The Québec Breeding Bird Atlas is offering travel grants to experienced volunteer birdwatchers who undertake to adequately cover at least one priority square situated in a remote area.

All projects to cover priority squares in southern Québec (regions 1 to 41) that meet the following criteria are eligible:

• The survey square to be visited must be a priority square situated in a remote area. Such squares are unlikely to be covered by atlassers during the normal course of the project, notably because of their distance from urban centres (e.g., a survey square in the boreal forest, or in a region where there are few experienced birdwatchers);
• The survey square is unsurveyed or only partially surveyed;
• The volunteer undertakes to adequately cover each square visited (i.e., to visit all the habitat types within the square, and to devote approximately 20 hours to the search for breeding evidence);
• The volunteer undertakes to conduct 15 point counts (which also includes off-road point counts) in each priority square covered, following the methods outlined in the Guide for Atlassers;
• The volunteer undertakes to submit the data collected before the 1st of November 2011;
• All volunteers participating in the project must be registered as an atlasser.

Each project could be awarded up to $400 per survey square completed (based on the estimated cost for conducting the survey). This sum is intended to help meet costs associated with travel, accommodation and food.

Please note that teams can submit projects, and that if the different members of the team birdwatch separately, each survey square can be covered more rapidly. In such cases, an atlasser in charge must be identified, and at the end of the season this person will be required to submit a brief report outlining the atlassing effort, results, and costs (including receipts).

Atlassers interested in applying for support should: 1) fill out the application form, and 2) send it to info@atlas-oiseaux.qc.ca before the 1st of June 2011.