2011 Upper Cumberland Region Foray in Van Buren County—Raw Data

In the first table below (Table 2) a summary of effort expended, overall results obtained, and the observers taking part in the 2011 Upper Cumberland Region (UCR) Foray in Van Buren County is provided.

    Many thanks are extended to the small group of birders who came together for three days to make the 2011 UCR Foray in Van Buren County a success in its primary objective: to monitor the breeding avifauna of the county in as complete a manner as possible.  All 33 blocks into which the county was divided received minimal or greater coverage.  To see a map (Figure 4) of Van Buren County displaying the total number of species found in each block, click on the following link:

• Total Species Found in Blocks during the 2011 UCR Foray in Van Buren County

Table 2. Summary of dates, observation time, total species observed, and observers in blocks for the Van Buren County Foray.

* A block not lying completely in Van Buren County (accounting for 13 of the 33 blocks into which Van Buren County was divided for the foray).

** Key to Observer Initials: BHS--Barbara H. Stedman; EKL--Edmund K. LeGrand; SJS--Stephen J. Stedman.

    The raw data from the 2011 UCR Foray in Van Buren  County are provided below (Table 3) in the event that readers may wish to explore or even to analyze the data for themselves.  The only summarizing data provided below are for the total number of individuals counted for each species and the total number of blocks in which the species was recorded, either during a counting period or during some other time during the foray. The map for each species (accessible via links at the names of the species in the table at the Central Node for Van Buren County) indicates the various blocks in which that species was recorded either in terms of an abundance color code (yellow for few individuals counted; light rufous for a slightly greater value; rufous for a still greater value; dark rufous for still greater value; and red and/or magenta for the highest values) derived from data collected during counting periods (see next paragraph) or in terms of a presence color code (gray).

    In the tables below, a "P" (= Present) indicates a block where the species was observed but not during the appropriate counting period, as described in the remainder of this paragraph.  The numerical data in the tables below refer to individuals counted during the Counting Period, a 2-hour or 3-hour period of time during which all individuals of all species were counted within one block (the period was 2 hours if it was initiated prior to 0930 CDT/1030 EDT; it was 3 hours if initiated after 0930 CDT/1030 EDT).  If the Counting Period is less than 2 or 3 hours, then the block in question was less than a full block and an effort was made to cover it with a Counting Period that was proportional to the amount of the block lying in Van Buren County (i.e., if half the block is in the county, then the Counting Period was half as long as required, etc.; in Table 1 [above] blocks not entirely within Van Buren County are designated by an asterisk).  Numerical data for American Woodcock, all owls, and all goatsuckers refer to individuals counted during the Night Counting Period, a period of 15–30 min conducted before dawn or after dusk, in 17 of the 33 blocks within the county; data from the Night Counting Periods are less robust than data from the Counting Periods.  To see a map (Figure 5) of Van Buren County showing the blocks where Night Counting Periods were conducted, click on the following link:

• Blocks in which a Night Counting Period Was Conducted during the 2011 UCR Foray in Van Buren County, TN

    Note: Using data from the counting periods to represent the abundance of species found in the county is probably somewhat less statistically defensible than using data from point counts conducted following a standard protocol.  Thus, some degree of caution needs to be exercised in making assertions about the abundance of species in Van Buren County based on this method of obtaining abundance data.  Nonetheless, the abundance data resulting from this simplified protocol seem to be fairly consistent with known abundances for most species breeding in the Upper Cumberland Region and with results from surveys conducted using a standard protocol.

Tables 3.  Raw data collected for 107 breeding species and 1 transient species during the 2011 UCR Foray in Van Buren County. P = Present in Block but not Recorded during a Counting Period; an alpha code (1) in italics refers to a transient species.

** Numerical data reflect results of 16 Night Counting Periods.

** Numerical data reflect results of 16 Night Counting Periods.

** Numerical data reflect results of 16 Night Counting Periods.