What a survey actually involves
The six steps of a Golden-cheeked Warbler presence/absence survey, drawn from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's requirements. Every rule shown in gold is quoted from the protocol, not paraphrased.
Arrive before first light
The survey starts in the dark. Detection depends almost entirely on song, and Golden-cheeked Warblers sing hardest in the first hours after dawn — so the biologist is in position before the birds start.
Survey times must start no earlier than 30 minutes before sunrise.The season, one site
- Visit that counts
- Visit lost to weather
Five visits minimum, no two within any five-day period — and a visit lost to weather does not count, so it has to be made up inside the same eleven weeks.
Requirements quoted from the USFWS Austin Ecological Services Field Office section 10(a)(1)(A) survey requirements. Technical information only; not legal advice or agency clearance.
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I run Golden-cheeked Warbler surveys under my own USFWS recovery permit, from the first visit through the reporting.
After the last visit
The fieldwork is only half of a protocol survey. Here is what happens once the spring visits are done.
- Survey reportMethods, results and maps, delivered within 10 business days of the final visit.
- Data to USFWSSurvey and survey-area data go to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by June 30 each year.
- What you keepSurvey effort and detection records, coverage maps and a defensible technical report for your project file.
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