Overview
Project Name
Bird Conservation Network
Access Level
Open
Year started
1997
Year Ended
Ongoing
Dataset
Bird Conservation Network
About
Dataset summary
Since 1997, the Bird Conservation Network has partnered with land managers in the Chicago Wilderness Region and helped manage and train volunteers to conduct standardized point count monitoring of breeding birds as part of the BCN Survey. Data is collected mostly from actively managed preserved and protected lands and is collected by volunteers following a 5-minute stationary point count protocol, recording all birds detected within 75m of a point.
Season(s) and frequency
Annual surveys conducted at least twice during the breeding season.
Geographic area covered
Illinois, United States
Primary species covered
All breeding bird species
Goals
Working with local, regional, and state land managers to follow a standardized breeding bird monitoring protocol, the Bird Conservation Network has helped amass volunteer data from over 2,500 point count locations located within 75 miles of Chicago, IL. Data from the BCN Survey is used to produce regionwide bird trends, aid in the creation of a regional list of Birds of Concern, and help inform changes to restoration and land management practices that will benefit breeding birds in the region. Illustrating the power of collaborative regional monitoring efforts, BCN hopes that the BCN Survey can serve as a model for other urban and suburban areas that are not well monitored by existing roadside and other surveys.
Methods
Sampling Design
Point selection varies by participating agency and may include randomly selected points or points manually placed within specific habitat management units.
Field methods
Volunteer monitors are assigned points at a specific site and conduct stationary 75m radius point counts at least twice in June, as close to sunrise as possible, and record all species detected within 5 minutes at each point.
Partners
Citation
Bird Conservation Network and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2025. "Bird Conservation Network". Data accessed from NatureCounts, Birds Canada.
