For more information

Website:

National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII)
http://www.nbii.gov

Breeding Bird Survey Summary and Analysis
www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbs.html

Breeding Bird Survey Flies on Internet

In the 1960's, when Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring, focused public attention on widespread bird deaths caused by DDT and other pesticides, the full extent of declining bird populations was unknown. Today, after 30 years of managing the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), scientists know a great deal more about North American bird populations and are making the information available to a global audience through the Internet.

Wildlife biologists at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center designed the bird population monitoring program in 1966 and began documenting population trends. Jointly coordinated by the USGS and Canadian Wildlife Service, the BBS now covers over 3,000 routes scattered across the continental United States and Canada that are surveyed annually by more than 2,400 skilled birders.

The BBS gives valuable information on the distribution and trends of more than 400 bird species breeding across the continent and serves as an early warning system. It is used by

Declining populations of wood thrush and other neotropical migrants have led scientists to examine issues such as forest fragmentation and predation.

Declining grassland birds like grasshopper sparrows (above) and eastern meadowlarks are causing resource managers to examine range management and habitat losses.

government agencies and private organizations to document bird populations in peril. For example, the BBS has shown marked declines of wood thrushes and other neotropical migrant birds in the Northeastern United States, leading natural resource managers to examine issues such as forest fragmentation and predation that may be contributing to these declines. More recently, when the BBS indicated significant declines in grassland birds, such as eastern meadowlarks and grasshopper sparrows, resource managers began looking at potential causes, like poor range management and habitat loss across the United States.

The BBS is a leading example of how results of USGS biological science can be disseminated electronically to reach a wide audience of existing and potential users. Researchers have developed a homepage (http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbs.html) that is part of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII). A broad collaborative effort led by the USGS, the NBII (http://www.nbii.gov) uses the Internet as a connection to significant biological data and information from government agencies, universities, museums, and other sources.

It is now much easier for traditional users of the Breeding Bird Survey data and analyses to retrieve what they need. And, the information is also available for potential users who may not have been previously aware of the BBS. Thus, environmental scientists, resource managers, educators, students, and the general public are now able to use the Internet to easily access and use the findings of the BBS for a wide variety of new applications.

Re-Tooled USGS Bird Banding Lab To Revolutionize Information Use

Each year, before hunting season, thousands of waterfowl are banded on breeding grounds across the country. The metal bands, provided by the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL), have unique identifying numbers and are attached to the birds' legs. Later, when a banded bird is observed or recaptured, the band number, date, and location are reported to the BBL. The information is recorded in a computer file that over time becomes a record of that bird's life history.

USGS provides this information to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which analyzes the banding reports, estimating population size and survival probabilities, factors used in managing waterfowl-hunting programs. Bird-banding also is a critical tool for scientific studies that require tracking of individual birds over time.

USGS has begun re-engineering its Bird Banding Laboratory, taking advantage of new technology to streamline and speed customer service, with special attention going to the information needs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The BBL contains records of 58 million bandings and 3.1 million recoveries of banded birds (updated with 1.2 million and 75,000 recoveries annually) representing about 900 bird species and subspecies.

An important change underway is a complete reconfiguration of the BBL's computer network. Development of extensive Internet capabilities and streamlining of the band-reporting process will revolutionize operations and increase responsiveness. The use of a toll-free telephone number for reporting bird bands already has had a tremendous impact with a much higher percentage being reported.