Birding Stories Eagle Eviction?  More.... Owls are different in a couple of ways from other birds in terms of the atlassing strategies needed to detect them. " read more for tips on finding BC owls. Dippers begin nest-building as early as late February on the South Coast and a few weeks later in the interior and north. Find out more. Late April and early May are the best times to survey for Long-billed Curlews. Search this site: Contact us BC Breeding Bird Atlas Bird Studies Canada 5421 Robertson Road Delta, BC V4K 3N2 1-877-592-8527 People often ask me what they can do for bird conservation. Join the atlas project! It is fun and the results are part of a foundation for conservation in British Columbia for years to come. - Rob Butler, Atlas Coordinator Endorsements The Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture (CIJV) Management Board recognises that the Atlas will provide a critical foundation to bird conservation in British Columbia, and unanimously endorsed the project at their Board Meeting on 20 November 2007. British Columbia is an important part of the Pacific Coast Joint Venture. The BC Breeding Bird Atlas will provide much needed information for conservation planning. The PCJV Management Board fully supports this effort." - Tom Dwyer, US Co-Chair of the Pacific Coast Joint Venture.

Welcome to the British Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas! Birds can tell us important things about our environment. Their presence and abundance provide an early warning of the state of ecosystems and their eggs and tissues track trends of contaminants in the environment. Over 300 species of birds breed each year in British Columbia - more than any other province in Canada. Sixty-five species breed nowhere else in Canada and for several other species, British Columbia holds the majority of the world population. For these reasons, British Columbia plays a pivotal role in Canada's bird conservation efforts. Latest news from the atlas Feb. 15 - 2009 was Great Thanks to your efforts in 2009, we collected +90,000 records over +10,000 hours atlassing. We now have over 135,000 records since the beginning of the project. Learn more here. Feb. 15 - Spring Atlas newsletter request for submissions Please share your stories, tips, and ideas for the next newsletter. Submissions DUE MARCH 15. Find previous newsletters here Feb. 15 - BC Atlas and Regional Coordinator Meeting: 1,2 May 2010 The Atlas is hosting a weekend workshop for Regional Coordinators and an evening gathering (May 1st) for everyone - birders, volunteers, sponsors, and anyone interested in learning about the Atlas, past, present, and future.    More details to come later on in the spring. Feb. 15 - Where do you want to go birding this summer? Start planning now! Contact your regional coordinators and get advice as to which areas need more surveying. While we haven't heard back from funding applications yet, we hope to have grants available to subsidize atlas-related travel this summer. The more atlassing and point counts you can complete, the better chances of receiving a grant. Find mapping information here.    More details to come later. January 15 - 2010 is here and only a few weeks remain to enter 2009 data! The deadline to enter all data is JANUARY 31st! What will happen at this time? ALL 2009 forms will be locked and you won't be able to add, modify or correct any forms. If you still have 2008 data collecting dust beside your binoculars (and we know you do!) or can't enter data online, fill in a paper form and please get it to your Regional Coordinator soon for review.    Plus don’t forget to fill out those rare/colonial bird forms. As you enter your data, rare, regionally rare and colonial-nesting species are indicated with symbols after the species name and the website will prompt you to fill out a rare/colonial species report as you finish off your breeding evidence form.    Where can you get help? Many places. Call the Atlas office (1-877-592-8527), or call your regional coordinator. Ask a friend or read the "Getting Started" instructions in the Autumn ’09 newsletter  or try the Data Entry FAQ under “Resources > Instructions” (drop-down menu is at the top of the page). Please contact the Atlas office with any questions or comments or if you need your user number or password. January 15 - Act now to save our birds - by Margaret Atwood Birds have always been endowed with symbolic portent – from Chekhov to Hitchcock to Twitter. We ignore their decline at our peril. There are glimmers of hope, but only if we act now urges Margaret Atwood. Margaret Atwood is an honourary president within BirdLife International and advocates for bird and biodiversity conservation and celebrates BirdLife’s important work. Bird Studies Canada is a Canadian co-partner of Birdlife International and Canada's leading national organisation for the conservation and appreciation of birds. Read the whole compelling and passionate article of the importance of birds to human culture (and survival) past, present, and future here. January 15 - Quebec Catches Atlassing Fever Regroupement Québec Oiseaux, Bird Studies Canada and Environment Canada have partnered to map all of the birds breeding in “la belle province” for a second time. Field work for the second Quebec Breeding Bird Atlas will begin this summer. That means there will be four Canadian atlases underway this summer giving birders from coast to coast a chance to get their binoculars and contribute to science.    Like other atlas projects, the Quebec Atlas will provide up-to-date information on the abundance and distribution of breeding birds throughout the province. The second Quebec Atlas will also expand its’ survey coverage beyond that of the first which focused on the more accessible and populated southern regions of the province. This time around efforts will be made to cover the northern and remote sections of the province. In the end the data gathered will be used to inform policy and guide conservation action in Quebec for years to come.    Follow the project’s progress on their website and anyone spending time in Quebec during the summer is encouraged to help out over the next 5-years. January 4 - A New Year of Birding Ahead When the New Year arrives the atlas Team starts thinking about the fun times ahead atlassing the province. We enjoy hearing about your birding discoveries as much as we enjoy birding around the province This is our third year of the atlas project and so you might want to start thinking where you would like to concentrate your efforts. The bird maps shows the coverage so far and your Regional Coordinators will have some good ideas too. Speaking of Regional Coordinators, the Atlas Team wishes to extend our appreciation to their superb efforts guiding the project in their regions. We also thank you for the breeding records from last year. And we are very grateful to all ours supporters who are part of this important project. And remember that some species start to breed in January. Drop us a note anytime. Find out more in the News Archives. What is an Atlas Mapping birds is quickly becoming a world-wide phenomenon. It is fun to participate of course, but the results are an invaluable foundation of information for conserving birds and their ecosystems. Not long ago, atlases were books of maps but more recently atlases have on-line versions that are interactive. The BC Breeding Bird Atlas will be on-line and we hope to have a book too. To find out more, click here. Join the atlas! Anyone can participate in the Atlas. All you need is a pair of binoculars and some birdwatching experience or the desire to learn about birds. You need to be able to identify birds correctly but you do not need to be expert - all records are welcome. All data are entered on-line and the results will appear on this web site. After you register to the Atlas, you will receive the instructions and forms necessary. You should also get in touch with the regional coordinator in the area(s) that you are interested. The coordinator will recommend an area (10x10 km square) where you should plan to spend at least 20 hours over the 5 years of the project. You are also strongly encourage to report observations done outside of your square, anywhere else in B.C. A statement from our patron I have had a life long interest in birds. They have brought joy to an increasing number of people around the world but especially in Canada. In recent years I have noticed an alarming decline in many species I once considered a common part of my world. Bird populations are of course the proverbial canary in the coal mine. The health of their populations relates to the health of humans. The Breeding Bird Atlas puts scientific muscle behind vague impressions. It also stimulates public awareness and even that sense of joy I had in my youth. — Robert Bateman, Patron of the Atlas. Photo by Birgit Freybe Bateman.

Bird of the Month Bohemian Waxwing, photo: Doug Butler If you're lucky, you'll be able to see hundreds, maybe thousands, of these bohemian nomads wintering in southern BC. Being reliant on varying food sources, namely fruit, Bohemian Waxwings will breed in different areas year after year and won't hold a conventional breeding territory. As a consequence they have no true song; listen to their call  here. Visible by the hundreds in the winter, but where are they in the summer? Check out the Atlas map  and see how few and scattered their distribution is. Make a goal to find some in coniferous/spruce forests in 2010! View species maps BC Atlas Partners BC Atlas Sponsors Major Atlas Sponsors     View all sponsors

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