Sampling Forest Birds: Strip Transects Versus Time-area Circular Plots

The strip transect and fixed-area circular plot methods of sampling birds were compared in 4 even-age pine-hardwood stands (seedling, sapling, pole and sawtimber tree-size classes) during winter and spring of 2 years. During spring the circular plot method resulted in more species and more individuals than the transect method. Most differences were significant (P > 0.05). Winter samples showed the same pattern, however most differences were not significant (P >0.05). For selected species and species assemblages, fixed-area circular plots generally resulted in higher numbers during both seasons, except for high canopy inhabitants.