The 2023 Big Atlas Weekend is over!
North Carolina kicked it out of the park for Nocturnal Atlasing and came in second place, along with Ontario in third, as Runners-up to Puerto Rico!, winner of this year’s event. Congratulations to Puerto Rico and especially to 9 year old Alonso Arce, star atlaser who also did many nocturnal checklists in PR! Alonso said, “It’s my first trophy!” and added, “Everyone is welcome to bird here.”
A huge thank you to the
171 NC atlasers
who spent
582 hours
identifying 173 species
recording 12,575 behaviors
averaging 7.4 checklists/atlaser
while submitting 1,192 checklists!
We drew names from among those who completed challenges this year:
- Winner with newly coded or upgraded species – Bryan Sharp
- Winner of Checklists in Incomplete blocks – Ash Ranson
- Winner of Nocturnal Checklists – Robert Chesser
- Winner of Social Media for the Big Atlas Weekend – Chuck Saunders
- Most Valuable Atlaser – David Allen – who visited 26 blocks, confirming 74 spp and 634 behaviors.
- Top winner of the Kickoff competition – Joe Poston
- Honorable Mention for recruitment – Erla Beegle
ALL participants get 20% off of any course from Bird Academy. Ask about the code so that you can enter. Everyone won, everyone helps! Thank you!!
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Overview of the 2023 Event
Schedule
- June 15th: Join the NC Bird Atlas Team for a Q & A webinar about “Anything Atlas”. Register here for Thursday eve, 6-7 pm.
- June 21 6-8 pm EDT – Kickoff. Introduction by Atlas coordinators followed by Trivia Game led by the NC Bird Atlas. Register here: https://tinyurl.com/425z6yuf]
- June 23-25 – Big Atlas Weekend! Go atlasing in any priority block from 6 pm EDT on Friday to 11:59 pm EDT on Sunday. Join the Facebook Event Here
- June 28 6-8 pm EDT – Awards ceremony. Enjoy highlights from the weekend, share your stories in small groups with atlasers from all regions, and find out who won the individual and state champion awards. Register here: https://tinyurl.com/2n4h6bap
How to Participate
Choose any under visited priority block and just…Go atlasing! between 6:00 pm EDT Friday, June 23 and 11:59 pm EDT Sunday, June 25 and submit your checklist through the North Carolina Breeding Bird Atlas portal in eBird. If you are new to atlasing, check out our Atlasing Essentials! You can even get the T-Shirt!!
Sharpen Your Skills at Statewide Events
In the PIEDMONT Pick your Adventure in Person County!
- June 23 – Campout Friday and listen for nocturnals (cancelled in the case of rain);
- June 24 – 6:30 AM BYO boat, and paddle out with a skilled technician from McGhees Crossroads (needs 5+ people registered to go);
- June 24 – 7:30 AM If the weather holds, take an all-ability birding trip along the byways of Person County taught by an atlas technician.
- June 24 – 8:30 AM Spend Saturday at a Hurdle Mills farm with your family, RAIN OR SHINE. Learn to use binoculars while wandering farm pastures and/or enjoy family-focused bird activities under the picnic shelter at the ballpark.
- To register, contact cc.king@ncwildlife.org
In the MOUNTAINS Head to the hills for one of four guided walks:
- June 23 – Friday – 6 PM – Henderson County – Our first field trip of the weekend will be in southern Henderson County in the Zirconia NW Priority Block. The walk will be led by Pam Torlina and Mike Resch. Meet at the Marathon gas station parking lot at 94 Green River Rd., Zirconia just east of Exit 3 on US 25. For more information contact Pam at pam@conservingcarolina.org
- June 24 – Saturday – 7 AM – This walk will be in Wilkes County within the Wilkesboro SE Priority Block. Meet NC Bird Atlas technician, Andrew Rapp, and NC Bird Atlas Block Adopter, Lelia Bentley, at the parking lot located on the 100 block of West North St., just west of the intersection with S. Bridge St., Wilkesboro (it has no street address). GPS 36.149301, -81.152722. Beginning at 7 AM, we’ll start at Mulberry Fields and then make our way over to the community college for more Big Atlas Weekend Atlasing! For more information and to sign-up, contact Lee @ lee.sherrill@ncwildlife.org
- June 25 – Sunday – 8 AM – Buncombe County – One of our Sunday walks will be in Buncombe County at the Craggy Pinnacle SE Priority Block. Meet Mike Resch at Owen Park, 875 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa where we’ll carpool to the first stop just 5 minutes away. For more information contact Mike at reschmike1@gmail.com
- June 25 – Sunday – 8 AM – Transylvania County – This walk will take place in the Shining Rock SE priority block. We will meet at 8AM at the NCWRC/Bobby N. Setzer State Fish Hatchery 1401 Fish Hatchery Rod, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768. This walk will be lead by Nick Accardo and NC Bird Atlas team member, Lee Sherrill. For more information contact Lee at lee.sherrill@ncwildlife.org
All walks will last about 3 hours. Carpooling is highly recommended due to limited parking in some locations. Space is limited, so we also recommend registering with the leader in advance.
Plus (!) birders who have adopted priority blocks across the state will be out atlasing their blocks that weekend looking for additional species and breeding confirmations. It’s a great time of year for atlasing, when many of our local breeding species are actively feeding their young. Hope you can contribute to our breeding bird atlasing activities during the Big Atlas Weekend! For more information, contact Lee.Sherrill@ncwildlife.org
Challenges and Prizes
The Big Atlas Weekend will have prize opportunities for atlasers of all skill levels, ranging from first-timers to veterans. One prize winner will be randomly selected in each of the following categories to win a Cornell Lab of Ornithology Bird Academy course of their choosing.
THIS YEAR’S CHALLENGES ARE…
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- Nocturnal checklists submitted between 20 minutes after sunset and 40 minutes before sunrise
- Newly coded or upgraded species in a block or square
- Checklists with breeding codes from an incomplete block or square
- Atlas-related photos on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter with the appropriate atlas project tagged.
For background information to accomplish this year’s challenges:
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- Block Map
- Learn about breeding codes.
- Explore the Atlas effort map.
Interstate Competition
Just to make this event even more exciting, the Atlas team has set up a friendly competition between the five participating projects—Newfoundland, Ontario, New York, Maryland and DC, and North Carolina. The winning project will receive the Big Atlas Weekend trophy and have their state or province engraved on the side. Maine took it home last year; who will get it this year??