Visit a Designated Site

You can conduct a survey(s) by visiting a field site(s) assigned to you by us. These sites include locations where one or more of our three SAR landbirds (Canada Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Rusty Blackbird) have been observed, or where they are predicted to occur based on our species-distribution model(s). If you are interested in visiting a site where these birds have previously been found, please visit Occurrence Sites for location information through out Nova Scotia. Likewise, if you would like to visit a site designated as predicted habitat from our species-distribution model(s), please visit Predicted Sites for more information.

You should visit your selected site(s) during the breeding season for these birds which are: April 24-June 30th for the Rusty Blackbird, and May 20-July 20th for the Canada Warbler and Olive-sided Flycatcher. Once at your designated site, we recommend that you conduct a structured Playback Survey, which has been shown to increase the likelihood of detecting one of our species. These surveys include a 5-min listening component followed by a playback component that targets the three SAR. To participate, you will need a speaker to broadcast the playback (to borrow speakers, please email us at landbirdsar@merseytobeatic.ca). You can also download 30 second clips of each bird on our Recordings page. To conduct a Playback Survey, you will need to fill out our Playback Data Sheet. You may need to view our Code Sheet to help fill out the form. You can then send us your form by email or mail (see bottom of data sheet for details).

If you wish to conduct a Point Count, please fill out our Point Count Data Sheet. You may need to view our Code Sheet and Species Codes to help fill out the form. You can then send us your form by email or mail (see bottom of data sheet for details).

If you are unable to do a Playback Survey and/or a Point Count Survey, we recommend that you look for our three SAR land birds at the designated site for at least 5-10 minutes. If you do find one or more of our birds, please send us this information by following the protocol for Reporting a Sighting.

Remember that negative results are very valuable. If you visit a designated site, but didn’t find a bird there, please let us know by emailing us your coordinates (lat/long and/or UTMs) and a brief description of what you did (e.g. looked for Rusty Blackbird for 25 minutes) at landbirdsar@merseytobeatic.ca.

Thank you for your efforts! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please send us an email at landbirdsar@merseytobeatic.ca.