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Public Invited To Add To State Bird Atlas

en.wikipedia.org

Information gathered in the first season by more than 700 volunteers documenting bird breeding activity in Wisconsin found eight species nesting here that weren't found 15 years ago and range shifts in others such as the wild turkey.

Volunteers collect the data and give the results to the DNR where the "Breeding Bird Atlas" is compiled.

Atlas Coordinator Ryan Brady says the gathering is fairly straightforward..

"....it's essentially birdwatching anywhere you can in the state. Submitting your observations to an online data base. The real key is to add codes for breeding evidence for different species of birds..."

The first results were recently available, but Brady says the Atlas is a five-year project. He says the last atlas was compiled in the late 1990's. He says after this project is over, they can compare populations over the decades. But a bird once rare in Wisconsin seems to enjoy being here. Turkeys are now found in every corner of the state. Also observed were whooping cranes and seven other species that weren't nesting here 15 years ago.

The survey is available at the Wisconsin Society of Ornithology website at wsobirds.org/atlas or more information is on the DNR website.

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