Field Ornithology

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EEB 3898: Field Methods in Ornithology

Intensive Summer Session 1, June 6th - 24th, 2011 MTWThF

Instructor: Alejandro Rico

Office: Biol/Pharm 404

Phone: 860-486-0309

Office hours: variable & flexible (call, email, drop by)


Course Objectives

➢ Acquire bird identification skills

➢ Learn how to take field notes

➢ Learn and apply basic field research techniques, study design, and data analysis

➢ Develop an individual project


Course Materials

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• Required

o The Sibley Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America

o Binoculars (available from us if you don’t have any)

o Field notepad/notebook

• Recommended

o Sibley’s birding basics

o Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America

o Old shoes or hiking boots, & proper outdoor clothing (poison ivy, weather)

o Insect repellent (ticks, mosquitoes)

o Sunscreen


Tentative* schedule

Day Topic Day Topic Day Topic
M 06 Course introduction and timeline; Bird identification (Optics, Guides and Notes. Reading: MANUAL OF ORNITHOLOGY pags. 274, 276-279 and 286-287), Campus birding M 13 Pdficon small.gifOrtega & Capen 1999, Local birding (Pink Ravine), Field notebooks (First Submission) M 20 Survey of coastal birds
T 07 Topography and Field Marks; Feet, Beaks and Body Form; Field exercises, start project thinking T 14 Individual project presentations; Paper submission (Introduction and Methods) T 21 Banding demo, Pomfret Center, Connecticut Audubon Society / Field notebooks (Final Submission)
W 08 Field research techniques, hypotheses testing, study design, and data analysis W 15 MIDTERM EXAM; birding after W 22 Individual project presentations and assisted work on the paper
Th 09 Pdficon small.gifAnderson et al. 1979

Survey of local birds (Mansfield Hollow), Individual project guidelines discussion and project selection (written ideas)

Th 16 Individual project data collection I (Methods adjustment) Th 23 HEEP site field activity (use of eBird); PAPER SUBMISSION (FINAL)
F 10 Capture/banding demonstration, Pomfret Center, Connecticut Audubon Society F 17 Individual project data collection II (Final) F 24 FINAL EXAM; Instructor evaluations

*: Schedule is subject to change pending weather conditions, or unforeseen birding and research opportunities.


Grading

Exams: June 15th (MIDTERM) [50 points]; June 24th (FINAL) [50 points]


Individual Project Paper: June 14th (Intro and Methods) [30 points]; June 23rd (Final) [50 points]


Individual Project Presentations: June 14th (Intro and Methods) [20 points]; June 22nd (Final) [25 points]


Field Notebook Submissions: June 13th (First) [20 points]; June 21st (Final) [25 points]


Field trips = Birding exercises (5 points each): June 9th, 10th, 13th, 20th, 21st, 23rd [30 points]


Total: [300 points]


Grading scale: A = 100-90%, B = 89-80%, C = 79-70%, D = 69-60%, F = 59-0%. Plus/minus system will be used for the final grade.


Important documents to download:


Course overviewPdficon small.gif

Binoculars sign-outPdficon small.gif

ID'ing exercisePdficon small.gif

Field Notebook InstructionsPdficon small.gif

Individual Project Instructions (Intro and Methods)Pdficon small.gif

Individual Project Instructions (Final)Pdficon small.gif

eBird guidelines Pdficon small.gif


Additional References & Websites

• MANUAL OF ORNITHOLOGY (Yale Univ.), by N.S. Proctor and P.J. Lynch: http://books.google.com/books?id=nQ3vLQkEWQMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=general+warbler+bill+shape#v=onepage&q&f=false

• Bibby CJ, Burgess ND, Hill DA, Mustoe S, editors. 2000. Bird census techniques. San Diego, USA: Academic Press.: http://books.google.com/books?id=Ld5wkzPp49cC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Bibby&ie=ISO-8859-1&cd=2&source=gbs_gdata#v=onepage&q&f=false

• Gill F. 2007. Ornithology. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. : http://books.google.com/books?id=zM0tG5ApO0UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=ornithology+gill&hl=en&src=bmrr&ei=4iTsTfHvN4b2gAeg3o3ZCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

• Stiling P. 1999. Ecology: theories and application. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

• Clark, G. A. 1999. Birds of Storrs, Connecticut and vicinity. 3rd Ed. Mansfield, CT: Natchaug Ornithological Society & Joshua’s Tract Conservation and Historic Trust.

• SORA (Searchable Ornithological Research Archive): http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/index.php

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology “All About Birds”: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds

• Natchaug Ornithological Society: http://www.nosbird.org/ (esp. “local hotspots” http://www.nosbird.org/hotspots.html)

• Connecticut Ornithological Association: http://www.ctbirding.org/index.htm

• CT Audubon Society: http://www.ctaudubon.org/

• CT Department of Environmental Protection: http://www.ct.gov/dep/site/default.asp


Website design by Diego Sustaita