Breeding bird surveys

["shedges at netutah dot com" <shedges at netutah dot com>]

Spring is finally here and the 2004 North American Breeding
Bird Survey season is fast approaching. There are 6 breeding
bird survey routes in Utah that are open this year and need
a volunteer to run them.  The primary qualification for any
potential volunteer is the ability to identify all birds
along a route by sight and vocalizations.

Briefly, a breeding bird survey is a roadside route which
consists of fifty 3-minute counting points, each ½ mile
apart, over a 24.5 mile route. Each survey route is run once
each year at the peak of the breeding season. In Utah,
lowland routes are normally run during the last week in May
or first 2 weeks of June, while the higher elevation routes
are run during the latter half of June. Every survey begins
exactly ½ hour before sunrise. The observer records all
birds seen or heard within 1/4 mile of each stopping point
during a 3 minute interval, then drives ½ mile to the next
stop and repeats the procedure. The survey continues until
50 stops are counted and requires 4 to 4½ hours to
complete.

Following is a brief description of each available route.
These routes would need to be run sometime between May 22
and June 15.

001 (Wendover).  Located in Box Elder on the NW side of
Great Salt Lake. The route starts about 26 miles south of
Kelton and runs north toward Kelton.

309 (Gandy).  Located in the extreme NW corner of Millard
County in Snake Valley.  The route starts about 20 miles
north of Garrison at Robinson Ranch and runs north to Trout
Creek in Juab County.

160 (Leamington).  Located in Juab County.  The route starts
about 2 miles south of Leamington and runs east towards
Mills, then south to Yuba.

117 (Glen Canyon).  Located in eastern Wayne County, about
25 miles east of Hanksville, near Glen Canyon NRA.  The
route starts about 40 miles NE of Hanksville and follows the
Flint Trail south to Gordon Flats in Glen Canyon.

122 (Cane Spring Desert).  Located in eastern Garfield
County.  The route starts about 4 miles north of Bullfrog
Marina on Highway 276 and follows the Burr Trail north
toward Capitol Reef.

005 (Timpie Spring).  Located in Tooele County, 40 miles
west of Salt Lake City. The route starts at Rowley Junction
(I-80 mile marker 77) and runs south through Skull Valley.
All or a portion of this route might be relocated to new
location before summer.

If you are interested in running one of these routes,
contact me as soon as possible.  Routes are assigned on a
first come, first serve basis.

Steve Hedges
Utah BBS Coordinator
Steve_Hedges@blm.gov or shedges@netutah.com
(435) 865-3035


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