A Roost Count involves counting birds as they leave the roost each morning.

WHAT IS A ROOST?
A communal roost is an area, usually in trees or shrubs, where multiple individuals (magpies) will spend the night (sleep). Roost arrival times(the time during which magpies arrive at the roost in the evening) are around sunset and roostdeparture times (the time during which magpies leave the roost) are around sunrise.

To better document and understand magpie population trends, censuses at communal roosts are needed throughout Yellow-billed Magpie range. We need the help of volunteers to collect these important data. Please consider participating in this monitoring effort!

ROOST COUNT INSTRUCTIONS (MS WORD; updated 5/29/2006)
DATASHEET (MS WORD; updated 5/29/06).
EXAMPLE DATASHEET (Excel; updated 5/29/06)).
This version includes forms that may be filled in electronically

PDF version: Click here to download the roost survey protocol and datasheet (updated 5/29/06).

The document is as an Adobe PDF (portable document format) file. To read it, you'll need Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from Adobe's web site.

Click here to learn how you can collect feathers and become a partner in Magpie DNA analysis