Virginia’s Second Breeding Bird Atlas is one of the largest avian survey projects in Virginia. Conducted from 2016 to 2020, the project gathered data on the distribution and abundance of more than 200 bird species to support informed natural resource management and conservation planning in Virginia.
Background information on the Second Atlas
The Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas focuses on breeding birds, that is, birds that engage in behaviors like courtship, nesting, egg-laying, and feeding young within the state of Virginia. Some of these birds are year-round Virginia residents, like the Northern Cardinal, while others are considered neotropical migrants or birds that spend winter near the equator and migrate to the United States and Canada to breed and stay through the summer, like the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Note that not all migratory birds are breeding birds. Some species migrate through the state but do not breed here and as such are not included within the Breeding Bird Atlas.
On this Atlas website you will find Species Accounts for birds that breed in Virginia. Each account contains several maps and graphs as well as written narratives specific to Virginia spanning the following topics: brief introduction to species, breeding distribution, breeding evidence, population status, and conservation. The Species Accounts do not include detailed or range-wide natural histories as this information is already well presented by other online sources such as Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Birds of the World and All About Birds, Audubon’s Guide to North American Birds, or American Bird Conservancy’s Bird Library.
One note about the Breeding Evidence Maps in the Species Accounts: Please do not draw conclusions about species distributions by comparing the breeding evidence maps presented for the First and Second Atlases. While these maps provide useful information, they do not provide an accurate picture of species distribution because survey effort was substantially higher during the Second Atlas than during the First; therefore, species tend to be reported from many more locations on the Second Atlas maps than on maps of the First Atlas. As a result, we caution against making inferences about changes in bird distributions between Atlases based on these maps. For information on species distributions and how they have changed between Atlases, refer to the maps in the Breeding Distribution section and to the accompanying narratives.
The Second Atlas and SOL correlations
The Atlas Species Accounts provide data in the form of maps and graphs for students in the classroom to review and analyze as part of the Virginia Science SOL .1: ‘The student will demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices by interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating data; constructing and critiquing conclusions and explanations; using models to predict and explain phenomena and evaluating limitations of models; and obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.’
Additionally, the Second Atlas could be used to teach science SOLs across grade levels that explore the following concepts:
- Interrelationships exist in populations, communities, and ecosystems.
- Analyze population growth curves to determine growth trends, identify limiting factors, and make predictions about future population behavior.
- Make, support, and evaluate a claim about the relationship among limiting factors, population size, and carrying capacity.
- Explain how population growth and resource availability affect population dispersion using example.
- Describe adaptations that support an organism’s survival in an ecosystem.
- Ecosystems, communities, populations, and organisms are dynamic and change over time.
- Analyze the biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem and determine how these factors affect patterns of species distribution and population size.Research a natural or human-caused threat, the issues that are causing the threat, and describe potential remediation strategies.
- Research ways legislation and/or global agreements provide biodiversity protections.
Examples of 2025 VA Science SOLs captured in the above concepts include:
| Elementary School | Middle School | High School |
|---|---|---|
| 3.4 a 4.3 a | LS 6 b–d, 7 b, 8 a–c, 9 a–c BIO 8 a and d | Bio II d and f EC 2 d–f, 5 a and e, 6 b and e Env 4 i, 5 a–b |
Ideas for Lessons that Fulfill the above SOLs
Have students:
- Research, write, and present about a species that was documented during the Second Atlas.
- Investigate Species Accounts to find birds that have a close association with specific habitats components such as elevation, forest cover, grasslands, etc.
- Read species narratives and analyze graphs on Species Accounts pages to learn more about abiotic and landscape preferences of species.
- In those Species Accounts with a Breeding Distribution section, the “View Environmental Associations” link will display graphs that show significant relationships between environmental variables (including habitat) and a species’ probability of occurrence. For example, the Yellow-rumped Warbler is associated with high-elevation forest habitat. Other species with close associations to specific habitats include but are not limited to Dickcissel, Marsh Wren, and many warbler species.
- Research Species Accounts to find birds with unique adaptations for survival. For example, the Yellow-rumped Warbler has a unique ability to digest waxy berries, such as those of bayberry (Myrica spp.), allowing it to winter farther north than other warbler species that cannot digest this food source. Other species with unique adaptations for survival include but are not limited to Green Heron and Brown-headed Cowbird.
- Read and analyze Species Accounts for species that may experience changes in their occurrence due to changes in the environment. For example, the Eastern Meadowlark is associated with pastures and hayfields. Changes in the number and quality of those grassland habitats could influence where the species occurs. Other species experiencing environmental pressures include but are not limited to Canada Warbler, Red-cockaded Woodpecker and American Kestrel.
- Analyze phenology graphs and phenology table for the timing of breeding behaviors like nest building, egg laying, etc. Plot the median values for individual species breeding behaviors and determine whether any similarities or differences exist between species with similar median values (e.g., in life histories, habitats or taxonomic relationships).
- Investigate the Species Accounts of birds whose geographic distribution has changed in Virginia, citing maps from the Second Atlas, and research what has led to this change. Species to research can include but are not limited to: Canada Goose, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Common Raven, Kentucky Warbler, American Redstart, Ruffed Grouse, Loggerhead Shrike, and Northern Bobwhite.
- Analyze population growth curves found in the Population Status section of the Species Accounts to determine growth trends, identify limiting factors, and make predictions about future population behavior.
- Analyze your locality’s land use maps to see how your area has changed over time and how it is planning to change in the future. Then, choose some Atlas species that occur in your area. How have past land use changes potentially impacted these species? How might future land use changes included in your locality’s 10-year land use plan impact these species?
- Research birds included in the Second Atlas that are bird Species of Greatest Conservation Need.
- What is impacting this species?
- Does the species have legislation or research supporting their conservation?
- Has there been any change in their geographic distribution over time?