Point counts of birds in bottomland hardwood forests of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley: Duration, minimal sample size, and points versus visits

The purpose of the research was to evaluate the efficacy of point count surveys in bottomland hardwood forests. The specific objectives were to determine: (1) whether the recommended distance measures for point count circular plots are useful in bottomland hardwood forests, (2) the optimum duration for each point count, (3) the optimum number of points to sample at each locality, (4) the optimum number of counts at each point during a season, and (5) the minimum sample size to accommodate the variation in bird species distribution and relative abundance throughout the lower MAV.