New Maritime birding atlas 'testament to community spirit'

A new resource for Maritime birders is being unveiled in Charlottetown on Saturday.

The Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas is a collection of writing, photos and maps gathered by more than 1,000 volunteers. The last atlas was released more than 20 years ago, the authors say, so the new one is vital to determining which species are doing well and which need conservation attention.

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Laura Tranquilla, of Bird Studies Canada, said birds are a good indicator for what's happening in the landscape.

"So let`s say there`s a change in our forest structure, or a change in water quality, well the birds, if the appear or disappear in these different habitats, it helps to tell you that there`s changes happening at the landscape that maybe we might not notice, but the birds are reflecting that," she said.

The project is an initiative of Bird Studies Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and regional natural history groups.

50,000 hours of volunteer work

It came together thanks to almost 50,000 hours of volunteer work by birders in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I.

It's being launched at the Confederation Centre Public Library in Charlottetown at 2 p.m. on Saturday.The New Brunswick launches are set for May 10 in Sackville, May 16 in Saint John and May 19 in Fredericton.

"It's a major event to celebrate, we're celebrating all those volunteer efforts, not only for the beautiful maps and the beautiful photographs that are in this book, I think it's a testament to the community spirit around bird conservation that this book was produced with so much volunteer input," Tranquilla said.