BBIRD Field Protocols - Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit

Field Protocols

GENERAL WEATHER REPORTING
All cooperators should obtain daily and monthly weather data summaries from the NOAA weather station(s) nearest to their plots. In addition, a simple weather station should be set up near the plots. We need on-plot weather station(s) to determine if nearby NOAA weather stations are providing data generally representative of the study sites, and to document local weather deviations from NOAA sites. Use your own judgement in deciding on the number of weather stations you need to establish. One will probably be sufficient for most people but studies with widely dispersed plots may need more than one. For each weather station record the following:

STATE (State)

2 letter state code.

Field Protocol Menu
Program Overview
Where To Look
Methods
Data Sheets
Establishing Study Plots
Finding New Nests
Monitoring Nests
Summarizing Nest Fate
Describing Nests' Locations
Measuring Vegetation
Point Counts
Measuring Weather
References
Appendix of BBIRD Variables
General Protocol (PDF)
Grassland Protocol (PDF)

SITE (Site)

the study site's name.
PLOT (Plot)

the name of the individual plot for which meteorological information is being recorded. List as "ALL_PLOTS", if there is only a single weather record for the entire study site.
YEAR (Yr)

year as the 2 digit number.

The following data should be recorded at approximately noon on each day:

DATE (Date)

3 digit number, with month represented by the first digit, and day of the month as the last 2 digits.
MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE (MaxT_C)

maximum temperature in degrees Celsius for the previous 24 hours.
MINIMUM TEMPERATURE (MinT_C)

minimum temperature in degrees Celsius for the previous 24 hours.
PRECIPITATION (Rain_mm)

precipitation in mm of rain during the previous 24 hours.
WIND SPEED (Wind)

the Beaufort wind code at noon on Date.
SKY CONDITIONS (Sky)

the sky code at noon on Date.

Home Page

About BBIRD

Software

Field Protocols

Participants & Data Sites