Hello all,
Happy new year everyone! It's hard to believe it is 2005 already, the
last year for atlas field work! We are currently completing a detailed
analysis of all atlas coverage across the province (breeding evidence,
point counts etc.) in order to plan for the last field season, and make
sure coverage goals are met. If you have any atlas data (2001- present)
that has not been submitted, please submit it as soon as possible! 2004
data can still be submitted online, while any data from earlier years
must be submitted hard copy to your Regional Coordinator.
There isn't too much atlassing to be done at this time of year, but
Eastern Screech Owl (in the south) and Great Horned Owl (province-wide)
atlassing seasons are now in full swing! If we can work away right now
to ensure squares are well covered for these owls we'll be able to focus
on other early nesting species come spring. We encourage everyone to
get out owling this season. This is the last year for making sure that
owls are as well represented as possible in the Atlas.
From reports we've been receiving on the Atlas listserv, atlassers that
are currently getting out owling seem to be having fairly good success.
In certain regions local atlassers have volunteered to act as "atlas
owling coordinators", and this seems to be working extremely well for
getting these regions covered for owls.
A big thank you to the owling coordinators in place. They are:
Region 8, Bruce- Mike Pickup (519-797-3386, [EMAIL PROTECTED]) and John
Haselmayer
Region 16, Peterborough- Colin Jones (705-755-2166,
[EMAIL PROTECTED])
Region 23, Cornwall- Lance Laviolette (613-874-2449,
[EMAIL PROTECTED])
Region 24, Ottawa- Mark Gawn (613-521-9364, [EMAIL PROTECTED])
Region 47, Guelph- Mike Cadman (519-286-2094, [EMAIL PROTECTED])
If you would like to help out with atlas owling in your region (beyond
owling in your own square), please contact the owling coordinator, or,
if there isn't one, contact your Regional Coordinator.
Because of the success of this approach, we'd like to encourage people
to become owling coordinators in other regions. If you would be
interested in acting as an atlas owling coordinator for your region
contact your Regional Coordinator
(http://www.birdsontario.org/atlas/contactreg.html) as soon as
possible. We'd like to have atlas owling coordinators in place by the
end of January. Being an owling coordinator will entail planning,
publicizing and leading regular owling outings as well as tracking
coverage in the region, both for breeding evidence coverage and
standardized owl surveys. It will require a commitment of a few hours
per week.
For information on which squares still need owls recorded in your
region, look at the draft distribution maps:
http://www.birdsontario.org/atlas/map.jsp
but check the data summaries page, too, for the latest updates
http://www.birdsontario.org/atlas/datasummaries.jsp.
In addition to the basic atlassing for owls (i.e. reporting breeding
evidence in each square), the atlas has devised a standardized survey
that we hope will allow us to map relative abundance of common owl
species in the same way that point counts allow us to map relative
abundance of other species. We encourage all Ontario birders to do the
standardized owl survey in the atlas square(s) you are working in.
However, if you'd like to take on additional squares to survey using the
standardized Screech Owl protocol we have randomly selected specific
"target" squares that we'd like to have surveyed. Go to the species
maps page (http://www.birdsontario.org/atlas/map.jsp) and from the drop
down box on the left (that comes up with "Species map 2001-2005" as a
default) select "Target squares for Screech-owl surveys". The dark
green squares are those which were randomly selected as target squares
for the Screech-owl Survey and have not yet been surveyed (as of October
29th, 2004).
Good luck owling!
Nicole
-- Nicole Kopysh Assistant Coordinator Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas c/o
University of Guelph Blackwood Hall, Rm. 211 Guelph ON N1G 2W1 Tel:
519-826-2092 Toll free: 1-866-900-7100 Fax: 519-826-2113 Email:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: www.birdsontario.org
--
MIke Cadman
Coordinator, Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas
Blackwood Hall, Room 211
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON
N1G 2W1
Phone 519-826-2094
Fax 519-826-2113
E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
