Nipissing First Nation is happy to announce our participation in the third installment of the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas (OBBA).
Data collection for the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 3 began on January 1, 2021. Volunteer birders will count and record the presence of breeding birds across Ontario – from the south to the north – for five years.
The following paragraph is from the birdsontario homepage:
The OBBA is a volunteer citizen science initiative that has been collecting data on Ontario’s breeding bird species since 1981. Data collection for the two previous Ontario atlasses ran from 1981-1985 and 2001-2005, followed by the publication of books summarizing the results. The two previous projects were enormous (and successful!). But we’re hoping Atlas-3 will be the best one yet – providing an unprecedented understanding of the status, distribution and abundance of the province’s birds and a huge database of information that can be used for bird conservation purposes well into the future.
Over the past couple of weeks, you may have noticed someone in a survey vest and clipboard standing roadside in various locations throughout the community during the first few hours of daylight, likely swatting at the swarm of mosquitos surrounding him. This is our Lands and Natural Resources Technician, Lucas Beaver. He is conducting Point Counts for the Atlas, a more specialized type of survey that requires the individual to travel to pre-determined locations and record all birds seen or heard at that point in a 5-minute period.
The data collected over five years provides essential information for researchers, scientists, First Nations, government officials and conservation professionals. It will guide environmental policies and conservation strategies for years to come.
Even though we are in year four of five for Atlas 3, there is still plenty of time to get out there and submit observations!
For more on the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas and information on how you can participate, please visit Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas (birdsontario.org).
