Maine has finally published the most comprehensive survey of the state’s bird life ever compiled.
The Maine Bird Atlas is the product of volunteer observations from nearly every corner of the state between 2018 and 2022, according to Maine Audubon naturalist Doug Hitchcox.
“Just the fact that we had these thousands of volunteers and millions of cumulative records over those five years, it’s easily the largest citizen science project that the state has ever seen,” Hitchcox said.
The atlas records bird species that breed or spend winters in Maine and is broken down into nine-mile blocks.
It’s an in-depth update to the first atlas published more than 40 years ago. Hitchcox said it’s helped researchers identify some birds whose historic ranges are contracting and newcomers who are moving north, as the state’s climate warms.
It has also helped conservation groups pinpoint bird species, such as cliff and bank swallows and eastern meadowlarks, that are in steep decline, Hitchcox added.
“You don’t want species put on the endangered species list, but when you have data that proves that they need more attention and more help that is one of those hopefully more positive outcomes,” Hitchcox said.
The atlas is being published and is available for preorder, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.