Hello all: The Atlas is into its second year and things are going very well, but there are still birders who are not participating, so we've taken some steps to make it easier than ever for people to take part. We have developed "Casual Observation Cards", which are intended to make it easy for anyone to report birds to the atlas - whether or not you actually cover a particular 10-km square for the project. The cards are 5x7" and fit easily into your glove compartment. When you observe breeding evidence for a bird (which can be as simple as a bird in its breeding habitat in its breeding season), you can enter the specifics on this form. You'll need to know the atlas square number, so it's best to get a regional map from your atlas Regional Coordinator along with the supply of data cards. Don't report every Robin you might see, but any reasonably uncommon bird or confirmed breeding evidence for any species would be important to report. The cards can be used anywhere in Ontario. If you're travelling around, keep a supply with you. There is space to report up to 15 records on any one card in one atlas region. If you spend more time in any one spot and have more than 15 species, we would hope you'll fill in a full breeding evidence form. The cards, regional maps and Atlas Guide for participants are available from Regional Coordinators, who are listed on the atlas web page: www.birdsontario.org. If you haven't seen the data from the first year of the atlas, look on the web page. There are some fascinating findings already. See for example, the maps for the Merlin, Raven, Red-bellied Woodpecker and Northern Mockingbird. Much has changed in the past 20 years, and I'm sure we'll find out a lot more by the time the project is complete. If you have any questions about the project, talk to your Regional Coordinator, or contact the atlas office at 1-866-900-7100, e-mail atlas@uoguelph.ca. Cheers and happy atlassing, Mike Cadman -- Mike Cadman Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas Blackwood Hall, Room 211 University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1 Phone: 519-826-2094, Fax: 519-826-2113. e-mail: mcadman@uoguelph.ca Mike Cadman <mcadman@uoguelph.ca>