Data Owner

California Partners in Flight

Data Access: Level 4

The data are freely available to all interested in accordance with PRBO's data-sharing policy.

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Abstract

Area search surveys measure bird abundance and diversity and can be used to measure local population trends, such as bird response to restoration.

Area search censuses are time constrained bird censuses, similar to a "Christmas Bird Count" or repeated "breeding bird atlas" census. However, area search censuses differ significantly in that the census areas are defined by habitat rather than by political boundaries. This allows bird relationships to be determined and land management techniques assessed. It uses a method that, while quantitative, mimics the method that a birder would use while searching for birds in a given area. Essentially this is a series of three 20-minute point counts in which the observer can move around in a somewhat restricted area. In this way unfamiliar calls can be tracked down and quiet birds can be found.

Purpose

Partners in Flight/Companeros en Vuelo/Partenaires d'Envol was launched in 1990 in response to growing concerns about declines in the populations of many land bird species, and in order to emphasize the conservation of birds not covered by existing conservation initiatives. The initial focus was on neotropical migrants, species that breed in the Nearctic (North America) and winter in the Neotropics (Central and South America), but the focus has spread to include most landbirds and other species requiring terrestrial habitats. The central premise of Partners in Flight (PIF) has been that the resources of public and private organizations in North and South America must be combined, coordinated, and increased in order to achieve success in conserving bird populations in this hemisphere.

The first action of CalPIF was to identify habitats important to birds. Following the guidelines of the International Partners in Flight "Flight Plan," habitat-based Bird Conservation Plans (BCPs) have been prepared to facilitate that goal by stimulating a proactive approach to landbird conservation.

Supplemental Information

The database is updated annually (after the breeding season).

Contact

• Ryan DiGaudio: CALPIF Coordinator; rdigaudio@prbo.org