Birding Stories The flower show is worth the visit to Sun Peaks. 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 18 January 2012: Atlas newsletter request for submissions Please share your stories, tips, photos, and ideas for the next newsletter. Submissions DUE FEBRUARY 6, 2012. Please forward ideas to the atlas office. Find previous newsletters here, plus previous atlas-data entry tips. And please don't forget to submit 2011 data before Sunday, February 5th 16 January 2012: deadline for 2011 data approaches/ Rare-Colonial Data forms need more info Thank you for your efforts and all the data entry last year. The deadline for data entry for 2011 will be Sunday, February 5th, to give you an extra weekend to get those valuable records in on time. Please enter details for "RARE" SPECIES/ COLONIAL NESTING SPECIES if you haven't already done so (Colonial nesting species only require more information if they are "Confirmed".) So you know which of your own bird records need more info, I will send you automated email(s) listing the records that require more details. If you get many emails, don't panic - most of the records will mainly need a location. A "UTM" (these are specific geographic locations). On the "Rare" Form, there is a blue dot for every record you enter; click this to open a map to pin-point the locations. See the guide for information on this. This information is VERY useful for species conservation and accurate mapping. This type of "data request" from me at this time will not be questioning WHAT you saw, but rather WHERE you saw it. I will soon send you further instructions on how to enter these locations for previous years (it can be done for Rare/Colonial Records!) Please do your best to fill in these locations and call your regional coordinator for help or the atlas office 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.

TOP 10 CONTRIBUTORS List of participants who contributed the most to data collection. For a complete list, click here. Number of records Number of hours Number of species Number of squares Number of point counts Participant Total Featured Bird Turkey Vulture Photo: Raincoast Conservation Foundation Sometimes we get records of birds from unexpected places. This photo of a Turkey Vulture for example, was taken by a remote camera at a DNA station for bears in the Great Bear Rainforest near Namu by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. The record is unusually far north along the coast for this species. View species maps BC Atlas Partners BC Atlas Sponsors Major Atlas Sponsors     View all sponsors

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