BBA Volunteer Page

Oklahoma Winter Bird Atlas

2003/04 to 2007/08

Volunteer Opportunities

Project objective and methods

What you would do as a volunteer

Online sign-up form and clickable map of block locations

Project objectives and methods

The Oklahoma Winter Bird Atlas Project (2003-2008) is an effort to gather data on the winter distributions of birds in our state. The results will be an atlas, a collection of maps, showing where each bird is found in winter. We expect to publish the survey results in book format following the five years of field work. Over 40 states have either started or completed similar breeding bird atlas projects, but few have yet begun projects for wintering birds. The information gained from such projects provides a systematically gathered and repeatable "snapshot" of winter bird distribution within a five-year time frame. In the short-term, the information that is gathered will provide a more up-to-date and detailed picture of the winter distribution of birds in Oklahoma than is now available. In the long-term, the atlas will provide a benchmark of winter bird distribution in the early 21st century that can be compared to results of a repeated atlas project in 20 or 30 years. The value of such information for bird conservation will be substantial, and this project offers you a chance to contribute in a very meaningful way.

The Winter Bird Atlas is being organized and administered by the George M. Sutton Avian Research Center (GMSARC) which is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Oklahoma Biological Survey at the University of Oklahoma.

The data for the winter bird atlas project consist of a rough measure of abundance for each species recorded in a survey block (see below for block information). The winter season is further divided into early and late halves, to allow for analysis of movements of wintering birds through the course of a season.

To gather data for the atlas, we are using the grid of 7.5 minute quads established by the U. S. Geological Survey. Each of these quads is 7.5 x7.5 minutes of latitude and longitude, or approximately 7 x 8 miles, about one-third the area of a Christmas Bird Count circle. The grid covers the entire state, with about 1200 quads covering Oklahoma. However, the atlas project will be sampling only one-sixth of every-other quad. This unit of land is referred to as an atlas block, and is about 3.5 x 3 miles in size. Nearly 600 such blocks will need to be surveyed in the five years of atlas field work. We have selected this sampling scheme because of Oklahoma's relatively large land area and small birder population compared to many of the eastern states which have surveyed more intensively. These are the same blocks that were used during the recently completed Oklahoma Breeding Bird Atlas Project.

What you would do as a volunteer

Volunteers sign up to survey one or more of our selected blocks of land throughout Oklahoma during the winter season, which is defined as 1 December to 14 February. Not every inch of the 10+ square miles in each block needs to be surveyed. Rather, all of the major habitat types in each block should be visited in order to record as many species as possible that are wintering within the block. At least two visits to each block and 8 or more hours of survey time are required during the season. A minimum of 4 hours of survey time must be completed between 1 December and 7 January (the "early" period), and an additional 4 hours must be completed between 8 January and 14 February (the "late" period), with at least 14 days between the first "early" visit and the last "late" visit. Complete instructions and forms are provided to volunteers. Participants should be able to recognize most species occurring in their block and be able to look up any that they are not familiar with. If you cannot survey blocks but wish to participate by reporting Special Interest Species, you are encouraged to do so.

Feel free to contact us for more information.

Online sign-up form and clickable map of block locations

OWBA Page Links:

OWBA Home | Sign-Up Form and Block Map | Special Interest Species

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