Hooray. At last. Exciting news.
The long-awaited report: "Canberra Birds:
A Report on the first 18 years of the Garden Bird Survey"
was picked
up from the printer yesterday, so is available and already selling fast. I think
it is great, exciting, nice to look at, full of good stuff that has never
appeared before, at last a fitting tribute to all those who have contributed to
the GBS.
IT WILL BE AVAILABLE
FOR PURCHASE AT COG MEETINGS OR FROM ME PRIVATELY.
This is a detailed analysis of the Garden Bird Survey (GBS) that has been run by
Canberra
Ornithologists Group (COG) since July 1981.
The report is based on the first 18 years of continuous data, from 46273
observer weeks of data, from 1151 observer years of data, from a total of 277
sites. It for the first time, fully describes the survey's history and methods.
It addresses how observer activity affects results and the importance of habitat
at the range of sites. It demonstrates observer differences in results. It
details how recording rate relates to assessed abundance of birds and how the
connection alters, according to the migratory and social behaviour of birds. It
makes vital comparisons between results of the GBS and the COG ACT Bird Atlas.
It describes frequency distribution by year at which species were recorded and
found breeding. It shows how species diversity and total abundance of bird fauna
varies over the year (by month). It describes how residency of birds is
assessed. There are 34 Figures (graphs) and 2 data Tables in this first section.
Conservation aspects are also addressed.
It
includes 41 pages of text (in standard sequence with one exception) on 163
species where the data are sufficient on monthly patterns of abundance and/or
long term trends in abundance, such as increases, decreases and stability. Also
timing and duration of all stages of breeding is given (if recorded). Monthly
patterns are interpreted relative to migration, changes in habitat use over the
year, seasonal changes in behaviour and breeding. It includes 15 pages of
clearly set out graphs of both monthly and long-term abundance, over the
18 years, for 120 species. It includes 8 Appendices of detailed statistical and
other supplementary information (statistics on occurrence and breeding of all
species and statistics on all sites, plus other items) and 149 references and a
comprehensive index.
The
report is 128 pages in length, printed in plain black and bound. It is set out
to avoid any blank space. Although it is in part based on the same dataset, this
report includes an extra year of data and far more detailed analysis and none of
the pictures that are in the book Birds of Canberra Gardens. (But it
does have three original pictures) That book, that
you have probably seen, was published in 2000 by COG
(and usually retails for something over $30). This report is very
different in concept, coverage and design.
This price on this report is $19.00 (plus package and postage
of $3.50) and will be available only from:
Philip Veerman
24 Castley Circuit
Kambah ACT 2902
(02) 62314041 Please contact me
first (preferably by email) before sending any
money.
