Overview
Project Name
Canadian Migration Monitoring Network
Access Level
By Request
Year started
1994
Year Ended
Ongoing
Dataset
Daily Migration Counts: Rocky Point Bird Observatory
About
Dataset summary
Counts from Rocky Point Bird Observatory for two locations: Rocky Point (RPBO) and Peddar Bay (PEBA), of birds banded and observed during daily operations; plus a composite Daily Estimated Total (DET): the best estimate for each species of unduplicated number of individuals detected within the official count area during the daily monitoring period
Season(s) and frequency
Daily counts at both sites from July 21st to October 18th.
Geographic area covered
Located at southern tip of Vancouver Island, BC (Rocky Point: 48.32, -123.59; Pedder Bay: 48.35, -123.57). Migrants at these sites originate primarily from breeding range in British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska
Primary species covered
Captures are primarily small passerines, but all species observed are recorded
Goals
To conduct standardized daily migration season counts and collect ancillary data on migration ecology for use in long-term biological and population monitoring of Canada’s bird species
Methods
Sampling Design
Daily capture and observation during migration seasons to generate species-specific daily totals of birds detected within each study site
Field methods
Daily operations at Rocky Point (standardized since 2003) and Peddar Bay (started 2012) include a daily 7 hr count period, with 6 hr of standardized banding (13 nets at Rocky Point; 15 at Pedder Bay), a fixed route census (1.5 hr at Rocky Point; 1.25 hr at Peddar Bay), visible migration counts and other observations
Analysis methods
See QuickLinks. Population trends for ‘Regular Migrants’ at these sites are based on counts from standardized methods alone (numbers banded and recorded on census), while trends for all other species are based on Daily Estimated Totals
Advice
Any disruption to standardized operations relevant to appropriate interpretation of analytical results is noted in a regularly-updated section of the station protocol (https://www.birdscanada.org/bird-science/cmmn-protocols). As of 2025, it had been noted that no data were collected at Rocky Point in 2007
Partners
Citation
Birds Canada and Rocky Point Bird Observatory. 2026. "Daily Migration Counts: Rocky Point Bird Observatory". Data accessed from NatureCounts, Birds Canada. 10.71842/j90w-yf52
