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Teil C - Annex 
How to complete the SAS Bird Count Form (Status: July 2013) 
General: 
Please note ship’s name, observer, date and sheet no. at the top of each 
SAS Bird Count Form. Also, the sea state (SS) and visibility should be no 
ted in the header on each page; changes of sea state and visibility should 
be noted under “Remarks” in the corresponding line (time). 
Time: 
The exact time (in hours and minutes, UTC!) has to be recorded for each 
bird observation. IMPORTANT: At the beginning of each transect, the hour 
and minute must be recorded as well as the word START, irrespective of 
whether or not a bird has been observed in that minute. At the end of the 
transect or counting, i.e. also during brief interruptions, the word STOP has 
to be noted together with the exact hour and minute. At the top of each 
form, the complete time (hour and minutes) has to be noted. 
Species: 
Abbreviations may be used for frequently observed species. The abbrevia 
tions used must always be the same. Likewise, a particular abbreviation 
must not be used for different species. 
Age: 
A = adult, IM = immature/juvenile (age in calendar years may be recorded 
under “Plumage”). 
Plumage: 
W = Winter plumage, B = breeding plumage, T = transient plumage. 
With respect to adult gulls, plumage information refers mainly to the head 
plumage. 
Gannet: plumage code from 1 to 5 (of. Annex 3 in Garthe et al. 2002) or A 
(for adult). 
Fulmar: L (for the typical, light-coloured North Sea birds or C (for all “colou 
red” individuals). 
Gender: M = male, F = female. 
Skuas: L = light morph, I = intermediate morph, D = dark morph. 
A first-year bird thus is recorded as IM 1. Attention: after New Year, this 
bird becomes IM 2. It is important to record only the observed plumages 
(not the most likely plumage for the season). 
Number: 
Number of individuals. 
Group: 
Birds belonging to the same flock of birds should be recorded using identi 
cal numbers or curly brackets. 
Distance: 
Distance: Use letters for swimming birds: 
A = 0 to 50 m 
B = 50 to 100 m 
C = 100 to 200 m 
D = 200 to 300 m 
E = more than 300 m (= outside transect!). 
Flying birds always get the letter F, irrespective of their distance. 
Swimming birds in the transect, whose precise distance cannot be deter 
mined because there is not enough time, are recorded as 0, which corres 
ponds to the distance A to D (0-300 m). The same applies to individuals lif 
ting off from the water at a distance ahead of the ship that is too great to 
allow their allocation to bands A, B, C or D. 
The distance always has to be estimated perpendicular to the ship’s keel 
line. The direct distance from the observer is not relevant. Distance estima 
tes should be checked routinely against small ships and buoys using radar, 
a commercially available range-finder or a ruler (according to Heinemann 
1981) (see p. 53)! 
Transect: 
In transect? Yes = 2, No = 1. 
Flight direction: 
In the case of migrating birds or other directed bird flight (without the ob 
server needing to know where the birds are headed), the flight direction 
should be recorded in degrees with a precision of 45° (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, 
W, NW, taking into account the vessel’s movement), using a compass rose, 
a shipboard compass or the compass of a GPS unit.