Appendix 1: Port Weller West Counter Protocol
The protocol is somewhat informal (see below). It was designed with the idea in mind that a typical birdwatcher would not find it too restricting. If a bird could not be identified the observer could leave the path and track it down.
There should be 1, 2 or 3 participants, but there should not be more, and they should always stay together and walk from the Coast Guard Station to the Weather Station at the end of the pier.
The start time should be between 7:30 am and 8:30 am. The overall impression is that birds drift through this count area in the morning so that the numbers and species are fairly sensitive to the time of the count. Thus the start time should be fairly close to 8:00 wherever possible.
The duration should be between 1/2 hour and 1 1/2 hours, low if there are no birds of course, and up to 1 1/2 hours if there are many birds. But here again as close to 1 hour as possible, given the sensitivity of the birds to count time.
The walk should be done under all weather conditions, if at all possible. It should not be done outside count hours if the weather during the count hours made counting impossible.
The recorders should walk the road on the east side of the pier if the birds are there (wind from the West) and/or the former power line corridor in the centre of the pier if the birds are there (wind from the East). The recording is done on a predesigned excel file (See Appendix 2:Port Weller Checklist) containing species deemed appropriate following the 1993 study. (You may find it helpful to enter the results on the predesigned form when you reach the north end of the pier.) By choosing the road and/or the power line the observers should attempt to see most of the birds from the trees and shrubs which border the power line on the west to the trees and shrubs along the canal.
The focus of this study is passerine migrants. Some abundant passerines not counted are American Robins, Blue Jays, American Crows, Black-capped Chickadees, European Starlings, Northern Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles and House Sparrows. These are birds that breed in the Niagara Region and are very common.
The only non-passerines counted are Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Red-bellied and Red-headed Woodpeckers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Cliff Swallows, Purple Martins and cuckoos.
Make a note on the reverse side of the checklist sheet of any unusual observations. Whimbrel, Turkey Peregrine Falcon etc.
On the way back to the Coast Guard Station the observers may wish to note if there are any birds on the extreme west (Lake Ontario side) of the pier.
If you wish census, on a separate Checklist, the birds south of the Coast Guard Station.
NEW*** If you can enter the daily results on the predesigned excel file (See Appendix 3: Port Weller Data Entry) and email them to all interested parties so everyone can see what is being observed! You can email the updated sheet each day, not just at the end of your count period.