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Information on the
Canadian Bird Checklist Program

Les oiseaux du Québec
Birds of Québec

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Canadian Checklist
Liste annotée

This information is based mainly on the Quebec checklist program, the longest standing such project anywhere. Our aim is to promote such projects elsewhere, because of the success it have had here. For further information, contact

ÉPOQ field checklist

The ÉPOQ field checklist is printed on a foldable paper form containing the over 300 species commonly seen in Québec throughout the year. Checklists are distributed widely throughout the Province and are free to all observers. The checklist itself is simple; it fit into a field guide when folded once. During a field trip, volunteer observers report the total count (or its closest estimate) of all bird species seen or heard at any one locality or area. Localities are coded to the nearest minute of latitude and longitude. No restrictions are imposed on the observers as to when and where to go, how long to stay, or how often any site is visited. Coding on the back of the checklist ease the data entry into the computer. Most information falls into the following broad categories: observer(s), date, time of day and duration, georeferenced location, species numbers, number of birds per species observed. Other informations could be added such as observer(s) level of skill, habitats visited, observation technique used, and weather information.

The Canadian checklist program is an endeavour to overcome some of the above problem and use the internet capabilities to have the data entered by the observers. Furthermore, the program that was once limited to Quebec is now extended to all regions of Canada, on a province and territory basis. From one single internet address, the observer have access to his region of observation with a unique list of species for that region. Data from the Canadian checklist program would be available to anyone wanting access to them upon request.

The ÉPOQ Program : historical background

In 1948 Brother Victor Gaboriault began a collaborative program for collecting bird sightings in Quebec using field checklists (David 1978). Checklists contained information on the numbers, age, sex, and status of the species seen by participants during bird watching trips. By 1951 his system had gathered enough information to publish a survey of birds of the Montreal and Québec regions, summarizing information on 231 species (David 1978).

After passing away at the early age of 43, his program was revitalized with the formation of Le Club des Ornithologues de Québec in 1955. The members compiled the data from checklists, and season bulletin. Starting in 1975, all data are entered into computer files under Jacques Larivée's guidance. Checklists are compiled by local bird clubs and entered by one of its members using a stand-alone software package developed by Larivée (Larivée et al. 1987). The central ÉPOQ database currently contains over 3 million species records from 250,000+ checklists, and 3,900+ localities (defined to the nearest minute of latitude and longitude). New checklists are compiled at a rate of around 12,000 per year.

Uses of Checklist programs

The data can be extracted for any species or group of species, time period (hours, weeks, month, years) or area (local sites or a whole province). Current ÉPOQ products include seasonal reports in all regions of Québec, development of a graphics and interactive package for the data set (Larivée et al. 1987), regional species accounts (Fortin et al. 1978, David 1980, 1996, Larivée 1990, 1993, Fradette 1992), birding site guides (Lepage 1993, Otis et al. 1993), a unique seasonal atlas covering 303 species (Cyr and Larivée 1995), a report on the status and trends of neotropical migrants (Cyr and Larivée 1993), reports on endangered species (Robert 1989) miscellaneous research papers including comparisons with other data sets (Cyr and Larivée 1980, Dunn et al. 1996), and many technical reports for various government agencies or private firms.

Other studies include population and community changes, phenological charts, geographic analyses of abundance, and the estimation of species richness (Cyr 1995). Field checklists provide an excellent means of documenting the phenology of species occurrence within a region. Numerous studies of the timing of bird migration, and changes in abundance are based on nothing more than checklists ( Cyr and Larivée 1995, Glassberg 1994, Larivée 1993, Lepage 1993, Otis et al. 1993, Temple 1987, David 1980). The compilation of phenological information identifies the peaks, plateaus, and valleys of abundance, creating the context for more intensive monitoring programs.

David (1980, 1996) used ÉPOQ checklist data to quantify the yearly status of all species occurring in the province (relative rate of detections on checklists). Changes in behavioral patterns and differences in detectability can also be observed from the NOTES recorded at the end of the checklist. Checklists can be used to map local and regional patterns of species' relative abundance (Cyr and Larivée, 1995). Associations between climatic variables and species patterns are clear in ÉPOQ data. Under some circumstances it is valid to use checklists to calculate population trends. Comparison among Breeding Bird Survey, Christmas Bird Counts and ÉPOQ have been made (Cyr and Larivée 1993, 1995, Dunn and Hussell 1995, Dunn et al. 1996).

References

  • Cyr, A. 1995. Répartition de la biodiversité des oiseaux du Québec méridional. Pp. 44-52 In : Cyr, A. et J. Larivée. Atlas saisonnier des oiseaux du Québec. Presses de l'Université de Sherbrooke et Société de Loisir Ornithologique de l'Estrie, Sherbrooke, Québec. 711 pages.
  • Cyr, A. et J. Larivée. 1980. Significance of data collected on birds in Québec, Canada, by non standardized methods. Pp. 55-65 In : Oelke, H. (éd.) Bird census work and nature conservation. Proc. VI Conf. Bird Census and Atlas Work, Géttingen.
  • Cyr, A. et J. Larivée. 1993. A checklist approach for monitoring neotropical migrant birds: twenty year trends in birds of Québec using éPOQ. Pp. 229-236. In : D. M. Finch et P. W. Stangel, eds. Status and management of neotropical migrating birds, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, Colorado. General Technical Report RM-229 : 229-236.
  • Cyr, A. et J. Larivée. 1995. Atlas saisonnier des oiseaux du Québec. Presses de l'Université de Sherbrooke et Société de Loisir Ornithologique de l'Estrie, Sherbrooke, Québec. 711 pages.
  • David, N. 1978. Victor Gaboriault, ornithologue.Cahiers d'ornithologie Victor Gaboriault, no. 1. Club des ornithologues du Québec, Québec.
  • David, N. 1980. Etat et distribution des oiseaux du Québec méridional.Cahiers d'ornithologie Victor Gaboriault, no. 3. Club des ornithologues du Québec, Québec.
  • David, N. 1996. Liste commentée des oiseaux du Québec. Association québécoise des groupes d'ornithologues, Montréal.
  • Dunn, E. H. and Hussell, D. J. T. 1995. Using Migration Counts to Monitor Landbird Populations: Review and evaluation of Current Status. In: Power, D. M., Editor. Current Ornithology. New York, New York: Plenum Press; pp. 43-88.
  • Dunn, E. H., J. Larivée, and A. Cyr. 1996. Can Checklist Programs be Used to Monitor Populations of Birds Recorded During the Migration Season? Wilson Bulletin (in press).
  • Fortin, L., J.-P. Savard et C. Aubert. 1978. étude des populations d'oiseaux de la région de Québec. Cahiers d'ornithologie Victor Gaboriault, no. 2. Club des ornithologues du Québec, Québec.
  • Fradette, P. 1992. Les oiseaux des Iles-de-la-Madeleine. Attention Fra'Iles, Mouvement pour la valorisation du patrimoine naturel des Iles. L'Etang-du-Nord, Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Québec.
  • Glassberg, J. 1993. Butterflies Through Binoculars : A Field Guide to Butterflies in the Boston New York Washington Region. Oxford University Press, U.K.
  • Larivée, J. 1990. Liste annotée des oiseau du Bas-Saint-Laurent au 31 juillet 1989. Club des ornithologues du Bas-Saint-Laurent, Pointe-au-Pere, Québec.
  • Larivée, J. 1993. Chronobiologie des oiseaux du Bas-Saint-Laurent. Migration et reproduction. Club des ornithologues du Bas-Saint-Laurent, Pointe-au-Pere, Québec.
  • Larivée, J., R. Lavoie et M. Lévesque. 1987. Le systéme de gestion des données ornithologiques. Guide le l'usager. Publication privée, Rimouski.
  • Lepage, D. 1993. L'observation des oiseaux en Estrie : les meilleurs sites, les périodes favorables. Société de loisir ornithologique de l'Estrie, Sherbrooke, Québec.
  • Otis, P., L. Messely et D. Talbot. 1993. Guide des sites ornithologiques de la grande région du Québec. Club des ornithologues du Québec, Québec.
  • Robert, M. 1989. Les oiseaux menacés du Québec. Association québécoise des groupes d'ornithologues et Service canadien de la faune (région du Québec), Québec.
  • Temple, Stanley A. and Cary, John R. Wisconsin Birds A Seasonal and Geographical Guide. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press; 1987; p. 364.

    This text is adapted from different sources among which S. Droege, A. Cyr, and J. Larivée. Checklists: An under-used tool for the inventory and monitoring of plants and animals (submitted to Conservation Biology)