C&O Canal Midwinter Bird Survey for 2008

Thanks to the help of many dedicated volunteers, we’ve made it through the first decade of the C&O Canal Count!

The 10th Annual C&O Canal Midwinter Bird Survey will be Saturday, January 19, 2008. The make-up date will be Sunday, January 20, 2008.

The format will be as in previous years:

• Survey 2-5 miles on the morning of the count. Remember: since you may have to retrace your steps, this will require up to 4-10 miles of walking.
• Tally the numbers of species and individuals on a mile-by-mile basis using the mileposts along the towpath.
• Submit your data after the count. (Instructions for data submission will be posted in January.)
  

The canal is 184.5 miles long, requiring more than 60 volunteers each year. Our goal, as always, is 100% coverage. We can’t do it without your help. Your participation contributes to a long-term project to monitor the health of bird populations wintering along the C&O Canal. If you have participated in the past, please join us again in our 10th year of research.

This is a serious bird survey. It requires the ability to identify birds that winter along the Potomac River by sight and sound. Novice birders may still participate, however. If you have not participated before, or if you are unsure of your identification skills, let us know so that we can pair you with a more experienced birder.

Directions for Online Data Entry:

1. Register with the website, using the link in the left sidebar. (Usernames and passwords from last year's canal count will still be valid. If it appears that logging in did not work, try refreshing the page.

2. Click on "add bird counts" (or "update bird counts") at the bottom of this page. This will bring up a list of mile segments. Click on "add count" or "update count" for the mile you wish to enter, then add your data via the checklist. Each mile must be entered separately. Click on "update count." (NOTE: The "add bird counts" link will not become visible until Saturday afternoon.)

3. On the next page, enter all requested information about weather, effort, and observers. If you found a rare bird in this mile, please describe how you identified it in the "Notes" field. Also, if you complete this mile at a time other than Saturday morning, please give the time in the "Notes" field. Click "Submit" when finished.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as necessary until all of your miles are entered.

Note: If you saw a species not included in the checklist, or if you need help with any of the steps above, contact the webmaster or email canalcount@gmail.com. If someone else has already entered data for your sector, contact us for guidance.

Photographs:

If you take photographs on the day of the count, add them to the canal count Flickr group!

Sign up!

To participate, send an email to canalcount@gmail.com with the following information:

• Name & contact info for Team Leader (email, phone number, & mailing address)
• Name & contact info of other participants
• Miles you would like to cover. Please confirm whether you would like to cover the same miles in 2008.
• Whether you would like to be paired up with an experienced birder, or if you are willing to take a less experienced team member

Alternately, fill out our website contact form with the same information.

Once we hear from you, we will send information about your miles and instructions for submitting data.

Email List

To receive announcements and updates regarding the count, please register for our canal count email list. (Note that subscribing to this list is not registration for the count, only for announcements about it.)

Weather:

In case of inclement weather on Saturday, January 19th, volunteers may choose instead to cover their assigned sections on Sunday, January 20th. Use your own judgment as to which day offers better counting conditions in your local area.

Directions & Access Points:

Section leaders will receive information on access points in the confirmation letter prior to the date of the count. Directions to access points are also available online. Check our descriptions for individual miles or see this website: http://bikewashington.org/canal/.

To view data from previous years, check our canal page.

Spread the word & see you on the canal!