This dataset contains avian survey observations across four tidal marsh areas around San Francisco Bay. Multiple surveys were conducted around both high and low tides during the winter of 2010/11. Each survey alternated between scan and focals. During scans, all observable birds were counted. During focals, the behavior of a single, randomly selected bird was observed. Water level data was collected concurrently at each site and is provided with the avian survey data.

Background - Interest in developing alternative sources of renewable energy to reduce dependence on oil has increased in recent years. Some sources of renewable energy being considered will include power generation infrastructure and support activities located within continental shelf waters, and potentially within deeper waters off the U.S. Pacific coast and beyond state waters (i.e., outside three nautical miles). Currently, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is considering renewable energy proposals off the coast of Oregon, California, and Hawaii. From 1999–2002, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Humboldt State University (HSU) worked with BOEM (formely known as the Minerals Management Service, MMS) to conduct a multi-year study that quantified the at-sea distribution of seabirds and marine mammals. The aerial at-sea survey team flew over 55,000 kilometers and counted 485,000 seabirds (67 species) and 64,000 marine mammals (19 species). The study provided resource managers with updated information on distribution and abundance patterns and compared results with information from the late 1970s to early 1980s (Briggs et al. 1981, Briggs et al. 1987, see Mason et al. 2007). The California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG; now CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, CADFW) and U.S. Navy also provided significant matching funds. Oceanographic Context - USGS-HSU surveys began in May 1999, immediately following the strong 1997–1998 El Niño event. The 1999–2002 period featured a series of cold-water, La Niña events which led some researchers to postulate that the California Current System (CCS) had undergone a fundamental climate shift, on the scale of those documented in the 1920s, mid 1940s, and mid 1970s (Schwing et al. 2002). Generally, La Niña events have corresponded with stronger than normal upwelling in the CCS, and during this period, resulted in the greatest 4-yr mean upwelling index value on record (Schwing et al. 2002). La Niñas often follow El Niños, and seabird community composition (i.e., relative species-specific abundances) in any given year off southern California, is subject to variability caused by shifts in distribution among both warm- and cool-water affiliated species (Hyrenbach and Veit 2003). In contrast to the Mason et al. (2007) surveys, Briggs et al. (1987) conducted surveys during 1975–1983, coincident with another climate shift—from cold to warm conditions throughout the CCS (Mantua et al. 1997). Briggs et al. surveyed north of Point Conception during 1980–1983, after the transition to warmer water conditions occurred in the CCS. Acknowledgements - This project was funded by BOEM through an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey. The authors of these GIS data require that data users contact them regarding intended use and to assist with understanding limitations and interpretation. Aerial survey fieldwork in 1999-2002 was conducted jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey (Western Ecological Research Center, California: Principal Investigators J.Y, Takekawa and D. Orthmeyer; Key Project Staff: J. Adams, J. Ackerman, W.M. Perry, J.J. Felis, and J.L. Lee) and Humboldt State University (Department of Wildlife, Arcata, California; Principal Investigators: R.T. Golightly and H.R. Carter; Project Leader: G. McChesney; Key Project Staff: J. Mason and W. McIver). Major project cooperators who actively participated in aerial at-sea surveys include the Minerals Management Service (M. Pierson, M. McCrary), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (P. Kelly), and the U.S. Navy (S. Schwartz, T. Keeney). For additional acknowledgments, see Mason et al. (2007). These data are associated with the following publication: Mason, J.W., McChesney, G.J., McIver, W.R., Carter, H.R., Takekawa, J.Y., Golightly, R.T., Ackerman, J.T., Orthmeyer, D.L., Perry, W.M., Yee, J.L. and Pierson, M.O. 2007. At-sea distribution and abundance of seabirds off southern California: a 20-Year comparison. Cooper

Technological advancements in Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry markers allow almost real-time observation of waterfowl movements and habitat selection. Telemetry data on ducks marked with GPS transmitters can be used to evaluate performance of remote sensing data (for example, dynamic open-water maps produced by Point Blue Conservation Science) for classifying habitats that are flooded and available for waterfowl. Translating dynamic open-water maps to waterfowl-relevant habitat maps provides a major improvement for wildlife researchers and managers to assist in their assessments of the areas and habitats used by waterfowl as hydrologic conditions change, both temporally and spatially. Suitable habitat maps developed using dynamic water data should accurately and consistently characterize those flooded habitats used by ducks. Because ducks prefer flooded habitats like wetlands and rice fields, duck locations recorded with telemetry technology can be used to validate and enhance maps developed to characterize waterfowl habitats that change temporally with drought or water management. Additionally, high-resolution telemetry data recorded in near real-time can provide information on waterfowl responsiveness to water-management decisions intended to provide adequate habitat for waterfowl. For example, telemetry data can be analyzed to infer duck response to drought in terms of distance traveled to feed and overlap in use of space or habitats by ducks, which have implications for the population dynamics of ducks.

This database is a compilation of marine mammal and seabird information collected along the Pacific coast of the United States and U.S. territories in the Pacific from surveys that were solicited among regional research communities and persons. Information from standardized surveys was gathered from 2015 to 2018 and includes programs and researchers who collected information regarding seabirds since 1960.

We completed four distinct projects to collect baseline data at varying spatial and temporal scales. First, we used data from aerial photographic surveys conducted from 1989-2014 to investigate region-wide trends in the populations of Common Murres and Brandt’s Cormorants. We used 173 observations of Common Murre colony abundance at 14 colonies and 123 observations of Brandt’s Cormorant nest abundance at 10 colonies over the 26-year study period. Additionally, aerial photographic surveys conducted in 2014 were used to document location and abundance of Common Murre, Brandt’s Cormorant, and Double-crested Cormorant across the NCSR. Second, at a more localized scale, we monitored Common Murre reproduction, foraging effort, and diet in 2014 at Castle Rock National Wildlife Refuge using a robotic, remotely-controlled video recording system. Although this is only one of the seabird colonies in the NCSR, it the largest and served to inform our understanding of the mechanisms of population change across the region. Common Murre are very visible and thus ideal for monitoring fine scale patterns in reproduction and changing diet. We measured date of nest initiation, hatching success, fledging success, overall reproductive success, time allocation, provisioning rate, and diet composition via the video. Information gained from these surveys were combined with comparable data from 2007-2013 at Castle Rock to assess baseline condition and variability of these metrics over an 8-year period. Third, in 2014-2015 we conducted ground-based surveys of coastally breeding seabirds inside and outside of six MPAs to establish a framework for continued MPA monitoring. For this, we conducted intensive monitoring of six species likely to benefit from MPA establishment: Pigeon Guillemot, Brandt’s Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Western Gull, and Black Oystercatcher. We collected data on breeding population size, breeding productivity, foraging rates and rates of human-caused disturbance inside and outside of each MPA. We monitored productivity by following individual nests visible from land and calculated annual breeding productivity as number of fledglings produced per breeding pair. We monitored foraging from land-based observation points, recording all birds foraging within a 1 km radius of an observation point. We calculated foraging rates as number of birds foraging per hour of observation. We recorded all human-caused disturbances observed during any land-based survey and calculated disturbance rates as number of disturbances per hour of observation.

This dataset consists of one table with annual counts from population plots of Black-legged Kittiwakes and Common Murres at two seabird nesting colonies on Gull and Chisik Islands in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska.

This reference archives metadata about the collection of geospatial data which may be stored in a variety of file formats (e.g. shapefile, geodatabase) for the Oregon Coast NWRC: Surface Nesting Seabirds - Aerial Photographic Colony Surveys survey (PRIMR ID: FF01RORG00-002 and FF01RTAR00-002). Starting in 2012 photographs were taken using digital photography (hand-held camera). Counts (from photographs) were initially started in 2012 but were not completed until 2020. These geospatial files represent the raw count of seabirds from non-georeferenced images. These raw point counts are not registered to any geospatial coordinates. They only line up with the image from which they were derived, no geospatial coordinates are attached to the raw images. Results of the counts are put through a secondary check and then numbers are entered into the complete Seabird Colony Count Catalog (Database) which can be downloaded from , which is the authoritative source for bird count data collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex manages an Imagery Program for collecting refuge-wide aerial imagery datasets that are used to monitor nesting seabirds on offshore islands. Aerial flights are generally conducted annually to monitor population status and trends, but the imagery is used for other resource monitoring purposes. Aerial photography has served as the primary means for monitoring populations of nesting seabirds (Census years include 1988, 1994, 2006, and 2014), and the subsequent analysis of long-term seabird colony legacy data in the Pacific Northwest as a regional baseline. The 2012 set of photographs have been used to complete a refuge-wide colony subsample count for 2012, where each photograph in the subsample has a digital point file (hand count) of nesting seabirds stored in a geodatabase format. We counted a subsample of Oregon coast colonies using a size- and geographical-based stratified random sampling approach for all other survey years. The subsample was selected based on common murre populations, therefore no inferences can be drawn about Brandt’s cormorants without additional colony subsampling. The subsampling approach was informed by recommendations from bio-statistical experts based on colony size and location. We subsampled 45 colonies, which were counted over time. Including census year counts, our subsample years were 1988, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2014. A power analysis for the sampling design recommended for the Protocol Framework indicated that a minimum of 16 common murre within each region needed to be counted each year in order detect an average decline of 3.35% per year over a 15-year period (cumulative 40% decline) with 80% probability. With guidance from two statisticians, we randomly selected 6 small and 9 medium/large colonies per region for a total of 45 colonies to be counted each year to detect changes across the Oregon Coast. For more information about the long-term monitoring of seabirds along the Oregon Coast, go to The Service Catalog (ServCat) at the following link: https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/125347

The avian community of peatland habitats were surveyed along belt transects established in multiple units of Seney National Wildlife Refuge, representing peatland habitats dominated by a range of sedge to shrub cover at varying levels. Surveys were conducted during the 3-week period of mid-May to early June and again during mid-June-early July in three years (2007–2009). Three datasets are included here 1) data of presence/absence of breeding bird species detected in each 100-m segment of belt transects, 2) four-letter codes for bird species, and 3) environmental and land-cover attributes summarized for 200-m buffers around the bird-survey segments (100m x 100m), and number of years since each segment was burned, based on refuge fire records.These data support the a publication examining factors influencing the bird community in peatlands.

This reference archives metadata about the collection of geospatial data which may be stored in a variety of file formats (e.g. shapefile, geodatabase) for the Oregon Coast NWRC: Surface Nesting Seabirds - Aerial Photographic Colony Surveys survey (PRIMR ID: FF01RORG00-002 and FF01RTAR00-002). Early records are not recorded digitally, these counts were done by projecting the slide image and manually counting birds on hardcopy. The metadata file will display where counts were done on hardcopy (analog) as well as those done digitally (GIS). Counts (from photographs) were initially started in 2003 but were not completed until 2020. These geospatial files represent the raw count of seabirds from non-georeferenced images. These raw point counts are not registered to any geospatial coordinates. They only line up with the image from which they were derived, no geospatial coordinates are attached to the raw images. Results of the counts are put through a secondary check and then numbers are entered into the complete Seabird Colony Count Catalog (Database) which can be downloaded from , which is the authoritative source for bird count data collected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex manages an Imagery Program for collecting refuge-wide aerial imagery datasets that are used to monitor nesting seabirds on offshore islands. Aerial flights are generally conducted annually to monitor population status and trends, but the imagery is used for other resource monitoring purposes. Aerial photography has served as the primary means for monitoring populations of nesting seabirds (Census years include 1988, 1994, 2006, and 2014), and the subsequent analysis of long-term seabird colony legacy data in the Pacific Northwest as a regional baseline. The 2003 set of photographs have been used to complete a refuge-wide colony subsample count for 2003, where each photograph in the subsample has a digital point file (hand count) of nesting seabirds stored in a geodatabase format. We counted a subsample of Oregon coast colonies using a size- and geographical-based stratified random sampling approach for all other survey years. The subsample was selected based on common murre populations, therefore no inferences can be drawn about Brandt’s cormorants without additional colony subsampling. The subsampling approach was informed by recommendations from bio-statistical experts based on colony size and location. We subsampled 45 colonies, which were counted over time. Including census year counts, our subsample years were 1988, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2014. A power analysis for the sampling design recommended for the Protocol Framework indicated that a minimum of 16 common murre within each region needed to be counted each year in order detect an average decline of 3.35% per year over a 15-year period (cumulative 40% decline) with 80% probability. With guidance from two statisticians, we randomly selected 6 small and 9 medium/large colonies per region for a total of 45 colonies to be counted each year to detect changes across the Oregon Coast. For more information about the long-term monitoring of seabirds along the Oregon Coast, go to The Service Catalog (ServCat) at the following link: https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/125347

Renewable energy production can kill birds, but little is known about how it affects avian populations. We assessed vulnerability of populations for 23 priority bird species killed at wind and solar facilities in California, USA.