Breeding Bird Atlases have a long and distinguished history in Europe and North America, providing a catalogue of breeding birds within a defined geographic area and capturing a snapshot of the spatial distribution of those species in time. Within the U.S., such Atlases have taken place primarily at the state level, although county-level Atlases have also been implemented. Virginia conducted its First Atlas between 1985 and 1989 through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (now Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources [VDWR]) and the Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO). VDWR and VSO teamed up with the Conservation Management Institute at Virginia Tech for the Second Atlas.
Atlas Methods
Over 1,450 volunteer observers contributed data to the Second Atlas. They included birders, ornithologists, academics, and natural resource professionals from government agencies and non-governmental organizations.
Results
Through its extensive geographic breadth and scope, the Second Atlas provides a valuable, large-scale snapshot of the status of Virginia’s breeding avifauna. In addition, the changes in the composition of these bird communities over time can be assessed through a comparison with data reported some thirty years ago during the First Atlas.
Stay Tuned…
Content about the methods used to analyze Second Atlas data, summaries of survey effort and geographic coverage during Atlas data collection, and a table outlining the timing of breeding behaviors for the 203 birds in the Second Atlas will be released soon, so check back regularly for what’s next!
