Birding Stories Marbled Murrelets at Last  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. Hybrid gull occurrence vary from rare to common and field identification can be difficult. Learn more. 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 26 March 2010: Spring 2010 Newsletter Now available online View 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 Steller's Jay, photo: Laure Neish The Steller's Jay is the official provincial bird but there is much to learn about its nesting distribution. It breeds along the coast including on Haida Gwaii, and in the southern interior, but we have only a few breeding records in the north. It's named after German naturalist Georg Steller, while working as a doctor on one of Danish navigator Vitus Bering's expeditions to Alaska View species maps BC Atlas Partners BC Atlas Sponsors Major Atlas Sponsors     View all sponsors

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