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Birding Stories
Hybrid gull occurrence vary from rare to common and field identification can be difficult. Learn more.
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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. |
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06 April 2012: Travel grant application now online BC Breeding Bird Atlas travel grant for atlassers travel to remote square is available online on the atlas home page to the right00000, above the atlas partners logos. New Google Earth effort files available online: download these files and view in Google Earth to see the effort of hours, point counts, and number of species in each square. This will help you plan for the summer buy demonstrating the amount of data in each square. Always check online for updates to square data. Get the files here here - Also available online is the Atlas Spring Newsletter with important updates to finish square this summer: Click here Happy Atlassing (for those who are already looking for owls!) |
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22 March 2012: BC Atlas Newsletter now available online Read about the new plan for our fifth year (where and how to complete squares), helping with other studies, online updates, and regional stories. Find it here:Spring 2012 Newsletter as well as previous newsletters. |
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20 March 2012: Please fill in RARE/ COLONIAL Nesting forms
This information is really useful for conservation purposes, so these instructions will help you view any outstanding records and then complete the forms online for past years (if you can find your field notes and remember where!!). We've reviewed the provincial list, and in some areas added a few new species. The whole "rare and colonial" species list will be published in the next Atlas newsletter which will be posted any day now. (+)-labelled species need detailed information and (¤)-labelled species need BASIC information (location, date). From time to time you'll see a few emails from the Atlas or regional coordinators reminding you to enter such data. Often, we mostly need a LOCATION (sometimes we need more details), so please do the best you can. If you feel you have received the email in error, you can ignore it. INSTRUCTIONS: Log in to the Atlas data entry website (if you forgot your number or password, enter your email address into the "email me reminder" box). If you have note books with locations from previous years, you should have them handy to look up locations. **Once the form is saved, it CANNOT be modified!! 1. Click "Your Data Forms"under the Review Data Forms area. 2. Select "Undocumented Rare Records" (this will show provincially and regionally "rare" and colonial nesting species that you have recorded). 3. Select the region and/or year, or all and click "show forms." 4. Review the list and fill in as many locations (or more information as needed) as possible. 5. Click "Create Form" beside the record 6. Fill in the form section "Observation Details." 7. To fill in the location (UTM) by using a map, click on the blue icon near the end of each row. This will open a square map and you can move the map to place the marker at the approximate location of your sighting. 8. Click transfer the map and the location (UTM) will go into your form. 9. Fill in any other info and SAVE the form. 10. To fill in more "rare" records, click "go back to data forms" |
| 23 February 2012: BC Breeding Bird Atlas: The Final Push - 2012 As we enter the final breeding season of the BCBBA, the technical committee has examined the data collected thus far and has some suggestions on how to prioritise our effort for this year. There are 3 main goals: 1) to finish incomplete squares for point counts and general atlassing effort; 2) complete the most robust bird list possible for any square; and, 3) enter as many rare and colonial species locations, as requested. Some decisions have been made that will help improve the quality of the final atlas products and create attainable goals that are statistically sound and proven: Most importantly, that the threshold for completing a square has been reduced to a minimum of 10 hours of effort and 10 point counts. This is optional, but atlassers are strongly encouraged to devote most of their time towards completing squares that have some work done, but have not yet achieved this 10/10 threshold. Squares completed to the 20/15 level do not represent wasted effort. These squares carry higher importance because they represent the foundation from which results from squares with less effort are calibrated. The highest priorities are squares with between 4 and <10 hours of observer effort, and 4-9 point counts complete. The second-highest priority squares are those which have either 10 hours or 10 point counts and more that 4 hours or 4 point counts completed. Atlassers should work towards finishing off whichever component is needed. It will take relatively little additional effort to complete these squares under the new criteria and it is even possible that multiple squares could be completed in one day. A few important points to consider: - Completed squares are most valuable, and all data will be used. No observations are discarded. - If you are limited with time, complete squares to at least 10 hours and 10 point counts. - If you are not restricted by time, it is still very useful to complete your squares to the original standard (20 hours / 15 point counts); - Aim to ensure that completed squares are evenly spaced from other completed (or likely to be completed) squares, if possible (consult with your RC). - If you can't do point counts, devote your general atlassing time to squares that have >4-<10 hours of effort already, and complete as many as you can. - From an atlas perspective, building a larger, more complete species list is more valuable than confirming a smaller number of species. - Target species that are not easily found (wetland birds, raptors, owls, nighthawks, etc) by: a) seeking out rare species, b) surveying a variety of habitats, c) surveying at different times (morning, dusk, night) - Complete rare/colonial forms as prompted by the atlas website Online Instructions: If you are ready to plan, you can evaluate what is needed for all the squares in any region by visiting the atlas webpage under Data and Maps / Data Summaries / 2). View summary statistics by square for region XX. The resulting table lists all squares in that region that have at least one record. View the columns for TotHrs and #Points and select squares that list greater than 4 but less that 10 hours and point counts. It will be important for volunteers to communicate with the RC to reduce the likelihood of overlapping effort in this final year. Your regional coordinator may be able to provide further guidance also. Consider how you can contribute the greatest amount of data to the atlas project and plan to use time most efficiently. (The atlas office has completed a list of squares, maps and these instructions to guide you to squares that are almost complete to most effectively use limited survey time. These will be available in the next newsletter due out in March and will help you focus your effort this year and achieve attainable goals that will maximise the value of the atlas project.) If you plan to access un-roaded, remote squares by floatplane, boat, hiking, etc., please let the Atlas staff know, so we can help with your planning, and spread out our atlassing effort. If you know of a project in a certain remote area, and think that the data could be contributed to the Atlas, please contact the office. For further instructions, please contact your Regional Coordinator or the Atlas Office. Stay tuned for more details and funding opportunities and positions as they come available over the course of the spring. Thank you for all of your valuable efforts over the first four years, and happy atlassing for 2012. |
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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.
TOP 10 CONTRIBUTORS
List of participants who contributed the most to data collection. For a complete list, click here.
| Participant | Total |
Featured Bird
Hutton's Vireo
Photo: Jamie Chavez
Atlas season is near – actually, for some, it's already here! Owls are calling at night, and the coastal Hutton's Vireo is singing all day around the Atlas office, in the Alaksen National Wildlife Area. They usually set up territory and nest before the main atlas period and may be overlooked. Make sure you aren’t confusing these with rambunctious and vocal Ruby-crowned Kinglets!
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