MN Breeding Bird AtlasMN Breeding Bird Atlas
Welcome to the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas (MNBBA)!
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The Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas is an important bird conservation project that will identify every species that breeds in the state and where in the state they breed. Over the next five years, beginning this spring, hundreds of volunteers (we may need more than a thousand!) will conduct bird surveys throughout Minnesota and document the breeding behavior for all the species they observe.
Results from the MNBBA will enable us to:
What does it take to conduct a survey? It’s a 4-step process described in detail in the Volunteer Surveyors Handbook.
Priority Blocks are specific areas that must be surveyed for the Atlas to be complete. Every Priority Block needs an ‘owner’ who takes responsibility for completing the survey in that block. You can find Priority Blocks with their Block ID for your area of interest on the surveyor’s website (http://bird.atlasing.org/Atlas/MN/). If you need help finding a block, contact the Regional Coordinator for your geographic area.
There are three things to consider as you get familiar with your block: habitat, access, and property ownership. Select places in the block to survey so all habitat types are represented, are reasonably accessible, and if the land is privately owned, that you get permission to be on the property. No permission – no trespassing.
This is what the Atlas is all about. The survey goal for every block is to record as many different species as the surveyor finds within the block and the strongest breeding evidence for each species (e.g. adult carrying nesting material). To accomplish this, make multiple visits to your block throughout the season.
Finally, you need to add your observations to the MNBBA database. We encourage you to enter your data online after every visit. If you are not comfortable working online, don’t let that stop you. We can find someone who will help with data entry.
Ready to join us? Instructions for Registration, Block Requests, and Data Entry are in the document listed below. Request a Priority Block, review the Handbook, then start watching the birds in your block! If you have trouble downloading any of the materials, contact the Project Coordinator.
For more information about the project, contact your Regional Coordinator or the Project Coordinator, Bonnie Sample, bsample@audubon.org, 651-739-9332.
MNBBA Surveyor Handbook
MNBBA Field Card
MNBBA Reference Card
Regional Coordinators
Region Map with Counties
Breeding Evidence Codes
Permission Letter
All Species with Safe Dates
Vehicle Placard
MNBBA Data Entry Instructions
MNBBA Verification Form