DEC and its partners at Cornell are implementing surveys as part of the third Breeding Bird Atlas, currently entering its final field season. Volunteer landowners are needed to provide access for breeding bird surveys in various types of habitats: forests, grasslands, shrublands, and salt marshes.
What it Involves: Two visits between May 25 and July 15. Your permission to visit your property for bird surveys would be immensely valuable to this research, and to bird conservation efforts in New York state.
Requirements for different habitat types:
Forests — your property needs to be located within a continuous patch of forest that is at least 30 acres in size. You don’t need to own the entire habitat patch — just enough that can be walked 600 feet into the forest, within one-quarter mile of the road or is otherwise accessible.
Grasslands — your property needs to be located within a continuous patch of grassland, hayfield, pasture, or old field (overgrown shrubby field) that is at least 15 acres in size. You don’t need to own the entire habitat patch — just enough that can be walked 300 feet into the grassland or the grassland patch is within one-quarter mile of the road or is otherwise accessible.
Shrublands — your property needs to have at least two acres of connected shrublands or shrubby forest edge on your property that we can access.
Salt marshes — your property needs to have at least two acres of salt marsh that is connected to other salt marsh.
Those interested in participating in this program are asked to contact Carl Pohlman at 614-483-2168.
