Jervis Bay Booderee National Park Plot Network: Bird Count Survey Data, Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay Territory, 2012-2017

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Abstract: This bird count data package comprises repeated time-controlled point interval counts conducted annually along a permanent 100 metre-long transect between 2012 and 2017. The abundance of species observed or heard is recorded, and counts are not undertaken in poor weather (rain, fog or high wind). Two five-minute counts are conducted at each site, one at the 20 m mark and the other at 80 m mark of the transect. All birds seen or heard are recorded and assigned to different distance classes. Each site is surveyed on a different day by a different observer to reduce day effects on detection and reduce problems with observer differences. Surveys are usually completed around late September each year. Bird count surveys commenced in 2003 and have been conducted since on an annual basis, with the exception of 2008 when there was no survey. The Jervis Bay Plot Network was established in 2002 in Booderee National Park in the Jervis Bay Territory, south-eastern Australia. The study location is a floristically diverse area in which fire history has been well-documented over several decades. The plot network’s objectives involve quantifying the inter-relationships between natural disturbance and/or management intervention (including weed and feral animal control and prescribed burning) and the reciprocal changes in vegetation condition and biodiversity response. This particular study forms part of the collection of data packages from the Jervis Bay Plot Network. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Jervis Bay Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c3c070a5ee94 Sampling method: Since March 2007, surveying has taken place at a total of 130 sites. These include the original 110 permanent sites in the study at Booderee National Park, as first delineated in 2002, using two stratifying variables: (1) broad vegetation type (heathland, forest, woodland, etc.); and (2) past fire history – classified into four classes of time since the last fire (0-10 years, 11-20 years, 21-30 years and >30 years). Also included since March 2007 are 20 extra sites, set up as part of the “Bitou experiment”. Study extent: Each site is surveyed on a different day by a different observer to reduce day effects on detection and reduce problems with observer differences. Surveys are usually completed around late September each year. Project funding: Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of, and funded through the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) a facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.e>