Thank you for being a part of the New York birding community. Your checklists power research and conservation throughout the state and beyond, and 2021 brings another great way to enjoy birds: the third New York Breeding Bird Atlas<https://ebird.org/atlasny/home>!
WHAT IS A BREEDING BIRD ATLAS? Breeding Bird Atlases (or BBAs) are dedicated efforts to understand the populations of breeding birds in a specific region. The information collected is invaluable for guiding bird conservation. In New York, the atlas runs for 5 years (2020-2024), and year 2 is beginning now! HOW CAN YOU JOIN THE FUN? All you have to do is go birding and report your sightings to eBird. The NY BBA III is fully integrated with eBird, so with a couple minor changes, you're essentially already atlasing! There are three things to keep in mind to be a part of the atlas: 1. Follow the ‘block’ system. Atlas data are collected within 'atlas blocks<https://ebird.org/atlasny/about/atlas-blocks>'—squares that are ~3mi x 3mi in size: if you reach the edge of a block, make sure to stop your checklist and start a new one. 2. Understanding breeding codes is key. The goal of the atlas is to document breeding behaviors using specific breeding codes<https://ebird.org/atlasny/about/breeding-behaviors>. 3. Set your eBird portal to the NY BBA III. Once you understand breeding codes and the block boundaries, you just need to specifically tag your lists as a part of the atlas—this is very easy, and we have a walkthrough of the process here<https://ebird.org/atlasny/about/submitting-data>. QUESTIONS? If you have any more questions, please come join the Atlas Year 2 Kick-off<https://ebird.org/atlasny/news/atlas-year-2-kick-off-april-7th-630-pm> event on 7 April from 6:30-8:30pm! This event will talk about the atlas progress, goals, and what’s on tap for this year. You can also check out atlas news<https://ebird.org/atlasny/home>, upcoming events<https://ebird.org/atlasny/about/events>, and stay informed by signing up for the atlas newsletter<https://mailchi.mp/a6c58a33437d/nybbaiiisignup>. We can’t wait to have you join the team of the more than 1780 atlasers who have already contributed observations on over 200 breeding species<https://ebird.org/atlasny/state/US-NY>. We’ll see you out there. Happy birding, Matt Medler Northern New York Region Co-coordinator -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
