How can I help with the Breeding Bird Survey?
Spend the winter studying your field guides and getting to know the most common birds by sight and sound. Then, come to the spring kickoff (see below) and learn how to record what you see. Learn more about the Breeding Bird Survey at
http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/about/.
Natural Area Preservation Breeding Bird Survey Kickoff
Thursday, May 2
7-9 p.m.
Learn how to put your birding skills to use and survey for breeding birds in Ann Arbor's parks! Volunteer to help NAP with Ann Arbor's Breeding Bird Survey. Learn how NAP uses eBird to record survey results, sign up to survey your favorite park, hear about last year's survey, and access the survey materials. Note that experience in bird identification is necessary, and you must be able to identify birds by sight and sound to participate in this survey. This training will also be recorded. Register through VolunteerHub.
Field Checklist of Ann Arbor's Breeding Birds
The birds in the list below have been found in Ann Arbor’s parks and natural areas during the breeding season, May to July. The list was made using data from Breeding Bird Survey volunteers and Natural Area Preservation staff from 1995 to 2007. In that time period, there have been 124 breeding bird species observed! Why don’t you head out to one of our many parks and see how many you can spot?
Italicized Species
Threatened (T) refers to a bird species that is protected under the Endangered Species Act of the State of Michigan. Also on this list are species of Special Concern (SC). While not given legal protection under the act, these species are of concern because populations are getting smaller in the state. If they continue to decline, they would be recommended for Threatened or Endangered status. Seven state listed species can be found on this checklist.
Status Codes
The status codes indicate the highest level of breeding behavior that has been observed for a particular species in our parks and natural areas.
1: Observed during breeding season.
2: Probable breeder.
3: Confirmed breeder.
Abundance Codes
The abundance codes reflect how likely it is that a moderately skilled observer will find a particular species during the breeding bird season of late May to mid-July.
Abundant (A): Very likely to be seen in parks and natural areas, especially if in the appropriate habitat.
Common (C): Common in parks and natural areas, but may be a bit harder to find than an abundant species.
Uncommon (U): Less common and perhaps more secretive.
Rare (R): Few sightings over the years or very local to a particular park or natural area.
Want to print out this information in a handy brochure? Click
here (pdf) for our field checklist!
