American Coots / Scott Kinsey / Great Backyard Bird Count
A PSSS Transition
We are thrilled to share that Puget Sound Bird Observatory (PSBO) has taken over the volunteer coordination and data collection activities for the PSSS. This means that the valuable longterm PSSS dataset will continue to grow into the future.
If you are interested in volunteering for the PSSS, please visit the PSBO website for more details.
What is PSSS?
The Puget Sound Seabird Survey (PSSS) is a community science program managed by Seattle Audubon that trained volunteer birdwatchers to gather valuable data on wintering seabird populations in Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and waters surrounding the San Juan Islands. Together, our team captured a snapshot of live seabird density on more than 5,400 acres of shoreline habitat. It is the only land-based, multi-month seabird survey in the Southern Salish Sea.
The data collection and volunteer coordination portions of the project have concluded, and resources will now focus on data analysis.
Data usage
All PSSS data can be accessed through the Asgard Data Marketplace. Here’s a preview.
During Seattle Audubon’s 2021-2022 PSSS survey season, a total of 216 volunteers conducted 1,043 surveys at 159 sites.
Now that data collection has concluded for PSSS, we intend to devote more attention to data analysis and sharing. While insights from the PSSS data have been shared for many years in the annual Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP) Marine Waters Report, and with a variety of organizations and individual researchers, there are many other possibilities. We have 14 years of data to dig into and we’re curious about the stories contained therein. Science drives Seattle Audubon’s conservation work, and staff and the Science Committee look forward to putting our energy into sharing the PSSS data more widely.
PSSS Protocol Training from Seattle Audubon on Vimeo.
Protocol
Using a ruler and a compass, surveyors gather data that allows scientists to estimate bird density through ‘distance sampling’. Simply counting the number of birds in a given location is a simpler approach, but it forces scientists to assume that all birds are detected by observers. In reality, detection of any species declines with the distance from the observer: poor sighting conditions, quality of observing equipment, and observer inexperience all contribute to declining detection likelihood as distance increases. Distance sampling provides a robust approach to estimating density and allow for calculation of less biased density estimates.
More about PSSS
Who
Beginning birders willing to commit to learning seabird identification, as well as intermediate and expert birders who are confident with their seabird ID skills.
What
All “seabird” species: geese, swans, diving and dabbling ducks, loons, grebes, cormorants, gulls, terns, murres, murrelets, Pigeon Guillemots, auklets and puffins. Because the presence of raptors can affect the distribution of seabirds, hawks, eagles and falcons are also recorded. Browse all seabird species here.
Where
The 170 survey sites are specific locations established by Seattle Audubon. Nearly all are located on publicly-accessible saltwater shoreline.
When
All surveys are synchronized to take place during a four hour window (determined by Seattle Audubon) on the first Saturday of the month, October through April. Each survey is 15-30 minutes in duration.
Past Media Coverage
- “Puget Sound’s winter seabirds: Are there more or are they just more dispersed?” Martha Baskin, PRX, 8 February 2018
- “Seabird numbers: A surprising trend“ Martha Baskin, Crosscut, 5 March 2015
- “‘Citizen science’ reveals positive news for Puget Sound seabirds” Northwest Fisheries Science Center, 20 January 2015
- “Seabirds make choices, revealing Puget Sound’s health” Christopher Dunagan, Kitsap Sun, 14 December 2013
Oil Spill Response Program
In 2018, Seattle Audubon established an oil spill “observe and report” response program to be implemented at PSSS sites. This program puts PSSS observers’ local knowledge and familiarity with birds and the PSSS protocols into action to provide additional information during the early stages of a catastrophic oil spill. We train all active volunteers to conduct oil presence surveys and ad-hoc PSS surveys in the event of an oil spill. To learn more about the program, please view our Oil Spill Response Manual and materials under the Toolkit.