LoonWatch Surveys in Vermont, USA

Eric Hanson1, Eloise Girard1, Jason Loomis1, Rosalind Renfrew2

1 Vermont Center for Ecostudies, 20 Palmer Ct, 05001, White River Junction, United States; 2 Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, , United States

Corresponding author(s): Eric Hanson (ehanson@vtecostudies.org)Eloise Girard (egirard@vtecostudies.org)Jason Loomis (jloomis@vtecostudies.org)Rosalind Renfrew

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Hanson E, Girard E, Loomis J, Renfrew R (2024). LoonWatch Surveys in Vermont, USA. Version 1.13. Vermont Center for Ecostudies. Samplingevent dataset. https://ipt.vtatlasoflife.org/resource?r=loonwatch_surveys&v=1.13

Abstract

Vermont LoonWatch was initiated in 1983 to provide an annual, mid-summer estimate of the statewide Common Loon (Gavia immer) population. It is managed by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. On the third Saturday in July each year, volunteers survey assigned lakes, ponds, and reservoirs from 8:00 to 9:00 AM, recording the number of adult, subadult (1-2 year old loons), and loon chicks on the waterbody, as well as relevant human and wildlife activity. Observers on lakes larger than 300 acres were allowed a longer survey period. Data were recorded on standardized forms and returned to the VLRP biologist for summarization via standard mail or e-mail, or submitted to Vermont eBird.

Keywords: Samplingevent

Project details

Project title: Vermont LoonWatch
Personnel: Eric Hanson, Eloise Girard
Funding: LoonWatch is funded by a variety of sources, including state and federal grants, private donors, and wildlife restoration projects.
Study area descriptions/descriptor: LoonWatch is focused on the lakes, ponds and reservoirs of Vermont that are likely to harbor breeding loons. The specific water bodies surveyed each year vary slightly based on the availability of community scientists.
Design description: Vermont Loonwatch was initiated in 1983 to provide a mid-summer estimate of the statewide loon population. On the third Saturday in July each year, volunteers survey assigned lakes, ponds, and reservoirs from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m., recording the number of adult, subadult (1-2 year old loons), and loon chicks on the water body, as well as relevant human and wildlife activity. Observers on lakes larger than 300 acres were allowed a longer survey period. Data were recorded on standardized forms and returned to the VLRP biologist for summarization via standard mail or e-mail or submitted to Vermont eBird. The information has provided an annual statewide population estimate, an estimate of the number of non-breeding loons, and a check on lakes with previously undetected breeding pairs.

Data published through GBIF: https://ipt.vtatlasoflife.org/resource?r=loonwatch_surveys

Taxonomic coverage

General taxonomic coverage description: Common Loons on breeding grounds.
Taxonomic ranks
Species: Gavia immer
Common names: Common Loon

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: LoonWatch covers lakes, ponds, and other water bodies having suitable habitat for Common Loons in the State of Vermont.
Coordinates: 42°38'2.4''N and 45°4'26.4''N Latitude; 73°31'15.6''W and 71°24'39.6''W Longitude 

Temporal coverage: July 1, 1983 - July 17, 2023

Methods

Method step description: LoonWatch surveys are conducted using a standardized survey format, and are recorded on paper or entered into Vermont eBird. LoonWatch is a dedicated project on Vemont eBird, where a specific survey type was added - LoonWatch - to facilitate the recording of Common Loon survey observations. LoonWatch survey results are sent to project biologists who record those data for each water body surveyed with counts for each Common Loon life stage - adult, sub-adult, and chick. Surveys finding zero Common Loon inhabitants on a water body during a survey are recorded as absent. LoonWatch survey data are tallied and retained in spreadsheets by year, and those spreadsheets provide the source data for this resource.
Study extent description: LoonWatch is an annual census of breeding Common Loons that inhabit water bodies in the state of Vermont during breeding season.
Sampling description: The LoonWatch sampling protocol is to perform timed area-surveys of Vermont's known or potential Common Loon nesting habitats - water bodies having adequate takeoff and landing area, sufficient water depth, and minimal threats to nest-viability. Surveys are conducted on the third Saturday of July where lakes smaller than 300 acres are surveyed from the water for one hour between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. Lakes larger than 300 acres are surveyed from the water for 1-4 hours between 6:00 and 10:00 AM.

Timed observations are made by trained volunteers from shoreline or boats making transects to sample each water body. Observers record only the first observation of each specific individual, and make note of transient individuals without counting them. Observers record the time, location, and direction of movement of each counted individual or group of individuals.

The resulting tallies for each water body by life stage - adult, sub-adult, and chick - comprise the output of LoonWatch surveys.
Quality control description: The Vermont Loon Recovery Project biologist reviews the data each year.

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive LoonWatch Surveys in Vermont, USA
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ipt.vtatlasoflife.org/archive.do?r=loonwatch_surveys
Publication date of data: 2024-05-06
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2023-09-18
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
Vermont Loon Recovery Project - Annual reports https://vtecostudies.org/projects/lakes-ponds/common-loon-conservation/vermont-loon-conservation-project/results/