September 2026
Atlas cover art by Jada Fitch
With the Maine Bird Atlas publication around the corner, we want to help put this enormous project in perspective, and thank the organizations and volunteers who made it possible.
The Maine Bird Atlas is more than a book. It is the largest natural history assessment ever undertaken in Maine. It can’t be overstated how important it is (and will be) for bird conservation, and the tangible benefits it will have for how we study and protect Maine bird populations for generations to come.
What do we mean when we say that the Maine Bird Atlas is Maine’s largest natural history assessment ever?
To complete the Atlas, it took:
- 6,551 volunteers
- 2.6 million bird observations
- 206,650 people hours completing over 25,000 square miles of survey blocks
It took Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, Maine Natural History Observatory, Maine Audubon, and Biodiversity Research Institute 9 years of intensive collaboration, coordination, data analysis, and writing to complete this 743 page book.
We can’t begin to express how grateful we are to the volunteers and staff who worked on this project. Thank you!
This hardcover, 9″ x 12″ book contains:
- 315 bird species accounts written by 74 contributing authors.
- 824 maps showing breeding and wintering evidence, species occupancy and density, and changes since the first Maine Bird Atlas.
- Nesting phenology graphs.
- Maine Conservation status.
- Hundreds of color photos.
- …and more!
The Maine Bird Atlas was a collaborative effort directed and funded by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, with coordination, editing, and publication led by Maine Natural History Observatory in partnership with Maine Audubon and Biodiversity Research Institute. The Atlas is not only a bird book, it represents the largest natural history collaboration and statewide resource assessment ever undertaken in Maine.
Maine Bird Atlas Final Presentation
This online event will be on Wednesday, September 16th at 7:00 pm (EDT).
Link to register: https://
The presentation will highlight the most significant findings from the Maine Bird Atlas, give context for why the Atlas matters, share volunteer stories, and discuss range shifts, population estimates, research beyond the Atlas, archiving Atlas data, and more!
Preorders
Preorders for the Atlas will open at the Final Atlas Presentation on September 16th at 8:30 PM. Learn more here.