This dataset consists of shorebird chick measurements (wing, primary feather 10, diagonal tarsus, and bill length) and body mass for various shorebird species captured in Alaska and Canada during 1978-2022. Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey - Alaska Science Center, and collaborators from many government agencies and research institutions have studied shorebirds at numerous sites across North America. This release includes over 2,000 observations relating to 17 shorebird species.

The data in this table document the numbers of four species of shorebird counted during aerial surveys of coastal sites in western Alaska. Survey regions encompassed coastline between the mouths of the Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers, and the northern coast of the Alaska Peninsula from the mouths of the Kvichak and Naknek rivers to Nelson Lagoon. Surveys were flown from 7-9 September 2018 and 20-22 August 2019. Also provided are two Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files with the start and end points of the aerial survey transect segments, and copies of the aerial survey images from which the counts were derived.

This dataset contains results from long-term monitoring of breeding shorebirds on the Coastal Plain (1002 Area) of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Surveys were conducted during 2019–2022 using the Arctic PRISM (Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring) protocol. The sampling design employed stratified random selection of 16-ha plots across four habitat strata (wetland, moist, riparian, upland), and field methods included rapid area searches by trained observers. The datasets includes plot-level detections, behavioral indicators of breeding status, and habitat classifications to support the estimation of contemporary population sizes for 16 species and assessment of long-term population trends for 13 species present in Brown et al. (2007, The Condor, 109:1–14). Potential users of these data are encouraged to first contact the data authors to discuss intended use and how these data may or may not be applicable.

This data release contains multiple tables with information on avian demographics collected at the Colville River Delta, Alaska, 2011-2018. Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey began studying the reproductive ecology of birds at a site on the Colville River near the Beaufort Sea coast in 2011. Researchers monitored the nests of geese, shorebirds, and landbirds at this study site, determining basic information like arrival dates, nest initiation date, clutch size, hatching success, and rates of chick growth. This release also contains first arrival observations of birds collected by Jim and Teena Helmericks from 1960-2019 at their house located ~15 km northeast of the USGS field camp.

These morphometric data are in two tables from surfbirds (adults and chicks) captured at two locations in southcentral Alaska, 1997-1999.

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 1988 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, and the subsequent analysis of long-term seabird colony legacy data in the Pacific Northwest as a regional baseline. The 1988 set of photographs have been used to complete a refuge-wide colony count for 1988, where each photograph has a digital point file (hand count) of nesting seabirds stored in a geodatabase format. Census years include 1988, 1994, 2006, and 2014. Following the completion of the census counts described above, 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