GL St. Marys River 2021 ESI: Bird Species Polygons and Points

Vector polygons and points represent bird nesting, migratory staging, and wintering sites in the St. Marys River system. The data characterize bird species by their sensitivity to spilled oil and include associated tables for species-specific abundance, seasonality, and life history. This portion of the Environmental Sensitivity Index data was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil spill sensitivity and impact zones based on bird species distribution and seasonality.
• Planning coastal conservation efforts based on nesting and migratory staging site locations.
• Analyzing species habitat use and abundance patterns for wading birds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and other avian groups.

Strengths

• Data is part of a standardized Environmental Sensitivity Index framework for oil spill response.
• Covers multiple bird groups including wading birds, shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors, diving birds, passerines, gulls, and terns.
• Includes associated tables with species-specific attributes like abundance and seasonality.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Likely contains data gathered from field surveys and biological assessments for the Environmental Sensitivity Index.

Time Range

2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:22:18.708137; freshness should be verified.

Geography

St. Marys River system, from just east of Monocle Lake and south of Iroquois Island to the headwaters of Lake Huron.