{"id":29957,"date":"2020-01-01T14:44:22","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T19:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=29957"},"modified":"2020-01-16T15:44:25","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T20:44:25","slug":"calling-all-bird-enthusiasts-join-the-maryland-dc-breeding-bird-atlas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2020\/01\/01\/calling-all-bird-enthusiasts-join-the-maryland-dc-breeding-bird-atlas\/","title":{"rendered":"Calling all Bird Enthusiasts! Join the Maryland-DC Breeding Bird Atlas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Image<\/a>If you have seen the recent news, you may have heard that the number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by three billion, or almost 29%, over the last 50 years. Unfortunately, Maryland is not exempt from this decline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With changes in habitat and climate over the years, it is crucial to know what species are still utilizing Maryland to breed. One important population survey method is a breeding bird atlas which covers a large geographic area. By tracking bird populations, distributions and the timing of their breeding, researchers can understand how an ecosystem\u2019s health is changing over time.\u00a0 Maryland is fortunate to have breeding bird atlas data from 1983-1987 and 2002-2006. The majority of the data collected during these efforts was from volunteers.\u00a0 Beginning this year, the third Maryland \u2013 District of Columbia Breeding Bird Atlas (MD-DC BBA3) project and will run through 2024, and you can join in the effort!<\/span><\/p>\n

Data for the Atlas are collected through the <\/span>MD-DC BBA3 eBird portal<\/span><\/a> and not the standard eBird page. Data can be collected across the state or in your own backyard. You also can submit one observation or multiple sightings. You just have to be able to identify bird species and be willing to submit your sightings into the MD-DC BBA3 eBird portal.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are interested in joining the effort or just want to know more, check out the <\/span>MD-DC BBA3 eBird page<\/span><\/a> which includes <\/span>background information<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>a detailed handbook<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>a list of events<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>social media link<\/span><\/a> to stay informed. Gabriel Foley is the MD-DC BBA3 Atlas coordinator. For more information, you can connect with him on Twitter and Instagram at @birdnirdfoley, or send him an email at\u00a0<\/span>mddcbba3@mdbirds.org<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Happy New Year HabiChat fans!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Winter can be a tough time of year for many of our local wildlife species. You can give them a hand by creating habitat and providing natural foods. In this winter edition of HabiChat, learn about Cedar Waxwings, a lovely resident bird that can be found in backyards, as well as our native inkberry holly that provides important cover. In addition, this issue also includes articles on Winter Greens for Wildlife, Eastern Screech Owl Nest Boxes, and how to help with the 3<\/span>rd<\/span><\/sup> Maryland-DC Breeding Bird Atlas.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Winter is also a time for maintenance projects, so don\u2019t forget to <\/span>clean out and repair nest boxes<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>prune your shrubs and trees<\/span><\/a>. If you are feeding birds, please also make sure to <\/span>keep those feeders clean<\/span><\/a>. In addition, water is crucial to many species this time of year. Consider adding a heated bird bath or pet water bowl to your landscape to help local wildlife. If you are looking for fun projects to do with the kids, why not go on a <\/span>winter safari<\/span><\/a> or make <\/span>seed wreaths<\/span><\/a> for the birds?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, I am pleased to announce that we have completed the Simple School Wildlife Garden Guide. The guide contains basic information on how to start a school wildlife garden and includes suggested plants and designs for three types of gardens: a monarch garden, a songbird garden, and a pollinator garden. The guide can be found on our <\/span>Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat page<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Happy Habitats,
\n<\/span><\/em>Kerry Wixted<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Click here<\/a>\u00a0to have HabiChat\u2014the quarterly backyard wildlife habitat newsletter from the\u00a0Wild Acres<\/a>\u00a0program\u2014delivered right to your inbox!<\/em><\/p>\n

In this Issue
\n<\/em><\/strong>Habitat Tip: Eastern Screech Owl Nest Boxes<\/a>
\nHabitat Tip: Winter Greens for Wildlife<\/a>
\nNative Animal Profile: Cedar Waxwing<\/a>
\nNative Plant Profile: Inkberry<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have seen the recent news, you may have heard that the number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by three billion, or almost 29%, over the last 50 years. Unfortunately, Maryland is not exempt from this decline.\u00a0 With changes in habitat and climate over the years, it is crucial  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":174,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,13],"tags":[5142,3614,3617],"class_list":["post-29957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-wildlife","tag-breeding-bird-atlas","tag-habichat","tag-kerry-wixted"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/174"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29957"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29957\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29978,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29957\/revisions\/29978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}