Welcome to NatureCounts

The goal of this website, managed by Bird Studies Canada, is to facilitate the collection, management, analysis and sharing of natural inventory and monitoring data, with a particular focus on birds and other vertebrates such as amphibians, reptiles and bats.

NatureCounts is also the first Canadian node of the Avian Knowledge Network, a group dedicated to the understanding of the patterns and dynamics of bird populations across the Western Hemisphere.

Through NatureCounts:

1. participants in the surveys managed by Bird Studies Canada and its partners will be able to enter and review their data online. Several of the surveys coordinated by Bird Studies Canada will gradually be available on this site, including for example the Marsh Monitoring Program and the Nocturnal Owl Surveys in various provinces.
   
2. project coordinators will be able to manage individual datasets (eg, upload or download data, manage volunteers, control accessibility options, etc.).
   
3. visitors will be able to access raw data from the various surveys (when permitted), using standard formats of the Avian Knowledge Network, and to use mapping, summary and analysis tools. Download tools for accessing raw data are expected for the fall of 2008, whereas reporting tools are still in development.

Each project in NatureCounts is managed independently through customized options, in consultation with the various partners involved in each project. For instance, NatureCounts offers customizable data entry forms that can be easily adapted to most biological survey protocols. While BSC strongly supports the notion that data should be as widely available as possible to support conservation, scientific and outreach initiatives, we also recognize the need to provide appropriate controls, customized to each project.

NatureCounts, officially launched in January 2008, is still in development. We therefore expect that new features and projects will be regularly added in the coming years. If you are interested in contributing as a volunteer surveyor, you can view the list of projects currently hosted on NatureCounts. You should note that some projects are open to public participation, while others are subject to various conditions determined by each project coordinator.

If you are a project coordinator who would like to use NatureCounts for your own project, we would also like to hear from you. You should note that the NatureCounts database can host data from most standard biological survey protocols.