U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 20260804 1.0 tabular digital data ServCat U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service https://doi.org/10.7944/a5h4-3826 Khemarith J. So Wayne E. Thogmartin Jennifer H. Herner-Thogmartin 20260804 1.0 spreadsheet SO KJ, THOGMARTIN WE, HERNER-THOGMARTIN JH. Nestucca Valley winter goose surveys (2007–2019). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data release, https://doi.org/10.7944/a5h4-3826. This dataset contains detailed field observations of wintering white-cheeked (Canada and cackling) goose subspecies in the Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge area, collected in winters between November 2007 and November 2019. Each record includes: Date and time of observation; Location identifiers and GPS coordinates; Species and subspecies observed (e.g., Aleutian, Dusky, Cackling, Taverner’s, Western Canada Geese); Individual counts; Observer notes on weather, field conditions, and bird behavior. The data were collected using standardized protocols, with coordinates derived from Google Earth. This dataset supports ecological research and conservation planning by documenting seasonal abundance, distribution, and habitat use of Canada and cackling goose populations in coastal Oregon. The data were collected to ensure the Refuge is meeting its goal of providing habitat for two subspecies (Aleutian cackling goose and dusky Canada goose) which motivated formation of the Refuge. 20071108 20191118 ground condition Complete None planned Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge -123.98000 -123.91000 45.21000 45.10000 ISO 19115 Topic Category biota USGS Thesaurus waterfowl bird populations wildlife surveys ecological monitoring migratory birds population dynamics None Pacific Flyway Tillamook County Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge Common geographic areas Northern Oregon Coastal Pacific Northwest None Branta canadensis occidentalis Branta hutchinsii leucopareia Branta hutchinsii minima Branta hutchinsii taverneri Branta canadensis parvipes Branta canadensis moffitti Kingdom Animalia Subkingdom Bilateria Infrakingdom Deuterostomia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Infraphylum Gnathostomata Superclass Tetrapoda Class Aves Order Anseriformes Family Anatidae Genus Branta Species Branta canadensis Subspecies Branta canadensis occidentalis TSN: 175006 Subspecies Branta canadensis parvipes TSN: 175004 Subspecies Branta canadensis moffitti TSN: 175003 Species Branta hutchinsii Subspecies Branta hutchinsii leucopareia TSN: 714726 Subspecies Branta hutchinsii minima TSN: 714727 Subspecies Branta hutchinsii taverneri TSN: 714728 No access constraints. Please see 'Distribution Information' for details. These data are marked with a Creative Common CC0 1.0 Universal License. These data are in the public domain and do not have any use constraints. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations. Khemarith J. So U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biologist (Inventory and Monitoring Data Manager) mailing and physical

Columbia-Pacific Northwest and Pacific Islands

National Wildlife Refuge System, Branch of Refuge Biology

7112 67th Place

Long Beach WA 98631 USA 971-282-2193 khem_so@fws.gov Attribute values were cross-checked with field notes. No known attribute errors are present. Data were checked for duplicate records and logical errors using custom R scripts. No inconsistencies were found in field relationships. All categorical values were validated against a controlled vocabulary. Data, after corrections, suitable for analysis is in full_nestucca_data.csv No data were intentionally omitted. Data are accurate to field location. NA Standardized surveys for geese in the non-breeding season (October-April) were conducted from winter 2007–2008 to winter 2022–2023. Sampling consisted of an intensive visual area-search during which observers (agency staff and volunteers) recorded all geese detected to subspecies except for Taverner’s cackling geese and lesser Canada geese, which, because of their morphological similarity, makes separate identification difficult; thus, these 2 subspecies were combined and analyzed as if they were a single species. When geese could not be identified to subspecies, they were attributed to an Unidentified Goose category. Surveys occurred on both public and private property at vantage points allowing a good view of the unit (the public refuge plots are divided into management units). Care was taken to detect and count every flock and to avoid double-counting flocks. Counts were conducted roughly weekly through the overwinter period aside from a couple weeks at the end of each calendar year. Counts in winter 2007–2008, the first year of the survey, were initiated late compared to subsequent years, biasing first arrival dates and seasonal goose-use-days. The covid-19 pandemic caused disruption to sampling in 2019–2020. Because of these disruptions to surveys, analyses were completed for only the continuous period 2008–2019 except when insight to metrics was unaffected by deviation from survey protocol. Aside from the first year in which surveys were conducted (winter 2007–2008), usually 2 and never more than 3 observers, usually agency staff or interns, conducted counts of geese overwintering in Nestucca Valley. Count duration was quite variable and averaged 15–20 min/unit but could exceed 1 h for some units. There was no consistent way to account for detection probability because birds were unmarked. Failing to account for detection likely increased uncertainty and perhaps inserted bias in the abundance estimates to an unknown degree but was likely minimized to the extent possible by consistent vantage points maximizing goose visibility and by flocking behavior making birds more readily observed. For more information regarding survey protocol and design, see annual refuge summary reports such as Stephensen (2024) and references therein. 20240101 nestucca_data.csv Comma Separated Value (CSV) file containing data. Producer Defined rowID Unique row identification number Producer Defined 1 27102 eventDate Survey date Producer Defined 11/08/2007 11/18/2019 location Field location Producer Defined Field location coincident with 'location' column in nestucca_survey_locations_clean_anonymous.csv localityRefuge to which these data are associatedProducer Defined Nestucca First word of Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, to aid in compilation with data from other refuges Producer defined eventTime 24-hour time of day in which survey was taken Producer Defined NA No Data Producer defined 6:16:00 AM 5:42:00 PM HH:MM:SS recordedByIndividuals conducting and recording countsProducer Defined Alexis Will & RWL Surveyor Combination Producer defined Alexis Will Surveyor Producer defined Alexis Will & Shawn W. Stephensen Surveyor Combination Producer defined Shawn W. Stephensen Surveyor (and Refuge Biologist) Producer defined Alexis Will & Kyle Martin Surveyor Combination Producer defined Alexis Will & Shawn W. Stephensen & Kyle Martin Surveyor Combination Producer defined Kyle Martin Surveyor Producer defined Amy L. Kocourek Surveyor Producer defined Amy A. Anderson Surveyor Producer defined Cheryl A. Horton Surveyor Producer defined Octavia Sola Surveyor Producer defined Amelia J. O'Connor Surveyor Producer defined Jennifer Nelson Surveyor Producer defined Lila A. Bowen Surveyor Producer defined Allyson M. Melendez Surveyor Producer defined Terra M. Hauser Surveyor Producer defined weather Description of weather conditions Producer Defined NA No Data Producer defined Notes on weather; notes may contain values associated with temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and wind speed locationRemarks Localized information to help specifically place survey location Producer Defined NA No Data Producer defined Notes on survey location eventRemarks Remarks of interest noted by observers Producer Defined NA No Data Producer defined Notes on survey experience; Text describing the survey location relative to landmarks within the survey area. decimalLatitude Latitude Producer Defined NA No Data Producer defined 45.146 45.19399 decimal degrees decimalLongitude Longitude (degrees West) Producer Defined NA No Data Producer defined 123.894 123.9196 decimal degree acres Areal measure Producer Defined NA Areal measure unavailable Producer defined 1.5 194 acre 0.1 georeferenceProtocolWhether the position of survey was georeferencedProducer Defined NA No Data; No information about georeferencing Producer defined The latitude and longitude of each field was in the approximate center and derived from Google Earth. provided by Google Earth Producer defined taxonIDCommon shorthand name for species countedProducer Defined aleutian Aleutian Cackling Goose Producer defined cackling Cackling Goose (not Aleutian) Producer defined western Western Canada Goose Producer defined unidentified Unidentified White-cheeked Goose Producer defined dusky Dusky Canada Goose Producer defined tav/les Taverner's / Lesser Goose species combination (combined because of size similarity) Producer defined individualCount Count of goose species observed Producer Defined 1 2950 occurrenceRemarks Remarks from observers about geese themselves Producer Defined << empty cell >> No Data Producer defined Remarks about goose behavior or situation; Observer remarks specifically related to goose observations, such as behaviors, color phases, percentage of each sub-species observed, and marked individuals vernacularNameFull Common NameProducer Defined Aleutian Canada Goose Species common name; This species is the same as Aleutian Cackling Goose (after taxonomic revision) Producer defined Cackling Goose Species common name Producer defined Western Canada Goose Species common name Producer defined Dusky Canada Goose Species common name Producer defined Taverner's Cackling Goose, Lesser Canada Goose Species common names; Similarly sized species are difficult to tell apart Producer defined scientificNameScientific name for species observedProducer Defined Branta canadensis leucopareia Species name Producer defined Branta hutchinsii Species name Producer defined Branta canadensis moffitti Species name Producer defined Branta Genus of unidentified white-cheeked goose Producer defined Branta canadensis occidentalis Species name Producer defined Branta canadensis taverneri, Branta canadensis parvipes Species names for two species included in combination Producer defined FwsTaxonCodeU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service taxon codeProducer Defined 77708 Taxon code specific to species provided by FWS Producer defined 604603 Taxon code specific to species provided by FWS Producer defined 76632 Taxon code specific to species provided by FWS Producer defined 76624 Taxon code specific to species provided by FWS Producer defined 77707 Taxon code specific to species provided by FWS Producer defined 77712, 76633 Taxon codes specific to species provided by FWS Producer defined month Numeric month in which survey was conducted; parsed from eventDate Producer Defined 1 12 day Numeric day of month in which survey was conducted; parsed from eventDate Producer Defined 1 31 year Numeric year in which survey was conducted; parsed from eventDate Producer Defined 2007 2019 week_of_month First, second, third, fourth, or (on occasion) fifth week of month in which survey was conducted. 0 is for partial weeks, up to day 6 of the month. 5 is, in these data, only seen when day of the month is 31. Producer Defined 0 5 survey_year Winter year ensuring counts in spring are tied to those from the previous fall Producer Defined 2007 2019 survey_day_start The first date in which this survey was conducted Producer Defined 9/27/2007 9/27/2019 day survey_day_of_year A numeric count starting 10/01 (October 1) depicting what day of winter year survey occurred Producer Defined 7 210 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Khemarith J. So Biologist (Inventory and Monitoring Data Manager) mailing address

National Wildlife Refuge System

Region 1 Inventory & Monitoring Program

7112 67th Place

Long Beach WA 98631 971-282-2193 khem_so@fws.gov Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Digital Data https://doi.org/10.7944/a5h4-3826 None 20250811 Wayne E Thogmartin USGS - MIDCONTINENT REGION Research Ecologist mailing and physical

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex

2127 SE Marine Science Drive

Newport OR 97365 USA 608-783-6451 wthogmartin@usgs.gov FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001.1-1999