Maritimes Marsh Monitoring Program

Birds Canada
https://www.birdscanada.org

Environment and Climate Change Canada
https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change.html

New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources

Prince Edward Island Fish and Wildlife Division

New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund
http://www.nbwtf.ca/feindex.asp

Project name: Marsh Monitoring Program

Goals : Established in 2012 by Eastern Habitat Joint Venture partners, the Maritimes Marsh Monitoring Program helps assess and monitor statuses of wetland-associated species and habitats. Modelled after Birds Canada Marsh Monitoring Programs in other regions the program focuses on obtaining baseline information on secretive marsh birds not well-captured by other surveys offering a window into the health of wetlands.

Status : Active

Year started : 2012

Years (comments) : New Brunswick (2012-present), Nova Scotia (2013- present), Prince Edward Island (2015- present)

Geographic area covered : New Brunswick (Ecoregions: Grand Lakes (129 stations), Fundy Coastal (51 stations), Valley Lowlands (20 stations), Eastern Lowlands (116 stations); Nova Scotia (20 stations); Prince Edward Island (39 stations)

Type(s) of habitat : Fresh water marshes and coastal salt/brackish marshes

Primary species covered : Primarily waterbirds (plus Nelson’s Sparrow)

Sampling Design : Randomly selected routes

Field methods : Bird survey routes with 2-11 listening points 250 m apart. Listening stations were unlimited distance for primary species and 100 m fixed-distance point counts for all other species. One to three visits, at least 10 days apart between 15 May and 15 July. Specialized 15 minute point count protocol; 5-minute call broadcast period book ended by two, 5-minute silent listening periods. Individuals of primary species (AMBI, LEBI, PBGR, SORA, VIRA, YERA, AMCO, COGA, NESP) are recorded on a minute-by-minute basis and are grouped into 3 distance classes (0-50m, 50-100m, unlimited). Counts of all other species detected within a 100m radius of the observer are recorded for each 5-minute time period. Additionally, observers record the number of drakes, hens and young to provide productivity information.

Sample size : Over 300 unique point locations with between 150 and 300 points surveyed one to three times each year.

Results : Reports and publications available on line at www.birdscanada.org/volunteer/acmmp/