Rhinoceros Auklet - Photo: John Gatchet

PUGET SOUND SEABIRD SURVEY

Seattle Audubon’s Puget Sound Seabird Survey (PSSS) is a community science program where volunteer birdwatchers gather data on seabird populations. The program, managed by Seattle Audubon, trains volunteer birdwatchers to gather valuable data on wintering seabird populations in Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and waters surrounding the San Juan Islands.

This geographic area is at high risk of large and catastrophic oil spills and there is limited biological data on the birds that would be most impacted in the event of a spill. The survey team captures a snapshot of live seabird density on more than 5,400 acres of shoreline habitat. It is the only land-based, multi-month seabird survey in the Southern Salish Sea.

Read about the 2018-2019 PSSS survey results here.

OPAS has recruited several volunteers that have participated in this survey. The surveys take place the first Saturday of each month from October until April at or near high tide from Clallam County locations of Diamond Point in the east to Cape Flattery in the west. All data from this survey will be available online along with more information on the Seattle Audubon website.