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Restore the Wild!

The 2nd Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas

The logos for the Virginia DWR, Virginia Breeding bird atlas 2, Virginia society of Ornithology and Virginia Tech.

Virginia has one of the highest bird diversities among states in the Eastern US, thanks to its geographic position, topography and climate. The Second Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas is a project to document the current geographic distribution and status of the Commonwealth’s breeding birds.

The Atlas is one of the largest avian survey projects in Virginia, both in terms of geographic coverage (the entire Commonwealth) and the number of species surveyed (over 200 breeding species). In order to implement this ambitious project, the DWR partnered with the Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO) and the Conservation Management Institute at Virginia Tech (CMI), along with a legion of citizen science volunteers across the Commonwealth. With over 1,400 volunteers participating, the Atlas is Virginia’s largest citizen science project to date.

The overarching goal behind the Atlas is to provide Virginia’s citizens and conservation partners with information that can be put to good use for avian conservation. With an estimated 3 billion birds lost from the United States and Canada since 1970, such information is more important now than ever. Improved understanding of where our bird species currently occur, in what numbers, and how their distribution within Virginia has changed over the past quarter century will enable us, collectively, to more efficiently target conservation efforts and actions on the ground. It will also provide us with a data set on Virginia’s bird distribution and abundance against which we can make future comparisons.

An image of a bright yellow bird on a branch; this is a yellow warbler

Yellow Warbler. Photo by Bob Schamerhorn.

Phase One – Data Collection (Completed)

An image of two great blue herons standing on a nest; one is holding a stick to add to their pile

Great Blue Heron. Photo by Bob Schamerhorn.

In Phase One, volunteers collected and submitted breeding bird data over a 5 year period (2016-2020) across a grid of Atlas Blocks covering the entire state. Volunteers worked under the guidance of the Atlas Coordinator, Dr. Ashley Peele, to produce over 5.5 million bird records across the entire state! These records reside in the Atlas eBird data portal and are viewable by anyone with an internet connection. A big thank you to all of the volunteers who participated in the Atlas, and to all of the volunteer Regional Coordinators who helped to guide it!

Between 2017 and 2020, the Atlas also employed field technicians to conduct point count surveys across the state. Through these surveys the techs systematically collected data on bird abundance in order to complement the volunteer-generated data. This effort has resulted in the largest baseline data set of its kind on the Commonwealth’s breeding birds, with over 15,000 points surveyed and over 230,000 individual birds counted.

Phase Two – Data Analysis (Completed)

In Phase Two, through funding provided by the DWR, CMI reviewed and analyzed the massive data sets generated by the Atlas. These analyses generated a number of publicly-available products which will help guide future avian conservation efforts in Virginia.

All Atlas data underwent a stringent review and quality control assessment. We also compiled and integrated additional data which was collected through breeding bird surveys by natural resource agencies and organizations between 2016 and 2020. This comprehensive Atlas data set formed the basis of several analyses tied to specific objectives:

An image of a barred owl looking out of a tree cavity

Barred Owl. Photo by Bob Schamerhorn.

  • Taking a “snapshot in time” of the current distribution of Virginia’s breeding birds. The comprehensive Atlas data set produced maps depicting the distribution of each documented breeding species.
  • Comparing the results of the first Atlas to those of the current Atlas. Between 1985 and 1989, the DWR partnered with the VSO and nearly 800 citizen scientists on the 1st Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas. Comparing the two Atlases sheds light on changes in distribution for individual species over the past 30 years. Although programs such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey already tell us how bird populations have changed over time, maps produced through the Atlas indicate where these population changes have unfolded on the landscape. By documenting where particular species are losing or gaining ground in the Commonwealth, we are better positioned to identify where these species may benefit from conservation action.
  • Producing maps of species abundance and generating species population estimates. Abundance data adds a third dimension to species distribution data by not only informing us of where a species occurs, but in what numbers. The bird abundance data were used to produce maps for many species across the state, revealing where in the state individual species are more and less abundant. From these maps we generated credible population estimates for many of the bird species for which we lack such information.

Phase Two – Atlas Products (In Progress)

While data review and analyses were taking place, the DWR, VSO and CMI began planning the publication of the Second Breeding Bird Atlas, ultimately deciding to present the data and findings via a website, with content rolled out in two phases. This first phase, published on October 31,2025,  includes background information about the project, 203 species accounts with bird photographs taken here in Virginia, a guide to interpreting the accounts, an acknowledgement section to highlight the 1,500+ individuals and organizations who contributed to the Atlas project, a description of the Atlas methods, and a “first peek” into a deeper analysis of Atlas results. 

The second phase will launch in early 2026 and will include more technical information on data modeling, Atlas coverage, and tables that show the timing of breeding behaviors across species. Additional sections will highlight Virginia’s geography and habitats and the role of the Atlas in bird conservation.

Because the Atlas is published as a website, we can make periodic updates to its content. One of the most exciting future additions that we anticipate is the inclusion of Research and Education items. Here we will report on projects that further the mission of the Atlas by incorporating Atlas data into new studies and efforts. 

Atlas Media

Atlas Updates for Phase Two

New blog articles with updates on our progress will be published here during Phase Two of the Atlas. You can receive these and other Atlas-related updates directly by joining our email list.

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Archived Phase One Blog Articles

Read more Phase One blog articles in the archive…

Other Phase One Atlas Media

Additional Information