DRAYTON – The Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas (OBBA) is in its third round.
Originally completed in 1981-1985 and again in 2001-2005, the third atlas started last year in 2021 and will continue to 2025. The goal of the OBBA is to map the distribution and relative abundance of Ontario’s breeding bird species. Ontario is divided into 10 x 10 kilometre squares.
Katharina Richter is a volunteer with the OBBA, observing birds in the “Drayton square”, conducting breeding bird surveys and reporting her findings to the OBBA.
The data collected provides essential information for researchers, scientists, the government, and conversation agencies that will help guide environmental policies and conservation strategies into the future.
Richter, a senior biologist for a local environmental consulting company, undertook roadside point counts last summer, and is now looking for landowners to provide access to their properties so she can undertake breeding bird surveys on private lands, especially in woodlands, wetlands, thickets and meadows.
Most land within the Drayton square is privately owned, and data on breeding birds is limited from roadside observations, where traffic and noise interfere with the surveys.
Different species of birds prefer different habitats and Richter would like the opportunity to survey natural habitats where she may find birds that prefer woodland interior habitats and wetland.
If you own a woodland or wetland and can provide property access, contact Richter at katharinasrichter@gmail.com or at 519-669-5675. Richter will provide cooperating landowners with a list of the birds observed on their property and the breeding evidence of each.
For more information on the OBBA or to find out how to get involved, visit www.birdsontario.org.
