The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has preserved more than one million acres of land within their state. Keeping a current Breeding Bird Atlas is one of their many environmental projects.
New York’s first publication of The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State came out in 1985. Even though they are still working on revising the atlas, you can still find maps and breeding information on their site.
The New York State Ornithological Association divided the region into ten main areas with a total of 5,333 3×3 mile blocks for the surveys.
The new Atlas of Breeding Birds will be similar to the old one with many breeding distribution maps.
The maps of the Blue-winged Teal are an example of how one particular bird has declined in New York. By studying data over years of Breeding Bird Atlases, conservation plans can be drawn up to help birds in decline.
I can’t wait for the new book to come out! Great post and glad to see you added the NYS atlas to your wonderful new blog!