Interactive Website
(data entry)

Toolkit

Available
Survey Sites

Data Analysis
(2010-2011 summary)

Birds of PSSS

What is PSSS?

Puget Sound Seabird Survey (PSSS) is a citizen-science survey organized by Seattle Audubon that empowers volunteer birdwatchers to gather valuable data on wintering seabird populations in Puget Sound.  Together, our team creates a snapshot of seabird density on more than 2,300 acres of nearshore saltwater habitat. It is the only land-based, multi-month survey in central or south Puget Sound.

Learn more about PSSS:          Overview         History/Objectives        Funders

For the 2011-12
PSSS Season

December 3, 2011 Survey Summary:

PSSS volunteers found 40 species and counted 2,302 birds during the December survey. The most exciting bird during the December survey was a single ANCIENT MURRELET at Carkeek Park: only the second sighting for PSSS! Carkeek also produced two of the 22 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS reported (7 at Golden Gardens, 6 at Gig Harbor Spit). A total of 25 PIGEON GUILLEMOTS (6 at Titlow Beach, 5 at Pier 57), 64 COMMON MURRES (62 at Point No Point, singles birds at West Point South and Edmonds North), and 4 MARBLED MURRELETS (pairs at Brown's Point and Howarth State Park) made for a five alcid month: a PSSS first! In the waterfowl category, a high number of 12 BLACK SCOTERS (7 at Saltwater State Park and 5 at West Point South) were seen. Not wanting to be overlooked, an outstanding 84 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS (63 at The Cove) and 610 SURF SCOTERS - the most numerous species in December - were also reported. Slightly out of season, 8 BRANT were tallied at Golden Gardens.

• Most Species (three way tie at 13 species):
  Golden Gardens / Three Tree Point / Carkeek Park
• Busiest Site: Steve Elston and Judd Scoville at The Cove (29 entries).
• Most Birds: The Cove (314 birds).

NEXT SURVEY WINDOW:

February 4, 2012
(11:33am – 3:33pm)

What is PSSS?

WHO

Citizen scientists, i.e. beginning to expert birdwatchers!

WHERE

Survey sites are specific locations established by Seattle Audubon. Nearly all are located on publicly-accessible saltwater shoreline.

See a map of available survey sites here or see all active sites on an interactive map.

WHEN

All surveys are synchronized to take place during a four hour window (determined by Seattle Audubon) on the first Saturday of the month, October through April. Each survey is 15-30 minutes.

Read the current PSSS schedule here.

WHAT

All "seabird" species: geese, swans, diving and dabbling ducks, loons, grebes, cormorants, gulls, terns, murres, murrelets, Pigeon Guillemots, auklets and puffins. Because the presence of raptors can affect the distribution of seabirds, hawks, eagles and falcons are also recorded.

Browse all seabird species here.

PROTOCOL

Using a ruler and a compass, surveyors gathers data that allows scientists to estimate bird density through 'distance sampling?. Simply counting the number of birds in a given location is a simpler approach, but it forces scientists to assume that all birds are detected by observers. In reality, detection of any species declines with the distance from the observer: poor sighting conditions, quality of observing equipment, and observer inexperience all contribute to declining detection likelihood as distance increases. Distance sampling provides a robust approach to estimating density and allow for calculation of less biased density estimates.

Learn more about the PSSS protocol here.

Major Funding For PSSS Provided By: