Special Efforts

As many birders know not all birds are easy to detect or find. Even when you are in the "right" habitat it is possible to walk right past a bird without knowing it is there. A bittern may seclude itself in a marsh only occasionally showing itself, an owl may fly silently behind your back going undetected. Because we want to accurately describe all bird distributions in Pennsylvania, a more concerted effort to employ customized special surveys in many or all Atlas blocks will be made. These surveys will include mini-route surveys conducted mainly by paid staff, nocturnal surveys, wetland surveys and GAP habitat model surveys. Additionally, we wish to assess the distribution and health of our state tree, the Eastern Hemlock, which provides a unique nesting habitat.

Click a link below to access detailed information about the PBBA Special Surveys:
i. Web page
ii. Excel file (25 Kb)
iii. PDF (71 Kb) Requires Acrobat Reader.  If you do not have Acrobat Reader, click here for the free download.