Welcome to the Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas

Last chance to put Maritimes Breeding Birds on the map!

Birds can tell us a lot about the environment in which we live.  Because they are sensitive to environmental stressors and occupy virtually all terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats, knowing where birds are and what habitats they use can help us assess ecosystem health.  The Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas is a five-year project to determine the distribution and abundance of all bird species breeding in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.  Since 2006, 1,000 volunteers have spent 35,000 hours combing the Maritimes in search of breeding birds...and we're not done yet.  2010 is our last year of data collection and there are many areas to cover and birds to report.

Join the effort!  Anyone with a pair of binoculars and bird watching experience, or even a desire to learn about birds, can participate.  You don't need to be an expert--we only ask that you are confident in the identification of the birds  you report.  Register Online or call us at 1-866-5atlas5.

Photo: Barred Owl with chick by Richard Stern

Atlas Latest News

July 29, 2010- Atlassing may be winding down but data entry is going full tilt

I hesitated to write that atlassing is winding down because there is still a lot of good atlassing to be had. Of course, it is getting somewhat more difficult with few birds singing and migrants beginning to pass through so we need to ensure the data we record are actually evidence of breeding. However, breeding evidence isn’t as hard to find as you might think—there are still many birds carrying food and, here in Sackville, there are many broods of ducklings swimming about. That said, those ducklings are alongside migrating Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs. So, in short, if you are still atlassing, that’s great and just be mindful that we are in a period of seasonal change. The next couple of weeks are likely our last chance to cover off under-surveyed areas.

A female Common Merganser leads her new family (and probably someone else's family also)
along the Miramichi River in New Brunswick. Photo by Stu Tingley.

As the atlassing season slowly approaches its end, many atlassers have already begun entering their 2010 data online (some have even finished). And, from the online species and effort maps, it is apparent that in this final year many atlassers “went for green” and got it! Volunteers have already logged nearly 6,400 hours for 2010 and have submitted 37,000 bird records. (I am actually quite sure that by the time this article is posted volunteers will have already entered even more data.) Just a reminder to everyone that if you are still holding on to data from previous years you can now enter those data online or mail your forms into the office to be entered by staff. Thank-you everyone for your tireless efforts this season and I can’t wait to see the final outcome.

July 15, 2010 - Trials and jubilations of “late” season atlassing

Atlassing in July is wonderful but it can be a challenge. Many species  become “quiet” and sing infrequently, if at all. Knowing your calls is helpful, as is knowing your chip notes but, let’s face it, few of us are able to distinguish many species by “chip”. On top of that, at this time of year, many birds become skulky and discreet as they are busy feeding nestlings and recently fledged young. Particularly frustrating can be the many chip notes coming from deep in the forest making it clear that fledged young are being fed but difficult to find out which ones. And of course, if you do see a fledgling, they aren’t always readily identifiable. Ducks are another group that may be frustrating at this time of year since males are typically molting and females are more difficult to identify.

But wait before you throw up your hands...all that said, atlassing in July can also be particularly rewarding, especially when you “pish” and, to your surprise, a species that you had no idea was there pops out of the bushes.. July is also the best time to be a first eye witness to what the atlas is all about—detecting evidence of breeding. So if you see a fledgling you can’t identify, just wait a while. Chances are the more easily identifiable adult will be there soon to feed it. And of course, there are other species that travel in family groups that are anything but discreet-- Red-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees and Golden-crowned Kinglets, for example. The racket from these groups can also bring in other species. Try playing a chickadee mobbing call and see what pops up (last time I did, I had a Bay-breasted Warbler male appear carrying food). As for the ducks, a few visits to nearby wetlands, plus some patience and some practice with identifying females makes sightings of moms with ducklings in tow exciting and  ducks an easy group for which to confirm breeding. While you at the wetland looking for ducks try calling in a Sora or Virginia Rail (they are often around but silent). Similarly, families of Wilson’s Snipe are sometimes hiding in the marsh grasses and a single playback recording can bring them out.

In addition, a second round of dawn chorus is soon to begin, if it hasn’t already.  Birds that are re-nesting, as well as those who starting on their second brood, will be singing first thing in the morning and less frequently throughout the day. In the western part of Region 10 Scarlet Tanagers, Eastern Wood Pewees and Brown Creepers were all singing loud and clear this morning.  While you are out, you are also likely to hear some fledglings practicing their singing. Lastly, even if things are quieter, take heart that this gives you an opportunity to listen for less common species. The other day I was walking through a deciduous forest thinking how quiet it was when I heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling from at least a hundred metres away. I don’t think I would have heard the call amongst the regular racket of dawn chorus (wink). Good luck and enjoy your final month of atlassing!

Photos: Indigo Bunting by Jim Stevenson; female Ring-necked Duck by John Chardine

June 15, 2010 - Sometimes you just have to ditch the list!

At the beginning of the season we suggested that to finish a square, check your square summary sheet and try to track down missing species and guilds. While this is good advice, in some cases habitats have really changed and some species that were in your square during the first atlas are just  there anymore. For example, yesterday I bushwhacked into what appeared to be an extensive wetland on to my square map, hoping to find the American Bittern that bred in the square during the first Atlas. However, when I arrived I found a black spruce and alder bog with no open water and no suitable bittern habitat in sight. However, I did find a Wilson’s Warbler—a species that wasn’t detected in the square during the first Atlas--in that spot (thank goodness the bushwhacking wasn't in vain). So please…don’t beat yourself over the head if species that were in your square during the first Atlas don’t appear to be there anymore. One of the goals of this atlas is to detect  those types of changes and assess how landscape changes affect breeding bird distribution. So if you have spent your twenty hours in your square and looked for all possible species then you have done a great job! And I bet there’s another unsurveyed square near you that could use your attention even more.

Photo: Wilson's Warbler by Merv Cormier

June 25, 2010  –  We’re nearly at the halfway point


Many atlassers are sharing their day’s highlights online and it isn’t just the rarities…it is the special moments that bring a smile to your face like the fledgling Tree Swallows, pictured here, awaiting their next meal. Photo by Denis Doucet.

Already at the tail end of June…my how time flies (sorry, that’s terrible but I just couldn’t resist the puns). We’re nearly at the halfway point this season and all signs show that the final year of the Maritimes Atlas is shaping up to be one of our most successful. Many people are entering data as they atlas and volunteers have already logged over 3,100 hours this season and have submitted over 18,000 bird records (and I suspect the equivalent amount of data are still sitting in people’s notebooks as well). I look forward to continuing watching the data roll in and reading the many highlights of everyone’s season.  Many atlassers are also using the MBBA listserv to share their highlights and stories as well as ask questions and notify other atlassers where they have surveyed. Postings include: tales of breeding Great Crested Flycatchers, Baltimore Orioles and American Bitterns as well as atlassing mishaps (such as a bus driving by and covering one atlasser with mud…you’ll have to join to find out whom). Staff teams have followed the atlassing plans posted on the atlas homepage fairly closely covering off priority squares southwestern NS, Guysborough County, northern NB along the Upsalquitch river and the Acadian Peninsula plus some parts of south western NB. Staff have also point counted and atlassed in nearby non-priority squares. A square by square update of staff activities is available here.  Lastly, the birds themselves are also moving along quite rapidly.  Many species are already carrying food, fledged young have been seen and second nesting attempts are underway.  So let's get out there, record those birds and keep this amazing momentum going!

June 24, 2010 – Getting in those final hours

If your square only needs an hour or two to make it to the “20 hour mark” and you feel like you have exhausted all of the possibilities, consider trying one of the suggestions below:

1) Visit your square at dusk for Common Nighthawk or Short-eared Owl (grassland habitat usually associated with some wetland-type habitat);

2) Visit a pond, river or wetland area and stay for a while. It takes time for things to happen and unfortunately ducks, bitterns, rails and kingbirds don’t just “appear”. For example, after spending a full day canoeing a river, it wasn’t until the next day when I was crossing a bridge over that same river that I saw a Common Goldeneye with fledged young. Now I’m not suggesting that you stay in one location all day and night but perhaps have a picnic by a lake or river and just see what happens by;

3) Target some of those more elusive marsh birds. American Bitterns, believe it or not, can be quite “stealthy” and while they might call consistently in the early spring at other times they are silent. If you have appropriate cattail marsh habitat in your square but have not yet detected American Bittern try visiting the marsh first thing in the morning or at dusk. As well, marsh birds may need an extra bit of encouragement (e.g., American Bitterns respond quite vigorously to playback). And don’t forget while you are chasing those American Bitterns to try for Virginia Rail and Least Bittern as well;

4) Pick a elevated area or good vantage point in the square and watch for soaring raptors;

5) And a final suggestion, follow that drumming woodpecker that you haven’t yet identified (but don’t forget to take your GPS or compass with you when you head into the woods).

What if your square is complete and you’d like to do more? That’s fantastic! Here are some additional things you can do to boost coverage in your region:

1) If you miss doing point counts, why not conduct point counts in a nearby non-priority square? The more squares point counted the better and we have until July 3rd to conduct point counts. Squares need a minimum of 10 point counts completed to be used for abundance mapping;

2) Finish a non-priority square that hasn’t been assigned. Lots of non-priority squares have 1 – 30 species (usually the species with widespread distributions that are detected in most squares) but these squares could really benefit from additional coverage and added survey hours will give us a better picture of less common species’ distributions. Contact your RC or the Atlas office to find out what square could use your help;

3) Plan an atlassing excursion or “square bash” with a couple of friends to target undersurveyed areas in your region.

The more squares we complete the better picture we’ll have of our Maritimes’ species distribution and abundance patterns and the better baseline we’ll create for assessing changes between the current Atlas and future atlases. Happy atlassing!

Photo credits (in order of appearance): Black-backed Woodpecker by Samuel Deanult, Pied-billed Grebe by John Chardine and Bay-breasted Warbler by Merv Cormier.

June 1, 2010 - A breeding first – Sandhill Cranes found nesting in NB!

This spring, during a routine aerial survey for waterfowl, Canadian Wildlife Service staff Bruce Pollard and Randy Hicks discovered an active Sandhill Crane nest near Chipman, New Brunswick. This is a first since breeding records have been kept for this species. (They may, however, have nested in the province prior to European settlement of North America.) Sandhill Cranes now nest from the Rockies east to New Brunswick. While, breeding maps in most field guides do not show Sandhill Cranes breeding much further east than the Ontario-Québec border, recent breeding activity has been recorded in Maine (2000 – 2008), Massachusetts and Vermont (2007 & 2008), and New Jersey (2005). This northeastward range expansion is a by-product of the recent explosion of Sandhill Crane populations throughout North America.

Three migratory subspecies of Sandhill Cranes breed in Canada: 1) lesser (Grus canadensis canadensis), 2) greater (G. c. tabida) and, 3) Canadian (C. g. rowani), though there is ongoing scientific discussion about the validity of the Canadian subspecies. Some maintain that the “Canadian” subspecies should be abandoned as it is a hybrid of lesser and greater. The Greater Sandhill crane breeds in northeastern North America, and is further divided into regional populations based on wintering grounds, morphology and migration routes. The population that breeds in northeastern North America (i.e., now in New Brunswick) is known as the Eastern Population, or EP.

The Eastern population (EP) of the Greater Sandhill Crane has rebounded from near extirpation in the 19th century and the early 20th century – for example just 25 breeding pairs were recorded in Wisconsin in the 1930s. Since that time, two main factors, the cessation of hunting (from 1916-1961) and the restoration and protection of wetlands, have allowed the EP to increase to more than 30,000 birds by 1996. Over the last 30 – 40 years the eastern population of Sandhill Cranes has increased from previous population levels by three to five fold! Sandhill Cranes have also increased because they have since adapted to feed in agricultural fields, and to nest in smaller wetlands. Much of the available breeding habitat is now fully occupied and a maximum breeding density has been reached in core parts of the EP’s breeding range in Ontario, Michigan and Wisconsin. The continued population growth is forcing Sandhill Cranes to expand into new areas with suitable breeding habitat in more northeasterly parts North America – and into New Brunswick. Most of the Sandhill Cranes that breed in eastern Canada and northeastern US winter in Florida and southern Georgia. During migration huge concentrations of up to 20,000 cranes can be seen at traditional migratory staging areas.

Sandhill Cranes nest in freshwater wetlands in an open landscape of grasslands or agricultural fields, and tend to avoid forested uplands. They build their nest over water and lay a two-egg clutch, but rarely fledge more than one young. In spite of this low annual recruitment, Sandhill Crane populations increase because the species is so long lived (20+ years) and can breed for 15 – 20 years. So keep your eyes peeled. Our bet is while this may be the first nest to be discovered in the Maritimes, it certainly won’t be the last.

Photos: (top) Sandhill Crane by Cynthia Lemay; Sandhill Crane chick by Michael Shepard

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