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Welcome to NatureCounts!
The goal of this web
site, 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:
- 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.
- project
coordinators will be able to manage individual datasets (eg, upload or download
data, manage volunteers, control accessibility options, etc.).
- 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.
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Bird population trends
Seasonal bar charts
Download data
Bird Studies Canada is the Birdlife International co-partner in Canada.
 The Avian Knowledge Network is supported by the National Science Foundation
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