Welcome to the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas
ATLAS-3 HIGHLIGHTS
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ATLAS-3 INSIGHTS
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About the Atlas
Data collection for the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 3 (Atlas-3) began on January 1, 2021 and concluded December 31, 2025. Volunteer birders counted and recorded the presence of breeding birds across Ontario – from the south to the north – for five years.
Atlas-3 is a partnership between the same five organizations as Atlas-2: Birds Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Ministry of Natural Resources – Government of Ontario, Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO), and Ontario Nature.
Volunteers are central to the success of the Atlas. This enormous project is achievable only through the mass participation of the province’s birders. It shows what the birding community can accomplish when we work together with a single purpose.
The Purpose of the Atlas
The goal of the Atlas is to map the distribution and relative abundance of Ontario’s approximately 300 species of breeding birds – from as far south as Middle Island in Lake Erie, to Hudson Bay in the north.
The data collected over five years provides essential information for researchers, scientists, government officials and conservation professionals. It will guide environmental policies and conservation strategies for years to come.
Data collection for the two previous Ontario atlasses ran from 1981-1985 and 2001-2005, followed by the publication of books summarizing the results. The two previous projects were enormous (and successful!). But we’re hoping Atlas-3 will be the best one yet – providing an unprecedented understanding of the status, distribution and abundance of the province’s birds and a huge database of information that can be used for bird conservation purposes well into the future.
Next Steps
We are now officially in the publication phase of Atlas-3! Our dedicated team of authors are busy writing up species accounts for over 300 species, while organizers review and finalize data outputs. The final book is slated for publication in the fall of 2027. Atlas-3 results will also be published online in a user-friendly format that will complement the publication.
A huge thank you to over 2,000 volunteers, for this impressive data collection! Atlas-3 would not be possible without your support and dedication.
