Date: 3/11/26 10:25 am From: Ginger Langdon-Lassagne via groups.io <binzer...> Subject: [slocobirding] [CALBIRDS] California Bird Atlas Update + March 19 Town Hall
Huge Thanks to Tom for sending this info along from CalBirds!
Hi, Everyone - I am Ginger Langdon-Lassagne (Virginia on the gov’t forms… and when my mom is mad at me…) and I’m available to answer any of your questions about the California Breeding Bird Atlas Project. (Should you add the “S” code to every singing Bewick’s Wren? YES! but add the "S7", if you’ve been hearing it for a week or more, in this location! Or the M code, if you find more than 6 of them singing on a hike up Coon Creek at MDO!) You can reach me at <binzer...> <mailto:<binzer...> and I will try to reply promptly (Carizzo Plain visits will my delay response times, obviously! 😅)
Our community in SLO county has really stepped up to the task of carefully and consistently reporting breeding bird activity, and we are one of the frontrunners in the friendly competition between different regions. In the ten weeks or so since the project began, we have already reported data for over 42% of our area’s Atlas Blocks, and we have 34 species already CONFIRMED as breeding here, including 14 Red-tailed Hawk nesting sites and 10 Anna’s Hummingbird nests. Adding the breeding codes to an ebird checklist is fun and easy, and for myself, I find it adds a dimension of additional excitement to my birding!
I hope to have more updates soon about specific challenges, but for now, please join the project and help us find the best set of data we can collect, over the next five years.
Thanks!
Ginger Langdon-Lassagne
California Breeding Bird Atlas Regional Co-Coordinator for SLO County
<binzer...>
> On Mar 10, 2026, at 2:49 PM, Tom Edell via groups.io <TEdell...> wrote:
>
> FYI, for those with questions or just want to learn about the progress of the California Bird Atlas, consider attending the upcoming webinar. Be sure to check out the Feb 1-Dispatch <https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/news/atlas-dispatch-feb-1-feb-28-2026> that relays recent confirmed breeding species in California.
>
> Thanks to Virginia and Barry Langdon-Lassagne for being the regional atlas coordinators for San Luis Obispo County!
>
> Tom Edell
> Cayucos, CA
>
> From: <CALBIRDS...> <mailto:<CALBIRDS...> <CALBIRDS...> <mailto:<CALBIRDS...>> On Behalf Of Van Pierszalowski via groups.io <http://groups.io/> > Sent: Monday, March 9, 2026 9:12 AM
> To: <CALBIRDS...> <mailto:<CALBIRDS...> > Subject: [CALBIRDS] California Bird Atlas Update + March 19 Town Hall
>
> Birders,
>
> As many of you know, California’s first statewide Breeding Bird Atlas launched on January 1, 2026. In just over two months, the level of participation across the state has been remarkable. Breeding code use in January and February was up a staggering +545% over last year.
>
> As of March 9:
>
> 42,885 checklists have been submitted to the Atlas
>
>
> 2,538 atlasers have joined the project and submitted at least one checklist
>
>
> 3,924 blocks have Atlas data
>
>
> All 58 counties have Atlas data
>
>
> By the end of January, 61 species had accepted Confirmed breeding codes. By the end of February, that number had risen to 102. The full February report is available in the latest edition of the Atlas Dispatch <https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/news/atlas-dispatch-feb-1-feb-28-2026>.
>
> If you have not yet joined the eBird project, we encourage you to do so here <https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/home>.
>
> For a quick visual overview of how to get started, you can watch the Quick Start video <https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8Z3kbqiO9rw>.
>
> Participating is very similar to how you already use eBird, but opting into the Atlas ensures your observations become part of the permanent statewide dataset being built to guide conservation and land management decisions for decades to come.
>
> The Atlas is being coordinated by California Bird Atlas <https://www.californiabirdatlas.org/> (CBA), an independent nonprofit. We will be hosting the first CBA Town Hall on Zoom on March 19 at 7:00 pm PT. You can register for the webinar here <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnWjR4UApjRAPx0ErxR3y9dqFUNSzZ_KekPtbVGH_6JCrHIA/viewform?usp=dialog>.
>
> We have been deeply encouraged by the number of individual donors stepping up to support the project. If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution here <https://donorbox.org/california-bird-atlas>. Your support helps fund the infrastructure and coordination needed to sustain this statewide effort.
>
> Thank you all for joining the project. It has been inspiring to see the California birding community come together around this effort, and we are only just getting started.
>
> Happy Atlasing,
>
> Van Pierszalowski
> Executive Director, California Bird Atlas
> <van...> <mailto:<van...> > Los Angeles, CA
>
> --
>
> Tom Edell
> Cayucos, CA
>
