The International Shorebird Survey is a volunteer-based monitoring network that provides hemispheric data on shorebird populations.
ISS was launched in 1974 by Manomet's Brian Harrington. He coordinated hundreds of teams of dedicated volunteers conducting field surveys during spring and fall migrations and analyzed the data to discern important trends for shorebird populations.
This citizen-science approach has been immensely successful. With the companion Atlantic Canada Shorebird Survey, the International Shorebird Survey has become among the most significant sources of monitoring information for shorebirds in North America. With modest financial resources, ISS has contributed reliable data on shorebird populations for nearly 40 years, with over 80,000 surveys carried out at more than 2,000 locations across the United States. Volunteers have recorded more than 85 million shorebirds.
The program is still run from Manomet's headquarters in Plymouth, MA.
Recently, Manomet staff have standardized the data, incorporated it into online recording system "eBird" and made it available to researchers and the conservation community.
For more information, visit http://ebird.org/content/iss/.
