Atlassing for Species at Risk

One of the goals of the Newfoundland Breeding Bird Atlas is to learn more about Species at Risk on the island, and we encourage atlassers to become familiar with these species and the habitats in which they are found. Click the photos below to download a profile for species found in Newfoundland that are listed or being considered for listing under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA).

These species documents are intended to provide all the basic information you need to find, identify, and assess probability of breeding for bird species at risk in Newfoundland. Each species profile provides basic habitat information, important behaviour clues, nesting information, and more. All information compiled in these profiles has been gleaned from the Birds of the World online database¹, which is published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Each species profile also includes a map of where the species has been detected in Newfoundland in the past 10 years (2011–2021), along with the probability of breeding associated with the sightings. The data for these maps comes from preliminary data from the Newfoundland Breeding Bird Atlas (2020–2021), as well as eBird and Breeding Bird Survey data (2011–2021). Individuals of each species are likely found in places around the island not yet shown on the maps. Many places in Newfoundland are difficult to access and many of our species at risk tend to breed in remote areas.

Atlas field teams are deployed around the island each year in an effort to cover new areas and detect all bird species, including species at risk; however, they can only do so much. Volunteer atlassers are incredibly important in filling in gaps in our knowledge of where species at risk breed in Newfoundland. Be sure to watch and listen for species at risk, and then submit your sightings to the Atlas. You can make a significant contribution to our knowledge of these species!

Bank Swallow	Barn Swallow	Bobolink
Common Nighthawk	Short-eared Owl	Peregrine Falcon
Piping Plover	Evening Grosbeak	Gray-cheeked Thrush
Olive-sided Flycatcher	Red Crossbill	Rusty Blackbird
Barrow’s Goldeneye	Harlequin Duck	Leach’s Storm-petrel

Species accounts were compiled by Darrian Washinger and the winter 2022 Memorial University Conservation Biology II: Conservation in Practice (BIOL 4651/7944) class (Emilie Dedeban, Jillian McGroarty, Rachael Moran, Praveen Weerasekara, and Alexandra Zvezdin). Accounts were edited by Catherine Dale, Jenna McDermott, and Laura Tranquilla. Maps were created by Sandra Marquez. The creation of these documents was made possible through funding from the Habitat Stewardship Program.

¹Birds of the World (2022). Edited by S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg. Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home