Abstract:

This report contains breeding shorebird observation data, and provides additional context for the posted dataset, including information about the collection, analysis, and organization of the data. Characteristics of this dataset include the following: • The breeding shorebird data focus primarily on Wilson’s plovers, snowy plovers, and American oystercatchers, as well as other breeding shorebirds in the project area. • This dataset includes data initially collected independently by Trustees. • Before posting, extensive work was done independently by BP contractors to verify some aspects of the posted data (e.g., positional coordinates and field data). Data were collected by shore-based observers working in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas in the summer of 2010 and again in the summer of 2011. The data were collected independently by the Trustees under the work plan titled Gulf Coast Breeding, Beach-Nesting Bird Populations in Areas Impacted by the BP Deepwater Horizon / Mississippi Canyon 252 Oil Spill: Bird Study No. 8, including the associated 2011 addendum. This dataset includes data associated with breeding shorebird site conditions, live bird counts, and assessments to categorize the degree of visible oil on live birds. Each observed bird was categorized as not visibly oiled or as having trace (≤5 percent), light (6 to 20 percent), moderate (21 to 40 percent), or heavy (>40 percent) oiling. Photographs of birds were taken where possible. The methods used to collect live bird visible oiling data were similar to those that guided the collection of data associated with the Live Bird Oiling Data Publication Summary Report (Reference No. B-01v01-02). Sampling variations may exist across observers, methods, locations, and times.

Suggested Citation:

BP Gulf Science Data. 2016. Breeding shorebird observation data including degree of oiling for shorebirds in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas, 2010-2011. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7QZ28CK

Purpose:

The purpose is to provide data for an assessment of the degree of oiling and impact to shorebird population as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment. These data were collected by BP to help guide cleanup operations under the direction of the U.S. Coast Guard and to support the Natural Resource Damage Assessment efforts by federal and state agencies and BP to evaluate potential injury to natural resources in the Gulf. The data and supplemental information are being made available to the public in a format that will facilitate the use of the data for research and other studies. GRIIDC is making these data available following the shutdown of the Gulf Science Data Portal. This will ensure that the data are available and searchable through GRIIDC data discovery.

Data Parameters and Units:

Data Publication Date = Date associated with the current data posting date (M/D/YYYY); Age = Estimate of bird(s) age class; AMOY = Number of American oystercatcher pairs observed; Artificial = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); Back Beach = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); Bay/lagoon/intercoastal/bayou = Indicates if the bays, lagoons, the intercoastal waterway or bayous are associated with the site (True=yes, False=No); Beach Raking Latitude End = Latitude at end of beach racking (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Beach Raking Latitude Start = Latitude when beach raking began (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Beach Raking Longitude End = Longitude at end of beach raking (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Beach Raking Longitude Start = Longitude at beginning of beach raking (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Beach Raking Note = Comments on beach raking observed; Behavior = Documents the behavior of the bird(s) when it was observed, as recorded on datasheets; Bird Count = Count of the number of birds observed; BKSK = Number of black skimmer pairs observed; CATE = Number of Caspian terns observed; COTE = Number of common terns observed; County = County in which the site is located; Data Publication Reference = A general description of data provided in the data posting and a version control number; Debilitated = Indication of whether bird(s) seemed debilitated during observation; Development Impact = Description of development and level of development at site; Distance = Estimated distance from observer to bird(s) (raw values, m = meters); Distance Unit = Units of the estimated distance from observer to bird(s). (meters or not specified-NS); Driving Latitude End = Latitude for the end of vehicle disturbance (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Driving Latitude Start = Latitude for the start of vehicle disturbance (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Driving Longitude End = Longitude for the end of vehicle disturbance (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Driving Longitude Start = Longitude for the start of vehicle disturbance (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Driving Note = Comments on observed disturbance from vehicles ; Duration = The duration of the survey, calculated by determining the difference between the start and end times (H:MM); End Time = The time at which the survey was completed (H:MM military time); Field Data Verification Status = Summary of the data verification process status described in Appendix B. Valid entries - Not started, Underway, and Complete; Flight Dir = Direction in which the bird was flying when observed. Numerical values represent degrees; FOTE = Number of Forster’s terns observed; Front Beach = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); GBTE = Number of gull-billed tern observed; Geographic Area = This field describes identification codes for the geographic area in which the survey was conducted, based on survey coordinates or location provided on the datasheets; Group Number = NBSB Only: Code to group sets of bird observations together on the datasheet; Gulf = Indicates if the Gulf of Mexico associated with the site (True=yes, False=No); Inlet = Indicates if an inlet is associated with the site (True=yes, False=No); Interdune = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); Intertidal = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); Latitude End = The latitude of the survey end location, reported in decimal degrees (WGS84); Latitude Obs = Latitude of the bird observation, recorded in decimal degrees (WGS84); Latitude Start = The latitude of the survey start location, reported in decimal degrees (WGS84); LETE = Number of least tern pairs observed; Longitude End = The longitude of the survey end location, reported in decimal degrees (WGS84); Longitude Obs = Longitude of the bird observation, recorded in decimal degrees (WGS84); Longitude Start = The longitude of the survey start location, reported in decimal degrees (WGS84); Marsh = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); Mode = The mode of transportation used for the survey. Modes include ATV, Boat, Land, Foot, Vessel, or Truck.; Notes Obs = General field notes on the bird observation.; Obs ID = This identifier is unique to each record in the live bird oiling rate observation table; Obs Time = Time of observation (H:MM military time); Observer Ct = A count of the number of observers on the field survey team; Obsn Ht in Meters = Pelagic Surveys Only: Height (m) of the observation platform over the water during surveys; Oil Clean Latitude End = Latitude where oil cleanup activities ended (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Oil Clean Latitude Start = Latitude where oil cleanup actives started (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Oil Clean Longitude End = Longitude where oil cleanup activities ended (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Oil Clean Longitude Start = Longitude where oil cleanup activities started (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Oil Cleanup Note = Comments on the observed oil cleanup; Oil Impact Latitude End = Latitude where the oil impact ended (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Oil Impact Latitude Start = Latitude where oil first impacted site (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Oil Impact Longitude End = Longitude where the oil impact ended (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Oil Impact Longitude Start = Longitude where oil first impacted site (decimal degrees, datum WGS84); Oil Impact Note = Comments on the observed oil impact; Oiling = Observation of the level of visible oiling of the bird(s) observed; Optics = A description of the optical equipment, such as binoculars or spotting scopes, used by the field team; Other Habitat = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); Other Waterbody = Identifies other waterbodies that may be associated with the site; Ownership = Statement on who owns the survey segment; federal, state or private; Pair Number = The number of pairs counted by species for an observation; PIPL = Number of piping plover pairs observed; Rivermouth = Indicates if a mouth of a river is associated with the site (True=yes, False=No); ROTE = Number of royal terns observed; Salt Panne = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); SATE = Number of sandwich terns observed; Sheet ID = Uniquely identifies each assessment form completed under the Breeding Shorebird study; Side Obs = Pelagic Surveys Only: Side of vessel where observation was made. Numeric values contained in this field are assumed to represent the circumference degrees for which observations were made. Where a symbol for degrees was used, it was replaced with the word “degrees.”; Site Description = General description of the geographic area to be survey, may be in the form of a letter code; Site Length = Approximate length of survey segment (mi, km); Site Name = Division or Segment name ; SNPL = Number of snowy plover pairs observed; SOTE = Number of sooty terns observed; Species = Description of species observed, 4-letter alpha codes; Speed MPH = Pelagic Surveys Only: Speed of vessel travel during transect surveys; Start Time = The time at which the survey began (H:MM military time); State = State in which the site is located; Study Code = Three letter code designation for the study. Codes are associated with each Study Reference number; Study Name = Title of the breeding shorebird study; Study Reference Number = Study reference number (SRN) assigned by BP to provide a link between the data provided in the data file and the associated work plans and study descriptions ; Study Team Type = Each survey was conducted by a cooperative, trustee-independent, or BP-independent team; Study Type = Studies are designated as either cooperative or independent; Survey Date = The date on which the survey was conducted (M/D/YYYY); Survey ID = Study code and a 3- or 4-digit number to uniquely identify each survey record. This identifier is part of the primary key of this table; Survey Location ID = This field contains a description of the survey location (descriptions may include geographical areas or transect names); Survey Notes = General field notes from the survey forms; Survey Type = Surveys were conducted either along transects or as point counts from a fixed location; Team ID = Uniquely identifies each assessment team conducitng the Breeding Shorebird study; Tide = Observation of tide conditions during the survey; Transect Width or Area = The width of the survey transect, in meters; Transect Width or Area Units = Units for the transect width or area measured; Vegetation Substrates = Description of the vegetation and ground at survey site; Visibility in Miles = An observation of the visibility during the survey, in miles; Washover = Available or possible breeding habitat found at site (True=yes, False=No); Weather = Observation of weather conditions during the survey; Wind Direction End = Observation of wind direction at the end of the survey (no values reported); Wind Direction Start = Observation of wind direction at the start of the survey; Wind Speed = Observation of wind speed during the survey (no values reported); WIPL = Number of Wilson's plover pairs observed

Individual Files: