Ecologists use Point Counts as one method for surveying
birds. In a Point Count, one person counts all the birds located
within a circle with the radius of 20 meters for 10 minutes. Follow
these steps before you actually do a Point Count survey:
| 1. |
Decide on a location or several locations in your school yard to conduct the survey. Assign a number to each location. Position the sampling points in different areas, such as in a lawn, near trees and bushes, near asphalt, near the edge of the property, etc.
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| 2. |
 Mark out a circle with a 20-meter radius at each of the points you intend to survey. Make sure there are no large obstructions within the circle. For example, if a block wall were near the center of the circle you might not be able to see over it to count birds on the other side. You could position the circle so the block wall was near the perimeter of the circle. If you just don't have enough space for a 20-meter radius circle, then you need to note the size of the study area on the data sheet.(Diagram)
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| 3. |
Complete a habitat description for each of your point count locations. Record your findings on the habitat description data sheet. You will need to do this before entering data into the CAP LTER database. YOU ONLY NEED TO DO THIS ONCE PER COUNT SITE.
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| 4. |
Become familiar with the most common bird species (see the identification key).
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| 5. |
Decide on a time of day to do the survey and always do it at the same time of day. The best time of day is in the early morning (before 9:30 am), but if several classes are doing it throughout the day they can see how time of day affects the census.
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| 6. |
Census the point twice per week for at least 4 consecutive weeks.
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| 7. |
Have only 1 person count the birds in a point count (nobody else should help locate birds). This person will count all the birds within the survey area for 10 minutes.
Other students can help by keeping time and recording the counts on the data sheet.
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| 8. |
Use the data sheet to record the number of individuals from each species that you have seen. Count each bird only once.
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