2nd Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas

Atlas Events

VABBA2 Season 5 Kick-Off Meeting!

Join Atlas volunteers and coordinators for at VDGIF headquarters on March 14th (10am-5pm) to launch our final field season.  The meeting will feature several guest speakers, including Ian Davies from Cornell’s eBird program.  The afternoon will be devoted to field season planning and mini-Atlas workshops.  Please consider joining us for this event.  Register here by March 6, 2020 and click here to download the meeting agenda.

Spring/Summer 2020 Programs

Atlas Coordinator, Dr. Ashley Peele, will present an Atlas program at the following locations and dates:

  • March 17th, 7pm, Boone, NC. (Location details TBA). Hosted by the High Country Audubon Chapter.
  • March 24, Winston-Salem, NC (Location details TBA).  Hosted by the Winston-Salem Audubon Society.
  • April 15, 7pm, Virginia Beach (Location details TBA). Hosted by the Tidewater Master Naturalist Chapter.
  • May 1, 7pm, Ivy Creek Nature Preserve, Charlottesville. Hosted by the Monticello Bird Club.
  • May 1-3, VSO Annual Meeting in Williamsburg.  Hosted by the Williamsburg Bird Club.
  • May 10-12, Breeding Birds of Appalachia Workshop at the 40th Spring Wildflower Symposium.  Hosted by the The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen.

Please join us to learn more about the Atlas program, exciting results from our first four years, and guidance on how to get involved in our final field season!

VABBA2 Weekend Blockbusting Rallies 2020

Come join us for our final blitz to collect breeding bird data in every corner of the Commonwealth!  During the final field season for the project, we will be hosting a series of Atlas rallies in the most under-birded corners of the state.  The goal of these events is to provide a weekend for volunteers to travel to a less known part of the Commonwealth and work in small teams to survey a number of priority blocks over the course of the weekend.  In other words, to blockbust!  Atlas Coordinator, Dr. Ashley Peele, is partnering with regional coordinators, as well as Chief Rangers at four of VA’s State Parks to host these events.

Here is the current event lineup for 2020…

Jun 5-June 7 | Fairy Stone Atlas Rally* (near Martinsville) : Register here to help us tackle this section of the Blue Ridge foothills.

Click here to reserve your lodging/camping at Twin Lakes SP

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June 12-14 | Breaks Interstate Park Atlas Rally (near Grundy): This trip is being run in conjunction with the Virginia Society of Ornithology’s summer field trip series.  Email Meredith Bell at merandlee_at_gmail.com for more information about this trip.  Come help us survey this beautiful corner area and hopefully get to see some of Virginia’s elk as well!

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June 19-21 | Occoneechee Atlas Rally* (near Kerr Lake Reservoir): Register here to help us survey this southern border region of the central Piedmont.

Click here to reserve your lodging/camping at Occoneechee State Park

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June 28-30 | Natural Tunnel Atlas Rally* (Scott county): Register here for our most remote rally in the farthest corner of southwest VA.

Click here to reserve your lodging/camping at Natural Tunnel SP

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*Bunk-style housing is available at these three events for Atlas volunteers.  This housing will be assigned on a first-come first-serve basis, so register soon if interested! Note: bunkhouses at Occoneechee and Fairy Stone are camping bunkhouses (open plan cabin with bunk beds).  Tent camping is also an option!

Registration deadline for all events is May 1st!

The General Schedule for these events is available now.  Specific event details will be emailed to registered participants several weeks prior to each event.