The most important point to keep in mind when using the BBS data retrieval program is to -- keep it simple, i.e. limit the number of search variables as much as possible. For example, if you are only interested in data for the Wood Thrush in Illinois, don’t submit a query for all species in Illinois. Requests for extraneous information only serve to delay data retrieval and possibly slow the system for all users. Small queries, such as a single species in a single state, will be conducted almost instantaneously while larger requests will be processed overnight or if too large, then not at all -- see below for larger data sets. The various data request screens will provide guidelines, and error messages, on the maximum allowable number of variables as you go through the program. In general, the data retrieval program will allow requests for data sets that encompass an entire state (all years, all species) but for larger regions the number of each variable (i.e. years and species) will be greatly reduced. For more information on the types of data combinations that are allowable and when they will run, see the Query Guide.

Besides limiting the number of variables requested, we also suggest limiting the number of files that are requested in Step 6 (Choose Results Sets) of the retrieval process since in some cases the file information would be redundant or unnecessary. To help you decide which files are the most pertinent for your needs, sample data files have been provided after the description of each file type listed in Step 6.

Sample Queries:

1. Need: Species totals (not broken up by ten stop intervals), and weather information for route 46022 from 1966 to 1980, in fixed width format.
   How to Do It: From the Retrieve Raw BBS Data page, select State/Province. Select Maryland [46]. Select Choose Routes. Select Beltsville [022]. Select Next Page. Change the End Year to 1980. Select All Species. Put a check next to Weather. Select Fixed Width (under Format) and hit Submit Query.

2. Need: Species and ten stop totals for the Gray-cheeked Thrush, in comma delimited format. Also, a record of when all the appropriate routes were run, so we can tell which years the routes were run but the species wasn't found.
   How to Do It: This query will run overnight. From the Retrieve Raw BBS Data page, select All BBS Routes. On the Strata page, select Next Page (don't select a stratum). Change the End Year to the last year. Select Alphabetic Lookup. Scroll down and select Gray cheeked Thrush [07570]. Enter your email address, name, and phone number. Select Results or FTP Address. Select the "Total Number of Individuals, Number of Stops, and Page Summaries" under Summary, select Weather, and "Where the Selected Species Was/Were Detected (Includes Years with Zero Counts)" under Weather. Hit Submit Query.

3. Need: The Latitude and Longitude of every route in Arizona.
   How to Do It: This query will run overnight. From the Retrieve Raw BBS Data page, select State/Province. Select Arizona [06]. Under Choose Routes or Strata, hit Neither. Change the End Year to 2005. Select All Species. Enter your email address, name, and phone number. Select Results or FTP Address. Unselect Total, and select Route. Hit Submit Query.

If you are interested in obtaining the entire BBS data set (i.e. all species, all years, all regions), you will need to download the 21 species group files from the ftp site. The canned files are updated once per year. Below is the list of canned files that are currently available along with general descriptions. See the README.TXT file at the ftp site listed above for file names and more complete descriptions.

Canned Data Files —

1. Species data summarized by ten-stop intervals
   1. One file containing the most recent year’s data (one year, all species & regions)
   2. 21 files, one file for each species group or groups (all years & regions): herons, waterfowl, hawks, gallinaceous birds, shorebirds & gulls, doves & owls, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, flycatchers, vireos, jays & crows, swallows, chickadees, wrens, thrushes, mimids &starlings, warblers, sparrows, grosbeaks, blackbirds, finches
   3. 61 files, one for each state/province (all years & species)
2. Species data by individual stops. There are 50 stops per BBS route. (Most data prior to 1997 currently not available in this format.)
   1. data sorted alphabetically by state/province in 10 separate files (all species)
      1. FFIFTY1.EXE contains data for Alabama - Arkansas
      2. FFIFTY2.EXE contains data for British Columbia - Delaware
      3. FFIFTY3.EXE contains data for Florida - Iowa
      4. FFIFTY4.EXE contains data for Kansas - Maine
      5. FFIFTY5.EXE contains data for Michigan - Newfoundland
      6. FFIFTY6.EXE contains data for New Hampshire - North Carolina
      7. FFIFTY7.EXE contains data for North Dakota - Ontario
      8. FFIFTY8.EXE contains data for Oregon - South Carolina
      9. FFIFTY9.EXE contains data for South Dakota - Vermont
      10. FFIFTY10.EXE contains data for Virginia - Yukon Territory
3. Route Information data
   • all routes, sorted by state and route number
   • file contains following info:
     • sStateProv: The two digit numerical code that identifies the state or province
     • sRoute: The three digit code that identifies the route.
     • iActive: 1 if the route is currently active, 0 if it is not. A route can be "active" and still not be run.
     • sLatitude: The latitude of the route. The first two digits are degrees, the second two are minutes, and the last two are seconds.
     • sLongitude: The longitude of the route. The first three digits are degrees, the second two are minutes, and the last two are seconds.
     • iStratum: The physiographic stratum code for that route.
4. Route history & weather data
   • data sorted alphabetically by state/province in one file