Thin blue lines

(Click to enlarge)

The thin blue lines on the image are the different tracks that I have driven to survey the area for the 2nd Southern African Bird Atlas Project in the larger Aliwal North area. The squares are the pentads (see earlier post for description) in which the surveys are done according to the research protocol. The tracks are recorded with a Garmin GPSmap76 CS receiver with an external aerial. These are only the tracks that I have driven - the GPSr is mounted in the car and is just too much trouble to remove and refit it every time I get out to walk to a ridge, a dam or an outcrop to scan the area for bird activity. On average the distance traveled within a pentad is between 35 and 40km - excluding the distances walked away from the stationary vehicle.

I prepare the outlines of the pentads beforehand and then upload it from computer to the GPSr before I go out on the field surveys. This way I know the borders of the different pentads clearly - ask permission from land-owners - and go out in the field and enjoy myself while atlasing. I like to use the available technology to help me enjoy the atlasing project and birding in general. When scarcer species and larger raptors are observed, I record a GPS waypoint and these are fed into my database of sightings and nesting spots.