Making management recommendations from annual bird point count data
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
In the past decade, more than one hundred thousand breeding bird occurrences have been recorded on Southern National Forests in the United Sates. The majority of these occurrences have been geo-referenced using global positioning satellite (GPS) technology. This spatial information is available for use as a coverage in several geographic information system (GIS) applications. ArcView GIS software was used to overlay selected occurrence records with other habitat coverages (e.g., soils, hydrology, vegetation, elevation, and land use). Multiple years of accumulated bird point count data has made analysis possible at a local district and forest level. This revealed clues to understanding habitat preference, landscape distribution, and frequency of occurrence for breeding birds on the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests in South Carolina. The comparison of ecological data with occurrence information is incorporated in project planning and analysis on the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests. Interpretations of bird point count data influence field projects by providing insight into habitat parameters, management actions and potential project outcomes that promote conservation of avian habitats. One interesting outcome was the trend in frequency of occurrence for some species differed from statewide and regional trends derived from the North American Breeding Bird Survey.