Waterbird species counts in three Selected Areas of the CEWH’s Flow-MER program (the Murrumbidgee River, Gwydir river system and Junction of the Warrego and Darling Rivers. Counts are recorded from a representative part of the wetland and the proportion sampled is recorded. The CEWH’s Flow-MER program examines the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan 2012 (Basin Plan) and is assisting the CEWH to demonstrate environmental outcomes and adaptively manage the water holdings. Monitoring and evaluation is focused in seven Selected Areas: the Junction of the Warrego and Darling rivers, Gwydir river system, Lachlan river system, Murrumbidgee river system, Edward/Kolety-Wakool river system, Goulburn River and Lower Murray River. This Flow-MER data set includes and extends the long-term data collected at the same sites during the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) project (2014-2019). ###Acknowledgement The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and Flow-MER program acknowledge the First Nations peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies of the Murray-Darling Basin. We respect their continuing connection to culture and Country, and we thank them for their knowledge and science and the values reflected in these data. ###Citation CEWH (2024) Waterbird Diversity. Flow-MER Program. Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Sourced from https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/flow-mer-waterbird-diversity on [date-sourced].

Raw and summarized count data from annual colonial water survey conducted at West Sister Island NWR. Breeding pair estimates were calculated for all years using 3 different methods.

Raw and summarized count data from annual colonial water survey conducted at West Sister Island NWR. Breeding pair estimates were calculated for all years using 3 different methods.

Data set consists of winter waterfowl use on impoundments following the Integrated Waterbird Monitoring Protocol on Overflow NWR.

Data set consists of polygons of impoundments sampled for winter waterfowl use following the Integrated Waterbird Monitoring Protocol on Overflow NWR.

Mitchell, M.E., Anteau, M.J., Pearse, A.T. et al. Modeling Wetland Resources for Spring Migratory Waterbirds Under Different Agricultural Management Scenarios in the Iowa Portion of the Prairie Pothole Region, USA. Wetlands 45, 48 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-025-01930-y. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Mitchell, M., M. Anteau, A. Pearse, T. Newcomer-Johnson, J. Christensen, W. Crumpton, B. Dyson, T. Canfield, M. Helmers, D. Green, and K. Forshay. Modeling Wetland Resources for Spring Migratory Waterbirds Under Different Agricultural Management Scenarios in the Iowa Portion of the Prairie Pothole Region, USA. WETLANDS. The Society of Wetland Scientists, McLean, VA, USA, 45: article number 48, (2025).

This dataset is comprised of six files related to waterbird surveys and resulting Index of Waterbird Community Integrity (IWCI) scores in 21 subestuaries of the Chesapeake Bay from 2010-2014. Two .csv files (1 data file: Prosser et al 2017_IWCI Results MS_Bird Survey Raw Data.csv, 1 definitions file: Prosser et al 2017_IWCI Results MS_Bird Survey Raw Data_Definitions.csv) contain data related to raw waterbird survey data from two seasons (summer and fall). Two .csv files (1 data file: Prosser et al 2017_IWCI Results MS_Species List.csv, 1 definitions file: Prosser et al 2017_IWCI Results MS_Species List_Definitions.csv) contain data related to 60+ Chesapeake waterbird species observed in surveys and their species attribute and IWCI scores. Two .csv files (1 data file: Prosser et al 2017_IWCI Results MS_Scores & Delineations by Site.csv, 1 definitions file: Prosser et al 2017_IWCI Results MS_Scores & Delineations by Site_Definitions.csv) contain data related to IWCI scores and shoreline/land use delineations for the 21 subestuaries of the Chesapeake Bay.

Effective waterfowl management relies on the collection of relevant demographic data to inform land management decisions; however, some types of data are difficult to obtain. For waterfowl, brood surveys are difficult to conduct because wetland habitats often obscure ducklings from being visually assessed. Here, we used Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) to assess what wetland habitat characteristics influenced brood abundance in Suisun Marsh, California, USA. Using a thermal imaging camera, we surveyed 17 wetland units encompassing 332 ha of flooded area on seven waterfowl hunting clubs during the waterfowl breeding season. Additionally, using a combination of multispectral imagery collected from the UAS flights and LiDAR data from the previous year, we mapped habitat composition within each unit to relate to brood observation counts. From June 3-7, 2019, we identified 113 individual broods comprised of 827 ducklings. We found a positive relationship between the number of broods observed and the proportion of the unit that was flooded. We also found a positive relationship between the number of broods observed and the area of effective habitat, a metric of flooded habitat within a specific distance to flooded vegetation. Brood surveys using UAS could compliment the traditional Breeding Population Survey and provide local managers with fine scale and timely information regarding shifts in brood abundance in the region.