Wildlife Survey Techniques

Contact Us For Next Course Dates

Ecopa Environmental's fast-paced wildlife survey field methods course provides participants with practical field training in various wildlife and habitat inventory and assessment techniques. Participants will gain hands-on experience surveying amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The course focuses on many of the requisite studies for an Environmental Impact Study in southern and central Ontario, emphasizing terrestrial and wetland species and habitats. Participants will develop skills to identify candidate and confirmed Significant Wildlife Habitats, practice skills to monitor selected Species at Risk, and receive Bear-Aware training.

Program Outline

Monday

Morning

Introduction to the course
Trail camera field exercise

Afternoon

Marsh monitoring protocol

Evening

Chimney Swift monitoring field exercise

Tuesday

Morning

Avian marsh monitoring field exercise

Afternoon

Introduction to monitoring with eDNA
Avian and bat bioacoustics monitoring

Evening

Bioacoustics bat monitoring and marsh monitoring of amphibians field exercises

Wednesday

Morning

Learning to identify bird songs and calls, forest bird monitoring protocol
Forest bird monitoring field exercise

Afternoon

Woodland and Alvar field trip
Bat habitat assessment field exercise

Evening

Whip-poor-will survey

Thursday

Morning
Significant Wildlife Habitat
Wildlife sign field exercise
Afternoon
Nest surveys, SAR visual encounter survey field exercise

Friday

Morning

Bear Aware Training

Afternoon

Retrieve and review trail camera and bioacoustics data
Awarding of certificates

Wildlife Surveys

New Course Launching Soon

Wildlife Surveys Registration Form

First name

Last name

Phone

Address

Company name

Customer Billing Address

Emergency Contact Name & Number

Please list any medical concerns

Meals

Participants are responsible for their own meals. We will typically take a one-hour lunch break.

Course Preparation

Location

Our workshops are held at the Ken Reid Conservation Area, 277 Kenrei Rd, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R2. If you’re using an older GPS, some have the road listed as Ken Reid Rd. We will be using the Field House facilities for daily meetings and training before heading into the field.

Outdoor sessions will occur at the conservation area and at local natural areas such as the Altberg Wildlife Sanctuary and the Carden Alvar.

Transportation

Participants will be responsible for their own transportation to field sites. To minimize our carbon footprint, we will organize carpooling on the first day of the course.

Parking

Parking at Ken Reid Conservation Area costs $20.00 /week/ vehicle. Upon arrival, you may purchase this from Kawartha Conservation.

Accommodations

Participants often stay at the Days Inn in Lindsay. Reservations may be made by calling (705) 328-0100.

Other nearby accommodations are:

Ramada by Wyndham (705) 702-4703

Howard Johnson by Wyndham (705) 324-0314

There are also many excellent B&Bs in the Lindsay area.

Clothing

Participants should come prepared to be outside for extended periods. Weather conditions in June range from very warm to quite cool. Please come prepared for all eventualities, as fieldwork may need to be conducted in inclement weather. Participants will be walking in forests and on even and potentially slippery ground. Hiking boots are recommended. Rubber boots are not necessary.

Gear

Participants will be outside each day and are required to bring their own field gear. Field gear such as binoculars, GPS, compass, knife, field notebook, clipboard, laptop computer (for classroom work), mosquito/tick repellant, sunscreen, water bottle.

Manuals, Field Guides and Useful Websites

Registrants will be sent PDF’s of protocols and course training materials.

Participants should come prepared to identify flora and fauna of central Ontario.

Field guides that we recommend:

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Sixth Edition (2008). Jon L. Dunn, Jonathan Alderfer.

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America (2016). David Allen Sibley. (Second edition). Alfred A. Knoff Inc.

Mammals of the Great Lakes Region (2017). Allen Kurta. The University of Michigan Press. ISBN

Photo Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of the Great Lakes Region (2015). S.D. Gillingwater and A.S. McKenzie. St. Thomas Field Naturalist Club.

Free Apps

Merlin (bird identification)

Seek (part of the iNaturalist suite)

Mosses of the Northern Forest: A Photographic Guide Paperback (2020) by Jerry Jenkins
Northeast Ferns: A Field Guide to the Ferns and Fern Relatives of the Northeastern United States (2019) by S. Chade

Useful Websites

Ontario Trees and Shrubs http://ontariotrees.com/main/index.php
Ontario Wildflowers http://ontariowildflowers.com/main/index.php
Ontario Ferns http://ontarioferns.com/
Ontario Grasses http://ontariograsses.com/
Ontario Mosses http://worldofmosses.com/
iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/

Free Apps

Merlin (bird identification)
Seek (part of the iNaturalist suite)