VOLUNTEERS DRIVE THE NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING BIRD SURVEY (BBS) *Dave Ziolkowski, Jr. and Keith L....
1
VOLUNTEERS DRIVE THE NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING BIRD SURVEY (BBS) *Dave Ziolkowski, Jr. and Keith L. Pardieck Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Rd. Laurel, MD 20708 - *[email protected] The BBS is the primary source of long-term, large- scale population data for over 400 of North America’s breeding bird species. Jointly coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey and Canadian Wildlife Service, the BBS is comprised of three main components: 1) a standardized, scientifically rigorous sampling design 2) a relatively straight forward and simple field protocol 3) a volunteer based field observer workforce Since its inception in 1966, the BBS has become one of the most efficient large scale monitoring efforts costing tax payers only $900 per species per year, thanks to the efforts of our dedicated volunteers. In light of its successes, the BBS has served as the model for many volunteer-based monitoring programs, and with its trend data, has even promoted the formation of several major conservation initiatives, including Partners in Flight and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. Here we 1) examine BBS volunteer demographics to develop a profile of our volunteers and 2) examine annual volunteer activity information to better understand the relationship between BBS management activities and long term participation trends. Three primary sources were used in this study: • Query results from the 4.2-million-record BBS database assembled over 40 years and including information from over 10,500 observers. • Results of a 1997 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) survey of BBS participants documenting the experience level of volunteer observers, tabulated from 1456 responses (88%) (full summary of questionnaire at www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbsnews/Poll98/) • Results of a 2004 Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) survey of current and recently retired Canadian BBS participants documenting demographic characteristics of their cooperators, tabulated from 263 responses. (summary of questionnaire soon to appear at www.cws- scf.ec.gc.ca/birds/) Qualified volunteer observers are recruited in each state or province by a volunteer coordinator who is usually in contact with a large portion of the birding community. The observer experience entails: • Receiving package containing rules, all necessary forms, and map of roadside route • Scouting route as needed and surveying it once annually • Assuring only assigned observer collects route data • Selecting one day with good weather conditions from an established period at the height of the breeding season • Starting ½ hour before local sunrise, counting all birds heard or seen within 3 minutes and within ¼ mile radius of route start point • Repeat counting for 50 stops in total, each located ½ mile apart • Completing paperwork and submitting data • Reviewing final data report and notifying national office if errors are present In total, volunteers contribute over 29,000 hours and drive more than 150,000 miles in the service of the BBS annually: Box 1. BBS Participant Profile Introduction Discussion 1)Recruiting volunteers and then matching them to an appropriate assignment is one of the more vital challenges involved in citizen science programs. The BBS is unusual here in seeking a relatively large number of volunteers to fill just one role, a highly skilled and highly knowledgeable niche suitably occupied by a small portion of the volunteer community. The results of our surveys indicate that we have managed to attract the right volunteers to our program: • Eighty-nine percent have been birding for more than 10 years • All spend at least 1 to 5 hours weekly pursuing bird related interests • About 72% spend more than 5 hours per week in that pursuit • On average, 75% of recruits participate for more than one year 2) Major BBS growth periods correlate with management events. Aside from the initial years of the program, punctuated periods of growth occurred in the mid 1980s and then again in the early 1990s. • The publication of the first comprehensive summary of BBS results in 1986 was followed by a subsequent increase in both recruitment and route coverage. In addition to serving as a recruitment tool, the summary was distributed to existing volunteers reinforcing the value of their contributions, and likely accounting for the dramatic increase in the average number of routes run per volunteer • Unlike in the 1980s, volunteer recruitment was a more significant factor than increasing volunteer effort in the growth period of the early 1990s. In addition to extending the outreach potential of the BBS, the newly formed Partners In Flight (PIF) conservation initiative soundly established regional and national goals for landbird monitoring. This translated directly into increased efforts by state agencies to up their investment in the BBS and also led to the start of a rigorous campaign within the BBS to reach the ‘3000 routes covered’ mark. • Both growth periods followed immediately after a national coordinator change. This likely reflects the tendency for new coordinators to extend outreach efforts to new cohorts. 3) Volunteer attrition has remained relatively stable at about 12% per year since 1970. The few peaks in observer retirement correspond to particular management events. • The largest net loss of volunteers followed the 1995 field season when the BBS met its well established ‘3000 routes covered’ goal. This was likely a convenient and fitting time to leave for many volunteers who had delayed their program retirement in support of the cause. • The second largest net loss of volunteers occurred between the 2001 and 2002 field seasons and coincides with the announcement of the, then impending, BBS observer methodology training certification. • Net losses in volunteers occurred in the years between 1978 and 1984. Given the relatively synchronous start of the original cohort of volunteers (1966-1970) and the 8 year average duration of volunteer service, this likely represents a time when many members of the original cohort were retiring from the program. Background Conclusions Box 2. Volunteer Trend Data Age profile of BBS volunteers 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 <20 20-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 >65 Age Percent of observers Volunteer Motivation 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Personal enjoyment Contribution To conservation Actively recruited Like to bird in different area Other Percent of observers •The BBS workforce is highly experienced and highly motivated •Detailed records of our annual recruitment, attrition, and of average volunteer effort reveal interesting relationships between particular BBS management events and program growth. Acknowledgments We wish to thank Kinard Boone for technical and graphical assistance and John Sauer and Bill Link for providing the Kaplan-Meier survivorship figure. We also thank Connie Downes and Bev McBride of the Canadian Wildlife Service and former national coordinators Chan Robbins, Tony Erskine, Ted Van Velzen, Kathy Lindsay, Danny Bystrak, Ellen Hayakawa, Sam Droege, and Bruce Peterjohn. We are indebted to the thousands of BBS participants without who’s time and expertise this project would not have been the success it has become today. Over half of US observers work in a profession related to birds • 54% of all observers have careers affiliated with birds (USFWS) • Half of those are with state or federal wildlife agencies Most volunteers leave for reasons outside of the BBS • Hearing loss accounts for 45% of retiring volunteers • Relocation and schedule conflicts are the next two most cited reasons for leaving the program BBS observers are highly experienced •Nearly 90% of observers have pursued bird related interests for more than a decade (USFWS) •All spend >1 hour a week birding, 72% spend > 5 hours There is a right skew in the BBS observer age profile • 76% of observers are greater than 45 years of age (CWS) • 48% > 55 years of age, 25% < 46 years of age Observer retention averages a tenth of a lifetime •The average observer volunteers for 8 years •10% remain active past 25 years •75% remain after their 1st year Kaplan-Meier survivorship analysis (ca. 1994) unpublished data Observers are motivated by the experience and by ethics • 80% of observers remark being most motivated by personal enjoyment • 70% additionally recognized conservation as a primary motivating factor Most observers sample one route annually •68% of observers sample only one route •21% sample 2 routes •11% sample 3 or more routes Growth has not occurred evenly over the history of the BBS • Participation hit its first plateau of ~1300 observers and 1700 routes starting in 1974 •A period of growth beginning in 1986 was followed closely by a second period of growth in the early 1990s cumulatively increasing the number of observers to ~1900 and the number of routes covered to ~3000 There are three aspects to BBS growth •Volunteer Effort – The average number of routes per observer increased substantially in the mid 1980s growth period and, to a lesser degree, in the early 1990s •Volunteer Recruitment – The number of new volunteers recruited into the program was markedly highest in the first year of each growth period •Volunteer Attrition – The proportion of observer retirees has remained relatively stable at about 12% per year since 1970. Notable peaks occurred between 1978-79, 1995-96, and 2001-02 Why do volunteers leave? 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Hearing Loss Moved Too busy Distance Too far Cost Lost Other Percent of volunteers Hours birding per week # years pursuing birds Are the observers professionals? Observer longevity Median is 4 years 10% serve more than 25 years Mean service time is 8.42 years Years of Service Probability 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Number of sampled routes & volunteer observers per year Total number of available routes 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 Number Number of routes sampled Number of volunteer observers Coordinator change & Publication of 15-year summary Coordinator change & creation of PIF BBS volunteer recruitment and loss per year Number of Volunteers 3000 routes covered Methodology certification 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 Net Loss Net Gain Retirees Recruits Avg. number of routes per observer per year 1.35 1.40 1.45 1.50 1.55 1.60 1.65 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 200 5 Number of routes
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Transcript of VOLUNTEERS DRIVE THE NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING BIRD SURVEY (BBS) *Dave Ziolkowski, Jr. and Keith L....
VOLUNTEERS DRIVE THE NORTH AMERICAN BREEDING BIRD SURVEY (BBS)*Dave Ziolkowski, Jr. and Keith L. Pardieck
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Rd. Laurel, MD 20708 - *[email protected]
The BBS is the primary source of long-term, large-scale population data for over 400 of North America’s breeding bird species. Jointly coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey and Canadian Wildlife Service, the BBS is comprised of three main components:
1) a standardized, scientifically rigorous sampling design 2) a relatively straight forward and simple field protocol 3) a volunteer based field observer workforce
Since its inception in 1966, the BBS has become one of the most efficient large scale monitoring efforts costing tax payers only $900 per species per year, thanks to the efforts of our dedicated volunteers.
In light of its successes, the BBS has served as the model for many volunteer-based monitoring programs, and with its trend data, has even promoted the formation of several major conservation initiatives, including Partners in Flight and the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. Here we 1) examine BBS volunteer demographics to develop a profile of our volunteers and 2) examine annual volunteer activity information to better understand the relationship between BBS management activities and long term participation trends.
Three primary sources were used in this study: • Query results from the 4.2-million-record BBS database assembled
over 40 years and including information from over 10,500 observers. • Results of a 1997 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) survey of
BBS participants documenting the experience level of volunteer observers, tabulated from 1456 responses (88%)(full summary of questionnaire at www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/bbsnews/Poll98/)
• Results of a 2004 Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) survey of current
and recently retired Canadian BBS participants documenting demographic characteristics of their cooperators, tabulated from 263 responses.(summary of questionnaire soon to appear at www.cws-scf.ec.gc.ca/birds/)
Qualified volunteer observers are recruited in each state or province by a volunteer coordinator who is usually in contact with a large portion of the birding community. The observer experience entails:
• Receiving package containing rules, all necessary forms, and map of roadside route
• Scouting route as needed and surveying it once annually• Assuring only assigned observer collects route data• Selecting one day with good weather conditions from an
established period at the height of the breeding season• Starting ½ hour before local sunrise, counting all birds heard or
seen within 3 minutes and within ¼ mile radius of route start point• Repeat counting for 50 stops in total, each located ½ mile apart• Completing paperwork and submitting data• Reviewing final data report and notifying national office if
errors are present
In total, volunteers contribute over 29,000 hours and drivemore than 150,000 miles in the service of the BBS annually:
• The average observer volunteers 10 hours per route• Approximately 2000 observers and 1000 observer assistants
participate (Box 2)• Roughly 2/3 of the more than 4000 available routes are sampled
annually (Box 2)
Box 1. BBS Participant ProfileIntroduction Discussion
1) Recruiting volunteers and then matching them to an appropriate assignment is one of the more vital challenges involved in citizen science programs. The BBS is unusual here in seeking a relatively large number of volunteers to fill just one role, a highly skilled and highly knowledgeable niche suitably occupied by a small portion of the volunteer community. The results of our surveys indicate that we have managed to attract the right volunteers to our program:
• Eighty-nine percent have been birding for more than 10 years• All spend at least 1 to 5 hours weekly pursuing bird related
interests• About 72% spend more than 5 hours per week in that pursuit• On average, 75% of recruits participate for more than one year
2) Major BBS growth periods correlate with management events. Aside from the initial years of the program, punctuated periods of growth occurred in the mid 1980s and then again in the early 1990s.
• The publication of the first comprehensive summary of BBS results in 1986 was followed by a subsequent increase in both recruitment and route coverage. In addition to serving as a recruitment tool, the summary was distributed to existing volunteers reinforcing the value of their contributions, and likely accounting for the dramatic increase in the average number of routes run per volunteer
• Unlike in the 1980s, volunteer recruitment was a more significant factor than increasing volunteer effort in the growth period of the early 1990s. In addition to extending the outreach potential of the BBS, the newly formed Partners In Flight (PIF) conservation initiative soundly established regional and national goals for landbird monitoring. This translated directly into increased efforts by state agencies to up their investment in the BBS and also led to the start of a rigorous campaign within the BBS to reach the ‘3000 routes covered’ mark.
• Both growth periods followed immediately after a national coordinator change. This likely reflects the tendency for new coordinators to extend outreach efforts to new cohorts.
3) Volunteer attrition has remained relatively stable at about 12% per year since 1970. The few peaks in observer retirement correspond to particular management events.
• The largest net loss of volunteers followed the 1995 field season when the BBS met its well established ‘3000 routes covered’ goal. This was likely a convenient and fitting time to leave for many volunteers who had delayed their program retirement in support of the cause.
• The second largest net loss of volunteers occurred between the 2001 and 2002 field seasons and coincides with the announcement of the, then impending, BBS observer methodology training certification.
• Net losses in volunteers occurred in the years between 1978 and 1984. Given the relatively synchronous start of the original cohort of volunteers (1966-1970) and the 8 year average duration of volunteer service, this likely represents a time when many members of the original cohort were retiring from the program.
Background
Conclusions
Box 2. Volunteer Trend Data
Age profile of BBS volunteers
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
<20 20-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 >65
Age
Per
cen
t o
f o
bse
rver
s
Volunteer Motivation
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Personalenjoyment
ContributionTo
conservation
Activelyrecruited
Like to birdin different
area
Other
Per
cen
t o
f o
bse
rver
s
• The BBS workforce is highly experienced and highly motivated
• Detailed records of our annual recruitment, attrition, and of average volunteer effort reveal interesting relationships between particular BBS management events and program growth.
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank Kinard Boone for technical and graphical assistance and John Sauer and Bill Link for providing the Kaplan-Meier survivorship figure. We also thank Connie Downes and Bev McBride of the Canadian Wildlife Service and former national coordinators Chan Robbins, Tony Erskine, Ted Van Velzen, Kathy Lindsay, Danny Bystrak, Ellen Hayakawa, Sam Droege, and Bruce Peterjohn. We are indebted to the thousands of BBS participants without who’s time and expertise this project would not have been the success it has become today.
Over half of US observers work in a profession related to birds• 54% of all observers have careers affiliated with birds (USFWS)• Half of those are with state or federal wildlife agencies
Most volunteers leave for reasons outside of the BBS• Hearing loss accounts for 45% of retiring volunteers• Relocation and schedule conflicts are the next two most cited reasons for leaving
the program
BBS observers are highly experienced• Nearly 90% of observers have pursued bird related interests for more than a decade (USFWS)
• All spend >1 hour a week birding, 72% spend > 5 hours
There is a right skew in the BBS observer age profile• 76% of observers are greater than 45 years of age (CWS)• 48% > 55 years of age, 25% < 46 years of age
Observer retention averages a tenth of a lifetime•The average observer volunteers for 8 years•10% remain active past 25 years•75% remain after their 1st year Kaplan-Meier survivorship analysis (ca. 1994) unpublished data
Observers are motivated by the experience and by ethics• 80% of observers remark being most motivated by personal enjoyment• 70% additionally recognized conservation as a primary motivating factor
Most observers sample one route annually• 68% of observers sample only one route• 21% sample 2 routes• 11% sample 3 or more routes
Growth has not occurred evenly over the history of the BBS• Participation hit its first plateau of ~1300 observers and 1700 routes starting in 1974
• A period of growth beginning in 1986 was followed closely by a second period of growth in the early 1990s cumulatively increasing the number of observers to ~1900 and the number of routes covered to ~3000
There are three aspects to BBS growth• Volunteer Effort – The average number of routes per observer increased substantially in the mid 1980s growth period and, to a lesser degree, in the early 1990s
• Volunteer Recruitment – The number of new volunteers recruited into the program was markedly highest in the first year of each growth period
• Volunteer Attrition – The proportion of observer retirees has remained relatively stable at about 12% per year since 1970. Notable peaks occurred between 1978-79, 1995-96, and 2001-02
Why do volunteers leave?
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
HearingLoss
Moved Toobusy
DistanceToo far
Cost Lost Other
Per
cen
t o
f vo
lun
teer
s
Hours birding per week# years pursuing birds
Are the observers professionals?
Observer longevity
Median is 4 years
10% serve more than 25 years
Mean service time is 8.42 years
Years of Service
Pro
bab
ilit
y19
6619
6719
6819
6919
7019
7119
7219
7319
7419
7519
7619
7719
7819
7919
8019
8119
8219
8319
8419
8519
8619
8719
8819
8919
9019
9119
9219
9319
9419
9519
9619
9719
9819
9920
0020
0120
0220
0320
0420
05
Number of sampled routes & volunteer observers per year
Total number of available routes
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
Nu
mb
er
Number of routes sampled
Number of volunteer observers
Coordinator change &Publication of 15-year summary
Coordinator change & creation of PIF
BBS volunteer recruitment and loss per year
Nu
mb
er o
f V
olu
nte
ers 3000 routes covered
Methodologycertification
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Net LossNet Gain
RetireesRecruits
Avg. number of routes per observer per year
1.35
1.40
1.45
1.50
1.55
1.60
1.65
19
66
19
67
19
68
19
69
19
70
19
71
19
72
19
73
19
74
19
75
19
76
19
77
19
78
19
79
19
80
19
81
19
82
19
83
19
84
19
85
19
86
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
Nu
mb
er o
f ro
ute
s
