Module 5: Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa
Learn to count or estimate waterbirds in Africa with this training course toolkit. Understand when to count or estimate and how to make the decision.
Module 5: Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa
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Presentation Transcript
– Module 5 – Count or estimate? Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa – Training Course –
Authors Revised and designed in 2012 by: Nathalie Hecker nat.hecker@yahoo.fr Designed and written in 2001 by: Nathalie Hecker & Marc Lutz Photographs Steve Garviesgarvie@aol.com, www.pbase.com/rainbirder Illustrations Cyril Girard girardcyril3335@neuf.fr, www.cyrilgirard.fr Translation Rachel Wakehammoosekeeper77@hotmail.com This training course is one of the tools of : Hecker N., 2012. Identifying and Counting Waterbirds in Africa – A toolkit for trainers. ONCFS, Hirundo-FT2E. France
Presenting the Module • Technical explanations Indoor exercises
How to count waterbirds • Knowing how to count waterbirds is: • Knowing when to count and when to estimate • Knowing how to count a small group of birds • Knowing how to estimate a large group
Count or estimate? • Objectives of the Module • At the end of this Module you will be able to: • List the deciding factors between counting or estimating • Make a quick decision whether to count or estimate when faced with a given situation
Count or estimate? • Indoor exercise • Procedure: working alone or in groups • One trainee examines the scenario, describes what they see and chooses whether to count or estimate, and explains the decision • The decision is discussed with the other trainees
Count or estimate? • Indoor exercise • Summary of parameters and choice of method • Procedure: group work • Make a summary of the scenarios encountered • Present this summary as a table of “When to estimate? When to count?”
Count or estimate? • The main questions to be asked when deciding whether to count or estimate are: • What time is available for this census? • What is the approximate group size? • Is the group dense? • Are the birds moving around? • Could a possible or real disturbance disrupt the count? • Is the count site extensive? • Is visibility good?
How to count waterbirds? • Knowing how to count waterbirds is: • Knowing when to count and when to estimate • Knowing how to count a small group of birds • Knowing how to estimate a large group