

—— To Begin entering data from a previous year:

1. Click the “Route List” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “HERE” link appearing in the sentence above the route table.

3. Then click the “START” link appearing in the Bird Data column and corresponding row of the route that you would like to continue entering.

4. Continue through the series of pages by clicking “Next” to save and advance.

5. Click “Submit” when data entry is complete to finalize your data.

—— To Review finalized data from a previous year:

1. Click the “ROUTE LIST” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “HERE” link appearing in the sentence above the route table.

3. Then click the “Completed” link appearing in the Bird Data column and corresponding row of the route that you would like to review.

ADDING/EDITING STOP DESCRIPTIONS (Back to top):

We encourage all observers to maintain up-to-date stop descriptions for their route(s) online. This provides current observers, future observers, and the central office alike easy reference access.

—— To Create stop descriptions:

1. Click the “ROUTE LIST” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “Create” link appearing in the Stop Descriptions column and corresponding row of the route that you would like to enter.

3. Enter the appropriate collection time information and click “Save”.

4. Click “Next”.

5. Follow the directions in the top of the box and select whether you would like to 1) paste a pre-formatted set of stop descriptions into the current page or 2) type the stop descriptions into the forms on the following pages.

6. Continue through the series of pages by clicking “Next” to save and advance.

7. Click “Exit” on the Review and Print page to return to the navigation links.

—— To Update existing stop descriptions:

1. Click the “ROUTE LIST” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “Update” link appearing in the Stop Descriptions column and corresponding row of the route that you would like to update.

3. Review the existing stop descriptions and click “Update”.

4. Enter the appropriate collection time information and click “Save”.

5. Click “Next”.

6. Follow the directions in the top of the box and select whether you would like to 1) paste a pre-formatted set of stop descriptions into the current page or 2) type the stop descriptions into the forms on the following pages.

7. Continue through the series of pages by clicking “Next” to save and advance.

8. Click “Exit” on the Review and Print page to return to the navigation links.

ADDING/EDITING STOP COORDINATES (Back to top):

—— To Create stop coordinates:

1. Click the “ROUTE LIST” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “Create” link appearing in the Stop Coordinates column and corresponding row of the route that you would like to enter.

3. Enter the appropriate collection information and click “Save”.

4. Click “Next”.

5. Follow the directions in the top of the box and select whether you would like to 1) paste a pre-formatted set of stop coordinates into the current page or 2) type the stop coordinates into the forms on the following pages.

6. Continue through the series of pages by clicking “Next” to save and advance.

7. Click “Exit” on the Review and Print page to return to the navigation links.

—— To Update existing stop coordinates:

1. Click the “ROUTE LIST” navigation link at the top of the page.

2. Next click the “Update” link appearing in the Stop Coordinates column and corresponding row of the route that you would like to update.

3. Review the existing stop coordinates and click “Update”.

4. Enter the appropriate collection information and click “Save”.

5. Click “Next”.

6. Follow the directions in the top of the box and select whether you would like to 1) paste a pre-formatted set of stop coordinates into the current page or 2) type the stop coordinates into the forms on the following pages.

7. Continue through the series of pages by clicking “Next” to save and advance.

8. Click “Exit” on the Review and Print page to return to the navigation links.