The Maine Bird Atlas portal adds great new features that let you explore atlas specific information, including Breeding Range Maps and the ability to explore data on the block level. These pages are updated in real-time, as you submit your checklists with breeding codes to the atlas portal, allowing for instant feedback and review of what birds are breeding in the state. In order for these breeding maps and explore features to be accurate, you may need to change a few of your regular eBirding behaviors, particularly when using hotspots.
For the Maine Bird Atlas we are encouraging everyone to report locations of birds as accurately as possible so that each species is in the correct block. This is the same general rule as regular ‘eBirding’ where recommendations are: “Shorter distance checklists are strongly preferred, ideally 1 kilometer or less, but do your best to keep it under 7 kilometers.” The biggest concern needing extra care with the precision of sightings is if people are crossing multiple block boundaries within a single checklist. Each block is approximately 3 miles square with boundaries that may bisect larger birding areas, especially hotspots. Before birding a large area, we recommend checking on the boundaries of a block to make sure you properly plot your breeding birds. Here are just a couple examples:
In the map above you can see the hotspots indicated by the large red pins. While most of them fall safety within the boundaries of the blocks, there are a few that are split (some multiple times) by block boundaries. Spirit Pond Preserve, located near the top middle of this map has its hotspot plotted in a block that captures a small fraction of the preserve. In this case we wouldn’t want observers submitting breeding birds to the hotspot (unless they are in that small parcel) and should instead create personal locations to accurately plot where the birds are. You can also see the Seawall Beach, Phippsburg hotspot near the center of the map – many of the beach nesting species here are found east of the hotspot pin, near the spit which actually falls in the nest block over. Again, creating a personal hotspot where you actually see those birds nesting is preferred method for eBirding those breeding birds.
One more example is the popular birding hotspot, Monhegan Island. As you can see in the map above, the block boundary almost perfectly bisects the island. The hotspot pin falls in the western half of the island, fortunately where many birders spend most of their time. If your atlas efforts do take you north to Cathedral Woods (looking for Winter Wrens, Black-throated Green Warblers, or Swainson’s Thrushes) or east to the ocean-side cliffs (because Herring Gull chicks are pretty adorable) then it is best to create a personal location and make sure your breeding observations fall inside the correct block.
There are many more examples like this across the state. The important take-away is that we encourage you to create a new personal location for breeding birds to ensure they are plotted in the correct blocks.