Each route consists of 50 three-minute roadside stops at 0.5 mile intervals along a 24.5 mile route. All the stops are roadside, at your car. Each route is run once each year, between *mid May and late June*. The survey starts 30 minutes before sunrise and is typically finished in about 4-4.5 hours. Observers need to be able to identify all the usual breeding bird species along the Route by sight and sound. Observers must be very comfortable identifying all the calls, notes, and songs since most recording of birds will be by hearing. I usually record over 75-80% of the Route's birds by ear alone. After completion of the Route, all that is left is to enter the results on the BBS website. Also new Observers should preferably commit to running a Route a minimum of three years, this helps the BBS office when analyzing data.
So basically each Route entails a commitment of less than a day of your time each year!
SO let me know if you are interested, then I will set you up as a new Observer and the BBS office will get you rolling before you run the Route! I really enjoy running BBS routes each year. It is interesting to see how the bird life changes from year to year and over many years. I ran my first one in 1975, and currently do five of them each year!
Of course, if you already run a Route, wouldn't you like to take on another?!
