Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas

This dataset is a 2026 snapshot of the 1997-2024 Minnesota observation data from the U.S. Geological Survey's North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), the primary source for quantitative data tracking the status of North American continental bird species. The survey is performed annually by citizen scientists skilled in avian identification. Using set routes determined by the USGS and taking observations at roughly half-mile intervals, the observers record the birds seen and heard at each stop for 3 minutes within roughly a quarter mile-radius. The routes are roughly 25 miles long and have 50 stopping points. Surveys start one half-hour before local sunrise and take about 5 hours to complete.

Each record consists of the total number of observations of one species at a given stop on a given route in a given year.

Georeferencing data: As of 2026, the BBS does not take gps coordinates of each stop, and as such several assumptions have been made to georeference this dataset. Some routes furcate, and in this case the route received one latitude/longitude coordinate with the error set to 25 miles radius to capture as much of the likely path as possible. Similarly, while the observers make an effort to stop at the same location annually, external pressures exist that may shift stops from year-to-year or even remove them entirely, (e.g. road closures, mudslides, hazards, etc.). To accommodate this uncertainty, the coordinate error for each stop has been set at 0.5 mile/805 meters.