Website Keeps Track of Minnesota’s Breeding Birds

MANKATO (AP) _ A new website keeps track of wild bird breeding in Minnesota.

The Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas launched last month. The website has graphs, interactive maps and data that includes where, when and how many birds are breeding in the state. Almost 250 species were observed and more than 230 bird species were confirmed during the project.

Eight organizations, 700 field volunteers and 43 photographers worked with researchers and a technical review team to create the website, mnbirdatlas.org . Nonprofit Audubon Minnesota led the project. Experts from the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Natural Resources Research Institute assisted. .

The Minnesota and Natural Resources Trust Fund helped fund the project. Work began in 2009 and was completed in 2013.

A comprehensive study on the state's breeding birds hasn't been compiled since 1936.