Central Valley Shorebird Surveys

The Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey is a broad-scale, long term Shorebird Monitoring Program which spans from Alaska all the way down through the 13 countries of the Pacific coastline to Argentina. This program is led by Point Blue Conservation Science and is “designed to guide the management and conservation of wintering shorebirds.” There are numerous organizations and agencies involved with this project, including Audubon California and many local California Audubon Chapters. Two surveys are held each year: a fall/winter count from November to February and a smaller spring/summer count from March to June.

Since shorebirds can be extremely difficult to identify, surveyors for this project need to have training in shorebird identification. A yearly recap presentation training is usually available for this. In addition to recording data on the species observed and their numbers, surveyors take down information on how much of the area is flooded on the day of the survey and the dominant type(s) of habitat at each point. All shorebirds and raptors are recorded within a 0.1-mile radius of each station.

To learn more about these surveys click to download a PDF of the Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey pamphlet.