WASA Volunteer Shorebird Scanning Report Form
Instructions

This form is for volunteers and others wishing to have a simple, easy to use form for gathering information on observations. It is intended to assist volunteers by structuring data gathering while in the field.

Observer	Primary observer and contact person for verification of data.
Additional Observers:	Other observers present
Telephone, etc	Primary observer's contact information
Location of Observation	Location of observation
Date:	Date in YYYYMMDD format, example: 20000512 for May 12, 2000
Time:	Time using 24 hour format, example: 1423 for 2:23 PM
Flock Information	Total flock size, species identified, percent of flock that species represents, estimated number of individuals of that species . Observers may wish to estimate either % or number initially and then calculate the remaining information later. Example:

Example	Flock size: 2,000
	Species Identified: Red Knots	75% 1,500
	Ruddy Turnstones	25% 500

Scan Information	Scanning is the process or technique of sub-sampling portions of a large flock to check carefully for banded birds. The information can be used to help determine population size and trends. Several scans may be done on a single large flock. The information that needs to be collected for each "scan observation" is:
	The number of individuals checked for bands, by species The band combinations and how many birds had that combination
	It is as important to report scans that resulted in no banded birds as it is to report scans that did have banded birds. The Continuation Sheet can be used when multiple scans are made of a large flock, to save time and paper. Be sure to fill in the header so that it can be identified to the location and contact information.
Scan #	a unique, observer assigned, number representing a specific scan observation.
Species & #	how many of individuals were checked during a specific scan, by species
Band Comb.:	band combinations seen. The observer also needs to note how many birds had that particular combination, either by repeating the combination on the next line for each bird, or by writing in the number of birds in the space to the right.

Worked Example: Continuing the above example, three scans were made.

Scan#: 1

Species: Red Knot	#: 45	# with Bands: 0
Species: Turnstone	#: 12	# with Bands: 0
	(L Tibia, L Tarsus : R Tibia, R Tarsus)
Band Combinations:	______ , ______ : ______ , ______	# birds: ___

Scan#: 2

Species: Red Knot	#: 250	# with Bands: 1
	(L Tibia, L Tarsus : R Tibia, R Tarsus)
Band Combinations:	Fo , W : M , Y	# birds: 1

Scan#: 3

Species: Red Knot	#: 125	# with Bands: 3
	(L Tibia, L Tarsus : R Tibia, R Tarsus)
Band Combinations:	Fo , W : M , Y	# birds: 2
	Fg, Y : M, Y	# birds: 1

Species: Turnstone

#: 67

# with Bands: 0