 New York State Ornithological Association For the birders and birds of the Empire State |
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NY BBA III begins in 2020! If you attended the 2018 NYSOA Annual Meeting, you could feel the excitement. It was here that Ian Davies of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology introduced NYS birders to the basics of atlasing in an eBird world. In 2020 New York will become the first state to embark upon its third breeding bird atlas project. For five years, birders throughout the state will document breeding evidence of birds—entering all their data in eBird as the official BBA data platform (see an example).
NY BBA III Steering Committee The BBA III Steering Committee, co-chaired by Matt Schlesinger of the New York Natural Heritage Program and Kathy Schneider of NYSOA, is holding quarterly meetings and making good progress.
NY BBA III Chooses Logo POSTED 8/8/18
NY BBA III Partners The New York State Ornithological Association is working with these six parties on NY BBA III:
History: New York's First Two Atlas Projects In the early 1980s, New York was one of the first states to undertake
an Atlas project, mapping the breeding distribution of its birds. Twenty years later came the second Atlas project, named "Atlas 2000." Throughout the
five years of study for Atlas 2000, field observers visited various habitats within
assigned blocks and recorded evidence
of breeding
for
as many
species as possible. They were provided with instructions, field
cards, and maps, and asked to use specific criteria to rate each species
as
a possible, probable, or confirmed breeder. |
We are excited to announce that Julie Hart was hired to fill the position of Atlas Project Coordinator beginning January 14, 2019. Julie beat out an outstanding field of nearly 80 applicants who sought this position. She impressed the Search Committee with her combination of scientific training, field work, large-scale citizen science, and project management experience. Some New York birders will remember Julie from the years she spent in New York working on the Important Bird Areas program with Audubon New York. During this time, she was based at the Cornell Lab where she had the opportunity to work on eBird during its development. From 2007 to 2009 Julie was a Conservation Biologist for the Vermont Center for Ecostudies. In this position she recruited, trained, and organized more than 150 volunteers for Mountain Birdwatch, a project that monitors high-elevation birds in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Julie has participated in bird atlases in Vermont and Connecticut and she has trained volunteers to use eBird. Her most recent position as a Database Manager for Yale’s Map of Life project involved managing large datasets not unlike those generated by a bird atlas. Julie will work in DEC offices in Albany as a part of the staff of the New York Natural Heritage Program and she will be supervised by Matt Schlesinger, Co-chair of the NY BBA III Steering Committee. 
