Beginning in 2018, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW) will be launching the “Maine Bird Atlas” -- a new statewide project to document the birds that call Maine home. Maine Audubon is helping DIFW gather the information they need for this valuable (and fun!) project.
This project will provide a long overdue update to the “Atlas of Breeding Birds in Maine,” which was compiled between 1978 and 1983. As a citizen-science project, we'll be relying on the observations of people all across the state. Whether yours is just a casual interest in birds or you’re a full-fledged twitcher, you can contribute. You’re the only one who can report that a chickadee in your backyard is singing (possible breeding), checking out on old birdhouse (probably breeding), or feeding their recently fledged young (confirmed breeding). That’s all valuable data. If you live in a city, Rock Pigeons and House Sparrows count, too!
Using the established eBird database, a citizen-science project run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Maine Bird Atlas will have its own portal for submitting observations and exploring data in real-time. You can find it at eBird.org/atlasme. You can also stay up-to-date with the project on Facebook at facebook.com/mainebirdatlas/, and check on our progress at https://www.maine.gov/birdatlas
