Summer Bird Counts (SBC) are excellent ways to explore areas that have received little fieldwork. Not only do they provide valuable breeding bird density and distribution data, they also can complement ongoing Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) efforts. The primary objective of the Alabama BBA (2000-2006)was to determine the breeding distribution of species by sampling uniformly distributed 25 km2 (10 mi2) blocks throughout the state. Past SBCs have focused on a specific county (Jackson 2000, Gardella 2001, 2003, Haggerty and Jackson 2004); however, this restriction was removed in 2005 to help improve coverage needed to complete the BBA project. Ecoregions indicate areas of general similarity in ecosystems and environmental resources and are designed to serve as a spatial framework for research and assessment (Griffith et al. 2001). These ecoregions can offer a larger area from which to select BBA blocks, and baseline studies are necessary for characterization. Since BBA survey work was needed from numerous areas within the Southern Inner Piedmont and the Southern Outer Piedmont Level IV ecoregions, the 2005 SBC was conducted within four adjacent counties (Chambers, Coosa, Elmore, and Tallapoosa) of these two ecoregions (Fig. 1). This paper reports the findings of that survey.
Author: Greg D. Jackson and Thomas M. Haggerty
Volume Number: 53 Year Published: 2007
Issue Number: 1
Page Number: 4
Link to article: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/2007/Vol 53 No. 1_2007_p4-11.pdf
Link to the full issue of BirdLife: http://birdlife.aosbirds.org/2007/Vol 53 No.1_2007.pdf
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