U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of  Bird Habitat Conservation and Division of  Migratory Bird Management,
U.S. Geological Survey,  Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

General Database Information

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North American Breeding Bird Survey

The BBS is a long-term, large-scale, international avian monitoring program initiated in 1966 to track the status and trends of North American bird populations. The USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and the Canadian Wildlife Service, National Wildlife Research Center jointly coordinate the BBS program. Each year during the height of the avian breeding season, June for most of the U.S. and Canada, participants skilled in avian identification collect bird population data along roadside survey routes. Over 4100 survey routes are located across the continental U.S. and Canada. Once analyzed, BBS data provide an index of population abundance that can be used to estimate population trends and relative abundances at various geographic scales. Trend estimates for more than 420 bird species and all raw data are currently available via the BBS web site.

Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey

Some geese and ducks are not adequately monitored during the spring and summer because they nest in areas not well covered by breeding population surveys. Abundance indices for these species are obtained from surveys on wintering areas. Most of these surveys are targeted at specific species or populations. A nationwide effort to survey all waterfowl is conducted annually in January. This, the Mid-winter Waterfowl Survey, provides information on population trends for some species, distribution on the wintering grounds, and habitat use. The Mid-Winter Waterfowl Survey is conducted cooperatively by the states and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey

The Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey was initiated experimentally in 1947 and became operational in 1955. It is conducted cooperatively by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian Wildlife Service. It has been conducted every year since. The primary purpose of the survey is to provide information on spring population size and trajectory for certain North American duck species. These data are used extensively in the annual establishment of hunting regulations in the United States and Canada and provide long-term time series important in researching bird-environment relationships critical to effective conservation planning for waterfowl.