Alaska Off-road Breeding
Bird SurveyAlaska Off-road Breeding
Bird Survey
The Alaska Off-road Breeding Bird Survey (ORBBS) was established in 1992 to determine the status and trends of landbird populations breeding in Alaska. The only program in place at that time was the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), a continental, road-based survey that is limited geographically in its coverage in Alaska because of the distribution of roads. Land managers needed a monitoring program that would encompass remote areas of Alaska not accessible by road. The primary goal of the Alaska ORBBS is to detect significant changes that occur in population sizes of landbirds breeding at northern latitudes. A second goal is to document patterns of breeding distribution in relation to habitat.
More than 150 ORBBS routes have been established across Alaska,
primarily on state or federally protected natural resource lands. Each route consists of
12 points, spaced at least 250 m apart across country or along a small existing trail.
Routes are surveyed once each summer by an observer who is familiar with the sight and
songs of birds in the area. At each point, the observer records the number of individuals
of every species, either heard or seen, during a five-minute period. Birds are counted out
to an unlimited distance, with birds detected within 50 m of the point denoted separately
for comparison with habitat data collected inside the 50-m circle. Counting usually begins
at sunrise but no earlier than 3:00 am. Surveys are conducted between 10 and 30 June
throughout most of the state but a few routes in southern parts of Alaska are surveyed in
early June. For more information contact:
Alaska Science Center - Biological Science Office