Raptor Population Index Project

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

Jason Sodergren (Database Specialist, Hawk Migration Association of North America, PO Box 1593, Homer, AK 99603, (907)226-2076, jason@taiga.com)

Originator:

Laurie J. Goodrich (Data Curator, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, 410 Summer Valley Rd., Orwisburg, PA 17961, (570)943-3411 x106, goodrich@hawkmtn.org)

Publication_Date: Unknown

Title: Raptor Population Index Project

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: database

Online_Linkage: <http://hawkcount.org/>

Description:

Abstract:

HawkCount is a web-based information system that works as a central depository for raptor migration count data. Monitoring sites report their hourly or daily observations and data are archived in a format that may later be retrieved, reported, and analyzed. HawkCount.org is administered by the Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA).

Purpose: Raptor migration counts are collected to monitor populations.

Supplemental_Information:

The longest data set in HawkCount.org spans over a period of 50 years. Most data sets currently in digital format are around 10 years-long. The database is constantly updated. The Raptor Population Index Project is working on the transfer of historical data from paper forms into electronic form.

Data are updated on a daily basis during the seasons of active submissions (spring and fall migration) and backed up every 24 hours. Updating frequency exceeds daily at height of field seasons.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 1957

Ending_Date: 2007

Currentness_Reference: ground condition

Status:

Progress: In work

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent: North America (Canada, United States, and Mexico).

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -148

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -68

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 62

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 18.5

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Theme_Keyword: monitor

Theme_Keyword: monitoring

Theme_Keyword: population trends

Theme_Keyword: migration

Theme_Keyword: hawk migration

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Place_Keyword: North America

Place_Keyword: Canada

Place_Keyword: United States

Place_Keyword: USA

Place_Keyword: U.S.

Place_Keyword: Mexico

Place_Keyword: British Columbia

Place_Keyword: BC

Place_Keyword: Manitoba

Place_Keyword: MB

Place_Keyword: Ontario

Place_Keyword: ON

Place_Keyword: Quebec

Place_Keyword: QC

Place_Keyword: PQ

Place_Keyword: Veracruz

Place_Keyword: Alaska

Place_Keyword: AK

Place_Keyword: Arizona

Place_Keyword: AZ

Place_Keyword: California

Place_Keyword: CA

Place_Keyword: Connecticut

Place_Keyword: CT

Place_Keyword: Delaware

Place_Keyword: DE

Place_Keyword: Florida

Place_Keyword: FL

Place_Keyword: Illinois

Place_Keyword: IL

Place_Keyword: Iowa

Place_Keyword: IA

Place_Keyword: Maine

Place_Keyword: ME

Place_Keyword: Maryland

Place_Keyword: MD

Place_Keyword: Massachusetts

Place_Keyword: MA

Place_Keyword: Michigan

Place_Keyword: MI

Place_Keyword: Minnesota

Place_Keyword: MN

Place_Keyword: Montana

Place_Keyword: MT

Place_Keyword: New Hampshire

Place_Keyword: NH

Place_Keyword: New Jersey

Place_Keyword: NJ

Place_Keyword: New Mexico

Place_Keyword: NM

Place_Keyword: New York

Place_Keyword: NY

Place_Keyword: North Carolina

Place_Keyword: NC

Place_Keyword: Oregon

Place_Keyword: OR

Place_Keyword: Pennsylvania

Place_Keyword: PA

Place_Keyword: South Carolina

Place_Keyword: SC

Place_Keyword: Tennessee

Place_Keyword: TN

Place_Keyword: Texas

Place_Keyword: TX

Place_Keyword: Utah

Place_Keyword: UT

Place_Keyword: Vermont

Place_Keyword: VT

Place_Keyword: Virginia

Place_Keyword: VA

Place_Keyword: Washington

Place_Keyword: WA

Place_Keyword: West Virginia

Place_Keyword: WV

Place_Keyword: Wisconsin

Place_Keyword: WI

Temporal:

Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Temporal_Keyword: spring

Temporal_Keyword: fall

Temporal_Keyword: autumn

Taxonomy:

Keywords/Taxon:

Taxonomic_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Taxonomic_Keywords: multiple species

Taxonomic_Keywords: birds

Taxonomic_Keywords: raptors

Taxonomic_Keywords: hawks

Taxonomic_Keywords: kites

Taxonomic_Keywords: eagles

Taxonomic_Keywords: falcons

Taxonomic_Keywords: vultures

Taxonomic_System:

Classification_System/Authority:

Classification_System_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: American Ornithologists' Union

Publication_Date: 1998

Title: Check-list of North American Birds

Edition: Seventh

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: book

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Washington, D.C.

Publisher: American Ornithologists' Union

Online_Linkage: <http://www.aou.org/checklist/index.php3>

Classification_System_Modifications:

The check-list is revised and updated on an annual basis by the American Ornithologists' Union. Revisions are published in The Auk.

Taxonomic_Procedures:

Observers have pre-existing knowledge of bird identification or they use published field guides. Individual monitoring sites use an assortment of references to identify migrants during field work.

General_Taxonomic_Coverage: Raptors (diurnal birds of prey).

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Kingdom

Taxon_Rank_Value: Animalia

Applicable_Common_Name: animals

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Phylum

Taxon_Rank_Value: Chordata

Applicable_Common_Name: chordates

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Subphylum

Taxon_Rank_Value: Vertebrata

Applicable_Common_Name: vertebrates

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Class

Taxon_Rank_Value: Aves

Applicable_Common_Name: birds

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Order

Taxon_Rank_Value: Ciconiiformes

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Family

Taxon_Rank_Value: Cathartidae

Applicable_Common_Name: new world vultures

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Order

Taxon_Rank_Value: Falconiformes

Applicable_Common_Name: diurnal birds of prey

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Family

Taxon_Rank_Value: Accipitridae

Applicable_Common_Name: hawks, kites, eagles, and allies

Taxonomic_Classification:

Taxon_Rank_Name: Family

Taxon_Rank_Value: Falconidae

Applicable_Common_Name: caracaras and falcons

Access_Constraints:

Data are not classified, but data users need to request permission to use data to HawkCount.orgs Data Curator (see above). Data are submitted in accordance to data use policies available at <http://www.hmana.org/data_policies/policies.php> and each data contributor sets the level of availability of its own data set.

Plans are underway to incorporate the data into the Avian Knowledge Network. See <http://www.avianknowledge.net/>

Use_Constraints: None

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Ernesto Ruelas Inzunza

Contact_Organization: Raptor Population Index Project, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Contact_Position: RPI Project Manager

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

Address: 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.

City: Ithaca

State_or_Province: NY

Postal_Code: 14850

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (607)254-2464, Mobile: (607)342-4971

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (607)254-2415

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: er99@cornell.edu

Data_Set_Credit:

The Raptor Population Index Project is a partnership between the Hawk Migration Association of North America, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and HawkWatch International housed at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Funding comes from a matching grant of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with counterpart funding from partner organizations.

Data are collected and entered into HawkCount.org by independent sites their submissions are labeled by contributor.

Native_Data_Set_Environment:

HawkCount.org was developed using open-source software. The system is composed of 15 tables and 175 fields which include georeferenced site metadata. Version 1.5 of HawkCount (23 September 2003) uses PHP4, MySQL, and the Apache web server.

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Farmer, C.J.

Publication_Date: 20060912

Title:

Trends in Autumn Counts of Migratory Raptors in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region Five.

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

Other_Citation_Details: Raptor Population Index Project Technical Report

Analytical_Tool:

Analytical_Tool_Description:

Models for data analysis described in Farmer et al. (2007), referenced below.

Tool_Access_Information:

Tool_Access_Instructions:

See Methodology section. Copies of the manuscript accepted are available from Christopher J. Farmer (farmer@hawkmtn.org).

Tool_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Farmer, C.J., D.J.T. Hussell, and D. Mizrahi.

Publication_Date: 2007

Title: Detecting Population Trends in Migratory Birds of Prey.

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: journal article

Series_Information:

Series_Name: The Auk

Issue_Identification: 124(2)

Other_Citation_Details: In press.

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

Data collection protocol (seasonal site metadata form) documents the procedures used for data collection at each site.

Logical_Consistency_Report: not applicable

Completeness_Report:

The longest data set in HawkCount.org spans over a period of 50 years. Most data sets currently in digital format are around 10 years-long. There are many sites for which the length of the data series available on-line is as long as the existence of HawkCount.org (4 years). The RPI Project is working on the transfer of historical data from paper forms into electronic form.

Positional_Accuracy:

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

Each georeferenced datum was submitted by a site contact. Site metadata documents if coordinates were obtained using a GPS unit, maps, or other means.

Lineage:

Methodology:

Methodology_Type: Field

Methodology_Identifier:

Methodology_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Methodology_Keyword: hawk watch

Methodology_Keyword: hawkwatch

Methodology_Description:

Data are recorded using a standardized data collection protocol (Ruelas 2006). The protocol is divided into four sections: (1) An introductory section with information on the rationale and objectives of the revised protocol; (2) A Monitoring Site Specifics section, intended to document details of the locality(ies) in use (e.g. fixed, mobile, and/or part of a survey line) and the season of coverage; (3) The species coverage and criteria to discern migrants vs. non-migrants, and finally (4) A section on data recording and data storage.

This protocol includes tables for (a) Weather and observation codes; (b) Species names, sex, and color morphs; (c) Tables for wind speed, precipitation, height of flight, etc., as well as a form for seasonal metadata. The metadata is generally overlooked and poorly documented and addresses questions such as: How many people participated during the season? What are their qualifications? Which species are monitored? Which units (e.g. Metric, English) are used in the weather data recordings? What optical equipment is used? Is there a training scheme in place before starting the field season? Is the site staffed by professional biologists or volunteer citizen scientists? These are all questions that can help to interpret the data at later stages.

Methodology_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Ruelas I., E.

Publication_Date: 2006

Title: Data Collection Protocol for Raptor Migration Monitoring.

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

Online_Linkage: <http://www.rpi-project.org/data_collection.php>

Methodology:

Methodology_Type: Lab

Methodology_Description:

Data Analysis: Current trend analysis methodology requires hourly records collected over periods of at least 10 years using a consistent protocol. These data are used to generate annual indices of abundance and to calculate long-term population trends.

In summary, the procedure consists of standardizing the count day/season of each monitoring site. For each species, the model (1) Identifies the daily window during which 95% of the migrants are counted; (2) Selects the seasonal passage window when the middle 95% of the individuals were counted across all years; (3) Models curvilinear effects of wind speed and direction on number of hawks counted; (4) Calculates indices of passage rate [date-adjusted estimated geometric means]; (5) Obtains trends in annual passage rates by fitting a polynomial regression model to the time series of annual indices; and (6) Re-parameterizes the year terms to determine the significance of these trend estimates (Farmer et al. 2007 [in press]).

Methodology_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Farmer, C.J., D.J.T. Hussell, and D. Mizrahi.

Publication_Date: 2007

Title: Detecting Population Trends in Migratory Birds of Prey.

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: journal article

Series_Information:

Series_Name: The Auk

Issue_Identification: 124(2)

Other_Citation_Details: In press.

Process_Step:

Process_Description: No process steps have been described for this data set

Process_Date: Unknown

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Point

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Geographic:

Latitude_Resolution: 0.00001

Longitude_Resolution: 0.00001

Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Overview_Description:

Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

Data collected include: bird species; number of birds; observation start time; observation end time; official counter; observers; weather (wind speed, wind direction, visibility, cloud cover, temperature, humidity, air pressure, precipitation); observation notes, non-raptor notes, visitors, forecast; flight direction; and flight height.

Site profile data include: name of site; location; coordinates; link to website; general site information; site contacts; raptor species observed at site; count season; procedures/protocols; data inventory; site history; site topography; and directions to site.

Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:

There is metadata needed to interpret some of the data stored, e.g. species codes and other. Available at HawkCount.org.

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA)

Contact_Instructions: <http://www.hmana.org/index.php>

Resource_Description: HawkCount.org

Distribution_Liability:

No warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the accuracy or utility of these data.

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: website

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name: <http://hawkcount.org/>

Fees:

Generally, data archived by HMANA are freely accessible in electronic form. In the case of data archived in paper form, the cost of copying of data forms may be passed on to the researcher.

Custom_Order_Process:

Most data archived by HMANA are freely accessible via HawkCount and may used for personal consumption without the need for permissions or a data release request. However, some hawk watches restrict public viewing of their data, in which case permission to view data may be sought through submission of a HMANA data release request. Regardless of viewing status, all other users of hawk watch data, especially anyone having an interest in publication or reproduction of raptor migration data, or analysis derived from these data, must always seek and receive explicit written permission for use of these data. See <http://hmana.org/data_policies/data_rel_req.php> to complete a data release request.

Plans are underway to incorporate the data into the Avian Knowledge Network. See <http://www.avianknowledge.net/>

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20070117

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Jim Lowe

Contact_Organization: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

Address: 159 Sapsucker Woods Road

City: Ithaca

State_or_Province: NY

Postal_Code: 14850

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 607-254-2413

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: JDL6@cornell.edu

Contact_Instructions: E-Mail is preferred

Metadata_Standard_Name:

FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001.1-1999