New Zealand Garden Bird Survey 2021

Occurrence
Latest version published by GBIF New Zealand on Oct 4, 2022 GBIF New Zealand
Publication date:
04 October 2022
Published by:
GBIF New Zealand
License:
CC-BY 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 58,214 records in English (3 MB) - Update frequency: not planned
Metadata as an EML file download in English (20 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (15 KB)

Description

This is the data from the 2021 New Zealand Garden Bird Survey (NZGBS), a citizen science project where participants count the maximum number of birds seen or heard in a survey area of their choice for one hour. The survey has been held annually since 2007 and runs for 9 days in late June/early July.

Note: this dataset contains additional variables using the measurement or fact extension (details about feeding birds (whether the observer feeds birds, the type of food fed, whether birds were fed in the survey area, whether birds were fed during the survey), whether there is a bird bath in the survey area, vegetation present in the survey area). These variables are visible when you view the details of a record. If you wish to use these variables you may need to download this dataset directly from our IPT installation.

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 58,214 records.

1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

Occurrence (core)
58214
MeasurementOrFacts 
349284

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

(2022): New Zealand Garden Bird Survey 2021. v1.6. GBIF New Zealand. Dataset/Occurrence. https://ipt.landcareresearch.co.nz/resource?r=nzbirdsurvey2021&v=1.6

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is GBIF New Zealand. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: d9c8c1cf-d652-419b-98e8-b66d7a81e524.  GBIF New Zealand publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF New Zealand.

Keywords

Occurrence; Occurrence; Observation

Contacts

New Zealand Garden Bird Survey
  • Originator
Citizen science project
Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research
76 Gerald Street
7608 Lincoln
NZ
Ella Hayman
  • Metadata Provider
  • Point Of Contact
Research Technician
Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research
76 Gerald Street
7608 Lincoln
NZ
Angela Brandt
  • Metadata Provider
  • Point Of Contact
  • Principal Investigator
Ecologist
Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research
764 Cumberland Street
9016 Dunedin
NZ
Aaron Wilton
  • Reviewer
Researcher
Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research
76 Gerald Street
7608 Lincoln
NZ
Eric Spurr
  • Originator
Research Associate
Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research
76 Gerald Street
7608 Lincoln
NZ
Catriona MacLeod
  • Author
Ecologist
Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research
764 Cumberland Street
9016 Dunedin
NZ

Geographic Coverage

Aotearoa - New Zealand: North and South Islands and Rakiura

Bounding Coordinates South West [-47.3, 166.4], North East [-34.38, 178.6]

Taxonomic Coverage

Birds observed in New Zealand.

Class Aves (Birds)

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 2021-06-26 / 2021-07-04

Project Data

The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey (NZGBS) was initiated in 2007 and involves participants recording the number and type of birds they see or hear in their gardens, schools or parks over a 1-hour time period. The survey occurs annually during 1 week in the austral winter (late June to early July). Participants upload their bird counts to an online form that records their observations against their geographical location. Participants also provide information about the area they have surveyed that could influence the species and abundances of birds they record. A subset of the data are analysed to estimate population changes of 14 bird species nationally and regionally, with results used to produce an annual State of Garden Birds report. The NZGBS is particularly effective at engaging diverse urban people in an authentic task that has multiple benefits, including providing a national valuable data set that can be used to inform environmental management and reporting.

Title New Zealand Garden Bird Survey 2021
Identifier 10DF1AEB-DF2D-4C25-8556-83D9E95E25E5
Funding Strategic Science Investment Fund, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Study Area Description Covering anywhere in New Zealand where a citizen observer chose to make observations.
Design Description A citizen science project that is run annually over one week (two weekends) in late June to early July. Participants record the maximum number of each species of bird observed (seen or heard) in a one-hour period. Participants are asked questions about survey location, survey area size, vegetation type in the survey area, whether the birds were fed during the survey (and what type of food), and whether there was a bird bath available.

The personnel involved in the project:

Martin Herran
  • Programmer
Margaret Watts
  • Programmer
Suzie Greenhalgh

Sampling Methods

Participants record the maximum count of each species observed (seen or heard) within a one-hour period. They are also asked a number of questions about the survey area including: a description of the survey area (categorical, single-value: urban garden|urban school|urban park|rural garden|rural school|rural park); the size of the survey area (categorical, single-value: up to 100 m2|100-200 m2|200-400m2|400-600 m2|more than 600 m2); the vegetation type/s in the survey area (categorical, multi-value: Lawn and low statured garden (lawn, flower and/or vege gardens)|Shrub (shrubs less than 5 m tall)|Tree (trees greater than 5 m tall)|Other (with a comment field)); a series of questions about whether they feed birds: 1) whether the observer feeds birds (checkbox: true or false), 2) type of food fed (bread|fat|fruit|seeds|sugar water|other foods with a comment field), 3) whether birds are fed in the survey area (checkbox: true or false), 4) whether food was available during survey (checkbox: true or false); and whether a bird bath is available in the survey area (checkbox: true or false). The online survey was undertaken with social ethics approval from the host organisation Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research (application New Zealand Garden Bird Survey 2021/38).

Study Extent The area surveyed is chosen by the citizen completing the survey. Participants are asked to choose a garden, park or school to complete the survey in. The type of area chosen is indicated in the data. Participants are asked to estimate the extent of the survey area and this is indicated in the data. Observations are undertaken in the survey area for one hour.
Quality Control Pictorial bird identification guides and tally sheets are provided via the NZGBS website to facilitate correct identification. Data are submitted via an online form. Date, time and location (obtained by participant entering the survey address into AddressFinder or clicking their location on a map in the form) are compulsory fields. The following are removed before the data are uploaded to GBIF: 1) true duplicates (i.e., entries that are completely identical to another entry), 2) entries completed by bots, 3) entries where the georeferences are outside the bounds of New Zealand as described in Geographic Coverage, and 4) records where no birds were recorded and the participant did not confirm, via tickbox or comment, that they observed no birds during that hour-long survey. Some entries in the uploaded data may appear identical but were submitted, for example, by different participants surveying the same location at the same time. Georeferences for surveys were deemed incorrect if the georeferences were within the bounds of New Zealand as described in Geographic Coverage but greater than 500 m from the coast of NZ. In these cases the georeferences have been given a georeferenceVerificationStatus of incorrect and the georeferences have been entered as verbatim georeferences. The data are not edited in any other way and represent the data as uploaded by each participant.

Method step description:

  1. Instructions for completing the survey: 1. Visit the NZ Garden Bird Survey website https://gardenbirdsurvey.nz/ to get started and download the tally sheets.  2. Select a garden, marae, or a local park or school grounds.   3. Choose any ONE day between 26 June and 4 July, 2021.   4. Look and listen for birds on that day for ONE hour.   5. For each species, record the HIGHEST number seen or heard at one time.   6. Submit the results online at the NZ Garden Bird Survey website - a link to the survey form will go live on the first day of the survey. New Zealand Garden Bird Survey website https://gardenbirdsurvey.nz/

Bibliographic Citations

  1. New Zealand Garden Bird Survey (2022): nzbirdsurvey2021. Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research. Dataset/Occurrence. https://ipt.landcareresearch.co.nz/resource?r=nzbirdsurvey2021

Additional Metadata

2021 State of New Zealand Garden Birds report: Hayman E, Brandt AJ, MacLeod CJ, Howard S, Gormley AM, Spurr EB. 2021. State of NZ Garden Birds 2021 | Te āhua o ngā manu o te kāri i Aotearoa. Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research, Lincoln. ISSN 2744-5267. Datastore site (previous and subsequent reports, other resources): https://datastore.landcareresearch.co.nz/organization/nz-garden-bird-survey

Purpose The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey (NZGBS) is a citizen science programme that surveys birds in urban and rural landscapes nationwide, engaging a wide range of New Zealanders since it began in 2007. As NZ’s longest-running annual survey of biodiversity at the national scale, these data can be used to detect changes in the distribution and abundance of bird species to inform environmental management and reporting, as well as support research programmes, at a variety of scales.
Maintenance Description This is the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey data collected in 2021. This won't be updated further. Surveys undertaken in other years are published as separate resources.
Alternative Identifiers d9c8c1cf-d652-419b-98e8-b66d7a81e524
https://ipt.landcareresearch.co.nz/resource?r=nzbirdsurvey2021