WE NEED ATLASERS FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS BREEDING BIRD ATLAS II:

 

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

 

  1. A thorough knowledge of bird identification, including song. You don’t have to be an “expert” by any means, but you cannot be a novice or backyard birder either. If you can tell a Warbling Vireo from a Red-eyed Vireo, then consider being an atlaser.
  2. Be comfortable with entering data on a website. This means you have to have a decent PC with a good high speed Internet connection. You should be comfortable entering various codes and dates on data sheets on a website. If you are not comfortable with computers, then please give this a pass. But in all truth, the process may sound daunting, but anyone can learn it as long as you are not a technophobe.
  3. That you read and answer e-mails. This may sound obvious, but you would be surprised how tough it has been to contact some of the atlasers because they don’t answer e-mails. All communication between Regional Coordinators and atlasers is done via e-mail. If you are one of those people who do not look at your e-mails but once a month, please give this project a pass.
  4. You will likely need to do at least a little walking or hiking in order to cover you block. Not a lot in most cases, but some.
  5. Most importantly: you will need to spend at LEAST 20 Hours IN THE FIELD this spring and summer atlasing birds. The breeding season you will be monitoring runs between MAY AND EARLY AUGUST. You can break up the 20 hours to a lot of short (1-2 hour) visits to your block, but you need to finish your block this year if at all humanly possible.

 

There are a wide variety of blocks all around Worcester County that need Atlasers so we could really use your help. But before you go any further, go to:

 

http://massaudubon.org/birdatlas/bba2/methods/index.php

 

And THOROUGHLY read all about the atlas process and what will be required of you. Click on all the links. If, after that, you would like to be an atlaser this year, and I hope you will, please send your name, address, e-mail and the general area you would like to atlas to:

 

JOAN WALSH: Project Head at : birdatlas@massaudubon.org

 

And send all the particulars to her. She will forward them back to me, and I will contact you after I have entered you into the data base.

 

Thanks, and I hope to hear from you!

 

Mark Lynch/Sheila Carroll

Regional Coordinators

Moa.lynch@verizon.net