The New Zealand Bird Atlas project has successfully concluded after five years, from 2019 to 2024. The community involved in the project observed 309 bird species over this period. The most common species were the pahirini/chaffinch, manu pango/blackbird, and tauhou/silvereye.
This project, one of New Zealand’s largest community science initiatives, was coordinated by Wildlife Management International Limited for Birds New Zealand. Over 441,000 checklists and 145,000 hours of work were contributed by volunteer birdwatchers across the country. They used the community science platform, eBird, to upload their observations.
The project’s goal was to observe all possible bird species within grid squares that covered the entire country, according to Atlas Coordination Team Leader Dan Burgin. More than 3,232 grid squares, each 10 x 10km, were set up to guide the surveyors.
The project ended with over 97.3% of these squares having received bird observational data. The community’s efforts were supported by data uploaded by the Department of Conservation, several regional councils, Environment Canterbury, Environment Southland, and other organizations. Toi Toi Wines also funded six Atlas expeditions to target under-surveyed areas and increase coverage.
The project aimed to collect up-to-date information on bird species in New Zealand to inform future conservation decisions and prevent more species from nearing extinction. This goal was achieved with the extensive coverage and number of checklists submitted.
The data from this project will allow for comparison of bird distribution with past Atlas project datasets, revealing nationwide changes in bird distribution over a large timescale.
This Atlas project was the first to be a digital-first project, thanks to a partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The eBird app allowed real-time data entry and outputs, enabling the community to enter observations directly and follow the results throughout the project.
Despite challenges like a global pandemic and rising living costs, the community contributed an impressive and nationally significant dataset. More results will be presented at the annual Birds New Zealand conference and in an e-Book to be published next year. The president of Birds New Zealand, Bruce McKinlay, praised the community’s achievement, stating it will have lasting positive impacts on bird research and conservation in New Zealand.
