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David Ziolkowski Jr.

Dave is a Wildlife Biologist at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center where he serves as the program ornithologist for the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). 

He has been actively involved in wildlife research for over 30 years, both in the U.S. and abroad, and has worked on myriad topics spanning the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, biogeography, toxicology, and population monitoring.  He works to strengthen coordination and management of the scientifically rigorous, citizen-science based BBS, including building research and multi-level inter-agency partnerships, strategic planning, project management of web-enabled database applications, and quality engagement with thousands of highly-skilled volunteer observers.  He has an MSc in Biology (2003) from University of Missouri, St. Louis and a BS in Biology from Towson University. (Last updated Oct, 2019)

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Net change in occupancy probability for CARW 1972-2012

Spatio-Temporal Statistical Models for Forecasting Climate Change Effects on Bird Distribution

Ecological indicators of climate change are needed to measure concurrent changes in ecological systems, inform management decisions, and forecast the consequences of climate change. We seek to develop robust bird-based, climate-change indicators using North American Breeding Bird Survey data.
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Ecosystems, Status and Trends Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Spatio-Temporal Statistical Models for Forecasting Climate Change Effects on Bird Distribution

Ecological indicators of climate change are needed to measure concurrent changes in ecological systems, inform management decisions, and forecast the consequences of climate change. We seek to develop robust bird-based, climate-change indicators using North American Breeding Bird Survey data.
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Shrike BBS Trend Map

Comprehensive 1966 - 2017 Results! North American Breeding Bird Survey

The North American Breeding Bird Survey program (BBS) provides critical science-based population data for more than 400 bird species to improve our understanding of how these federally entrusted species respond to environmental variability and ecosystem change. The BBS generates results that inform Federal wildlife managers in the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, Department of...
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Comprehensive 1966 - 2017 Results! North American Breeding Bird Survey

The North American Breeding Bird Survey program (BBS) provides critical science-based population data for more than 400 bird species to improve our understanding of how these federally entrusted species respond to environmental variability and ecosystem change. The BBS generates results that inform Federal wildlife managers in the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, Department of...
Learn More
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BBS Routes across North America

The North American Breeding Bird Survey: Refining Scale to Provide New Insights

The Challenge: Since 1966, the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has filled a vital role in identifying at-risk bird species for Federal, State, and private entities. The BBS is a scientifically rigorous population count performed by a highly skilled, largely volunteer work force of nearly 2,500 observers. Every year these observers visit most of the survey’s 4,500 routes, which consist of...
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Ecosystems, Status and Trends Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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The North American Breeding Bird Survey: Refining Scale to Provide New Insights

The Challenge: Since 1966, the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has filled a vital role in identifying at-risk bird species for Federal, State, and private entities. The BBS is a scientifically rigorous population count performed by a highly skilled, largely volunteer work force of nearly 2,500 observers. Every year these observers visit most of the survey’s 4,500 routes, which consist of...
Learn More

2022 Release - North American Breeding Bird Survey Dataset (1966-2021)

The 1966-2021 North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) dataset contains avian point count data for more than 700 North American bird taxa (species, races, and unidentified species groupings). These data are collected annually during the breeding season, primarily in June, along thousands of randomly established roadside survey routes in the United States and Canada. Routes are roughly 24.5 miles
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Eastern Ecological Science Center

North American Breeding Bird Survey Dataset 1966 - 2019, version 2019.0

The 1966-2018 North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) dataset contains avian point count data for more than 700 North American bird taxa (species, races, and unidentified species groupings). These data are collected annually during the breeding season, primarily in June, along thousands of randomly established roadside survey routes in the United States and Canada. Routes are roughly 24.5 miles
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Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center

North American Breeding Bird Survey Dataset 1966 - 2018, version 2018.0

The 1966-2018 North American Breeding Bird Survey dataset contains avian point count data for more than 700 North American bird taxa (primarily species, but also some races and unidentified species groupings). These data are collected annually during the breeding season, primarily June and May, along thousands of randomly established roadside survey routes in the United States and Canada. Routes
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Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center

North American Breeding Bird Survey Dataset 1966 - 2016, version 2016.0

The 1966-2016 North American Breeding Bird Survey dataset contains avian point count data for more than 700 North American bird taxa (primarily species, but also some races and unidentified species groupings). These data are collected annually during the breeding season, primarily June and May, along thousands of randomly established roadside survey routes in the United States and Canada. Routes
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Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Maryland birds through time series— New!

No abstract available.

Migratory behavior and winter geography drive differential range shifts of eastern birds in response to recent climate change

Over the past half century, migratory birds in North America have shown divergent population trends relative to resident species, with the former declining rapidly and the latter increasing. The role that climate change has played in these observed trends is not well understood, despite significant warming over this period. We used 43 y of monitoring data to fit dynamic species distribution models
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Estimating spatially and temporally complex range dynamics when detection is imperfect

Species distributions are determined by the interaction of multiple biotic and abiotic factors, which produces complex spatial and temporal patterns of occurrence. As habitats and climate change due to anthropogenic activities, there is a need to develop species distribution models that can quantify these complex range dynamics. In this paper, we develop a dynamic occupancy model that uses a spati
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Consistency counts: Modeling the effects of a change in protocol on Breeding Bird Survey counts

Analysis of North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data requires controls for factors that influence detectability of birds along survey routes. Identifying factors that influence the counting process and incorporating them into analyses is a primary means of limiting bias in estimates of population change. Twedt (2015) implemented an alternative counting protocol on operational and non-rand
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

How well do route survey areas represent landscapes at larger spatial extents? An analysis of land cover composition along Breeding Bird Survey routes

The occurrence of birds in a survey unit is partly determined by the habitat present. Moreover, some bird species preferentially avoid some land cover types and are attracted to others. As such, land cover composition within the 400 m survey areas along a Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) route clearly influences the species available to be detected. Ideally, to extend survey results to the larger landsc
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

The first 50 years of the North American Breeding Bird Survey

The vision of Chandler (Chan) S. Robbins for a continental-scale omnibus survey of breeding birds led to the development of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Chan was uniquely suited to develop the BBS. His position as a government scientist had given him experience with designing and implementing continental-scale surveys, his research background made him an effective advocate of the
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Expanding the North American Breeding Bird Survey analysis to include additional species and regions

The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) contains data for >700 bird species, but analyses often focus on a core group of ∼420 species. We analyzed data for 122 species of North American birds for which data exist in the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) database but are not routinely analyzed on the BBS Summary and Analysis Website. Many of these species occur in the northern part of
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Estimating indices of range shifts in birds using dynamic models when detection is imperfect

There is intense interest in basic and applied ecology about the effect of global change on current and future species distributions. Projections based on widely used static modeling methods implicitly assume that species are in equilibrium with the environment and that detection during surveys is perfect. We used multiseason correlated detection occupancy models, which avoid these assumptions, to
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

The North American Breeding Bird Survey 1966–2011: Summary analysis and species accounts

The North American Breeding Bird Survey is a roadside, count-based survey conducted by volunteer observers. Begun in 1966, it now is a primary source of information on spatial and temporal patterns of population change for North American birds. We analyze population change for states, provinces, Bird Conservation Regions, and the entire survey within the contiguous United States and southern Canad
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

On the road again for a bird survey that counts

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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

The 2003-2008 summary of the North American Breeding Bird Survey

Data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey were used to estimate continental and regional changes in bird populations for the 6-yr period 2003-2008 and the 2-yr period 2007-2008. These short-term changes were placed in the context of population trends estimated over the 1966-2008 interval. Across the entire survey area, a higher proportion of species exhibited positive growth during 2003-20
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Strategic Plan for the North American Breeding Bird Survey: 2006-2010

Executive SummaryThe mission of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is to provide scientifically credible measures of the status and trends of North American bird populations at continental and regional scales to inform biologically sound conservation and management actions. Determining population trends, relative abundance, and distributions of North American avifauna is critical for id
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Ecosystems, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
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Scientists and Volunteers Resume Annual Survey of North America’s Wild Birds

Thousands of participants are heading out to conduct the annual North American Breeding Bird Survey, a program initiated in 1966 to track the health...

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