Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas (Audubon MN)

Overall Project Outcome and Results
These were the first 2-years of an anticipated six-year effort which will result in a comprehensive, statewide survey documenting the breeding distribution of all species of birds in Minnesota. After six years the final atlas products will include the publication of a book and an interactive on-line atlas, both with detailed distribution maps, data on species breeding status, and a summary of data from other surveys. Full access to the information will be provided to the public as well as conservation agencies and organizations.

The first two years of the project, focused on project development, volunteer recruitment, establishment of a data management system, and 2 seasons of data collection. This is a statewide multi-partner project overseen and advised by steering and technical committees. One full-time and one part-time temporary project staff were hired during this period and were assisted by 30 volunteer coordinators overseeing 638 volunteer surveyors. Written materials, workshops, and field sessions were used to recruit and train participants in the project. A data access and information website was established (http://www.mnbba.org) and we contracted with Cornell University to adapt their web-based data entry, management, and reporting system (the e-bird database) to our project (http://bird.atlasing.org/Atlas/MN/Main?cmd=Start). The MNBBA website and the Cornell database are linked and complement each other.

Each Township in the state is divided into 4 "blocks" with one block (usually the NE) designated as the "priority block". Data collection began in spring of 2009 and by the end of the six-year project will include every one of the approximately 2,120 Township in Minnesota. An all-species, volunteer driven survey, and a separate specialized "point count" survey (overseen by NRRI) will be conducted in each of townships across the state. By June 30, 2010 data had been entered into our database from 2,076 survey blocks. The 638 volunteers reported spending 6,939 hours doing surveys. A total of 48,425 individual sightings were submitted on 238 species.

Project Results Use and Dissemination
Results from the Breeding Bird Survey are updated daily and available on our website at http://www.mnbba.org. Further analysis and dissemination of the data will be available at the conclusion of the project at the end of year 6 or 7. To date the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas has received coverage in a number of newspapers statewide and various organizational publications and newsletters.

For more information, visit http://www.lccmr.leg.mn/all_projects/2008_projects.html.