Dr. Charles van Riper III
USGS Research Scientist and Professor 
USGS Southwest Biological Science Center Sonoran Desert

125 Biological Sciences East ~ University of Arizona ~Tucson, AZ 85721-125
(520) 626-7027 ~ (520) 670-5100 fax

Read More About Dr. van Riper  ~ Visit his Research Lab & Students

   Yellow - billed Cuckoo

Field Form I.  Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Survey and Detection Data

 

Site code ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Visit # _____ Date (mm/dd/yy): __________
                     | State |Drainage code| Site code |

Site Name:___________________________USGS Quad Name: _________________Scale (circle): 1:24000 1:62500
 

County: ______________________Management Unit or Owner: _____________________________________

Ownership (circle all that apply):1-BLM 2-BOR  4-NPS  3-USFS   5-NWR  6-Tribal  7-State 8-Private  9-Other_______

UTM Site Coordinates: Start:   ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨E ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨N

                                         Stop:     ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨E ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨N

Collect GPS data in Zone 12 (Arizona) or Zone 11 (California) using NAD 83

UTM Source (circle): 1 - PLGR 2 - post processed (YES___ NO___ ) 3 – generic 4 - Map Site elevation: ________ m

Length of area surveyed (sum segments): ___________ km Est. area of patches (total area surveyed):  ________ha

Start time: __________ Stop time: __________ Total hrs.: __________

UTM coordinates for individual patches within this site

# Stops     Patch          # Start coordinates                      Stop coordinates        YBCU?   Photo#'s
___1 ________E _________N ________E _________N ____  ____     ____

___2 ________E _________N ________E _________N ____  ____      ____

___3 ________E _________N ________E _________N ____  ____      ____

___4 ________E _________N ________E _________N ____  ____      ____

___5 ________E _________N ________E _________N ____  ____      ____

___6 ________E _________N ________E _________N ____  ____      ____ 

___7 ________E _________N ________E _________N ____  ____      ____

___8 ________E _________N ________E _________N ____  ____     ____

Distance Between patches (m)

1® 2 ______ 2® 3 ______ 3® 4 ______ 4® 5 ______ 5® 6 ______ 6® 7 ______ 7® 8 ______

Estimated area of patches (ha)

1 ________ 2 ________ 3 ________ 4 ________ 5 ________ 6 ________ 7 ________ 8 ________

Remember to take photographs of habitat in each patch and to attach a copy of the USGS quad section.

Site code ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Visit # _____ Date (mm/dd/yy): __________

YBCU detect #

 

 

Patch
#

Surveyor
use all three initials

Time
((24 hr)

Detect. type:
1-Casual:
A = aural
V = visual
B = both
2-Playback: A, V, or B

Vocaliz.
Type
1 - kowlp
2-knocker 3 - coo 4 - one note
5 -other
6 -none

Breeding

Status:
M-mated
S -single
U -unk.
N -nest
(saywhy
in notes)

Age:
A-adult
J-juven. U -unk.

Sex:
M-male
F-fem.
U-unk.
A, V, B

Note#

Detection UTM=s
(Where first detected)
Use GPS if possible.
If not, calculate from map.
1 . . . . . . . . . X             E
 
2 . . . . . . . . . X             E
 
3 . . . . . . . . . X             E
 
4 . . . . . . . . . X             E
 
5 . . . . . . . . . X             E
 
6 . . . . . . . . . X             E
 
7 . . . . . . . . . X             E
 
8 . . . . . . . . . X             E
 

Survey summary: # Adults_______ # juveniles_______ # territories_______ # pairs_______ # singles_______

Survey Team (names and 3 initials): _____________________________________________Date (mm/dd/yy): ________
 

Additional Bird Species Detected (use A.O.U. codes)

 
 
 

 

Site code ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Visit # _____ Date (mm/dd/yy): __________
 

Vegetation Characteristics: Overall, the species in the overstory and understory over the majority of the site are (check box):

¨ Native: > 75% ¨ Mixed: 51-75% native ¨ Mixed: 51-75% exotic ¨ Exotic: > 75%

For overstory and understory characteristics (below), dominant species are those representing a majority of the
sampled cover throughout the site. Codominant (2nd, 3rd, etc.) should also be ranked to reflect their relative
proportion over the entire site.  Substantive differences among patches within the site should be noted in comments,
below, or on the last page.

Overstory (rank dominant species for the site):¨Cottonwood¨ Sycamore ¨ Willow ¨ Mesquite ¨ Tamarisk ¨ Alder

   ¨ Other (s)________________________________________________________________________

 

Avg. Canopy Height (est. for site): ______ m Est. Canopy Cover (check box): ¨< 26% ¨26-50% ¨51-75%¨76-100%

 

Understory (rank dominant spp. for the site):¨Cottonwood¨ Willow ¨Mesquite ¨Tamarisk ¨Ash ¨Alder

¨Arrowweed ¨ Baccharis ¨ Other (s)__________________________________________________________

Avg. Understory Height (est. for site): _____ m Understory Cover (est.): ¨<10% ¨10-25% ¨26-50% ¨51-75%¨76-100%

Is surface water present within 300 m of this site? YES_____ NO _____ Is that true for all patches? YES_____ NO _____
Describe in comments the nature (type, size) of water (when present) and note differences among patches within the site.

Remember to describe in comments any substantive variation between patches. For example, the average canopy cover for
the site is 30%, but within Patch 3 it is 60%. Similarly, if other vegetation parameters show considerable variation it
should be noted. Document these differences with photographs whenever possible.  Be sure to reference comments to
appropriate photo #s and note #s.  Photos should provide both overviews and details of the habitat and, of course, any
YBCU locations.

Note # Comments (general, or specify note #): Photo #s
     
     
     

Data proofed by: ____________________________ Date (mm/dd/yy):_________ Affiliation:_________________________

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Database entry by: ___________________________ Date (mm/dd/yy):_________ Affiliation:_________________________

Site code ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Visit # _____ Date (mm/dd/yy): __________

Use the space below for site access directions, additional comments, notes, drawings of cuckoos, etc

Detailed Habitat Measurements

Canopy Height:

Point # Sum

1_______%slope x _______m = _______ Multiply the % slope (from observer to top of canopy) by

2_______%slope x _______m = _______ the distance to the tree (m).

3_______%slope x _______m = _______

4_______%slope x _______m = _______ Sum the individual canopy heights and find the mean.

5_______%slope x _______m = _______

6_______%slope x _______m = _______

7_______%slope x _______m = _______

8_______%slope x _______m = _______ Mean canopy height: _______ m

9_______%slope x _______m = _______

10_______%slope x _______m = _______

 

Canopy cover:

Point # Sum Avg./Pt.

1 _______quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____ Sum the % cover for each of

2 _______quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____ the four quads at each point.

3_______ quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____

4_______ quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____ Find the average canopy cover

5_______ quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____ for each point.

6_______ quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____

7_______ quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____ Sum the average values for

8_______ quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____ each point and find the mean

9_______ quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____ canopy cover.

10_______ quad 1 _______quad 2 _______quad 3 _______quad 4 = ____ ____

Mean canopy cover: ________%

                                  Understory density:_________no. Stems per sampling circle

                                                                                 _________no. Stems per sampling circle

_________no. Stems per sampling circle

_________no. Stems per sampling circle

Habitat measurement protocol:

 

 

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