March 29, 2024

Bird Lovers & Volunteers, DNR Needs You

Bird Lovers
Courtesy Maryland Department of Natural Resources

January 2020 marked the beginning of the third Breeding Bird Atlas of Maryland and the District of Columbia, and now the BBA3 needs your help to make it a success, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources said. Birders of all skill levels, from beginner to advanced, both amateur and professional, can volunteer to contribute valuable data on the breeding status of the region’s birds.

The goal for this comprehensive, five-year field survey is to refine our knowledge of the current distribution, relative abundance, and the timing of breeding for all the breeding birds of Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Why do we need a third atlas since there are already two?

Atlasing is different from other survey methods. By utilizing the skills of hundreds – sometimes thousands – of volunteers to systematically survey Maryland over a standard period of time, BBA3 can assemble a snapshot of the bird species, their abundance and distribution, and breeding status. By conducting multiple atlases over time using similar methods, BBA3 can identify trends, changes in distributions, and any new breeding species gained or lost.

The first and second Breeding Bird Atlases, 1983-1987 and 2002-2006 respectively, identified many changes in breeding bird fauna. The third atlas will extend that across 40 years. Organizers can then compare the data to habitat and land use changes, as well as other abiotic and biotic factors, which will better inform management decisions for conserving Maryland’s birds. Click here for a brief history of the MD/DC Breeding Bird Atlas.

A key change from previous atlases will be the use of eBird for data collection. eBird offers tools for real-time data entry and outputs, so volunteers be able to follow along with results throughout the breeding season and across the entire project period. See the Tutorial Page​ or the Atlas Handbook to get started with eBird and atlasing.

The third atlas is made possible through DNR partnerships​ with the Maryland Ornithological Society, the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (the creators of eBird), and hundreds of bird enthusiasts.

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