Acknowledgements

A project of this scale would not have been possible without the support of many individuals, organisations and institutions. We would like to express our warmest thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of this project for their time, physical effort, enthusiasm, perseverance, trust, financial support, excellent collaboration and patience!

Special thanks goes to all field ornithologists who collected the data used in the production of this atlas. The following contributed to the atlas as collaborators or designated observers with responsibility for an atlas square, by mapping territories in kilometre squares, and/or by submitting records:

Data collection and processing

With great enthusiasm and persistence, the following persons on civilian service duty, interns and contract collaborators helped us to conduct fieldwork in difficult terrain or poorly surveyed areas, process new territory mapping surveys, digitise territory mapping results from 1993–1996, establish routes prior to fieldwork, mail fieldwork materials, and/or verify and process data:

Pascal Aeby, Joël Anliker, Lukas Arn, Nicolas Auchli, Elias Bader, Hansruedi Batzli, Frederik Baumgarten, Jean-Luc Ferrière, Bastien Guibert, Dominik Hagist, Marco Hammel, Isabelle Henry, Dominik Henseler, Merlin Hochreutener, Simon Hohl, Isabelle Kaiser, Alessio Martinoli, Julien Mazenauer, Corentin Morvan, Valentin Moser, Nikolai Orgland, Joël Piaget, Yann Rime, Christian Rogenmoser, Martin Roost, Luca Schenardi, Martin Spiess, Simon Stricker, Katarina Varga, Chris Venetz, Philine von Hirschheydt, Johannes Wahl, Lucas Wolfer, Andy Wyss and Stephanie Zihlmann.

The following organisations, companies and individuals provided us with observation data collected within the scope of their own projects: Abteilung Natur und Landschaft des Kanton Zugs, Abteilung Umwelt und Energie der Stadt Zug, Ala – Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Vogelkunde und Vogelschutz, Amt für Raumentwicklung Kanton Thurgau, Aqua Terra, Association de la Grande Cariçaie, Auenschutzpark Aargau, BINA Engineering SA, BirdLife Aargau, BirdLife-Naturzentrum Neeracherried, BirdLife Austria, BirdLife Switzerland, BirdLife Zürich, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Centre Suisse de Cartographie de la Faune (CSCF), Centro Italiano Studi Ornitologici (CISCO), Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten (DDA), EBN Italia, Fondation des Grangettes, Fondazione Bolle di Magadino, Groupe Broyard de Recherches Ornithologiques (GBRO), Groupe d’Étude sur les Rapaces Nocturnes de l’Ouest Vaudois (GERNOV), Groupe Ornithologique de Baulmes et Environs (GOBE), Hintermann & Weber AG, coordination team for the European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 (EBBA2), Lega italiana protezione uccelli (LIPU), Ligue pour la protection des oiseaux (LPO) Ain, Ligue pour la protection des oiseaux (LPO) Franche-Comté, Ligue pour la protection des oiseaux (LPO) Haute-Savoie, Naturzentrum Glarnerland, Observation International, Office des Données Naturalistes du Grand Est (Odonat), Theiler Landschaft ecological consultants, Orniplan AG, Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bodensee (OAB), Ornithologische Arbeitsgruppe Reusstal (OAR), Ornithologischer Verein der Stadt Zug, Pro Natura Vaud, Réseau Gypaète Suisse occidentale (RGSO), Swiss Bird Ringing Scheme, Swiss National Park, Société des Amis des Chouettes et Hiboux des Endroits Montagneux (SACHEM), Stadt Aarau, Stiftung Lauerzersee, Stiftung Pro Bartgeier, Storch Schweiz, Verein Hopp Hase, Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF), game wardens of the cantons of Bern, Grisons, St. Gallen and Ticino, Zürichsee Landschaftsschutz ZSL as well as Gaby Banderet, Pierre Beaud, Simon Birrer, Jost Bühlmann, Valentin Bütler, Walter Christen, Serge Denis, Arthur Egloff, Sepp Frei, Pierre Henrioux, Roger Hodel, Denis Horisberger, Andreas Jaun, Thomas Leu, Roland Luder, Lionel Maumary, Lukas Merkelbach, Erich Mühlethaler, Gilberto Pasinelli, Livio Rey, Marianne Richter-Bütler, Willi and Regula Schlosser, Daniel Studler, Thomas Troxler, François Turrian, Laurent Willenegger, Jean-Lou Zimmermann and Jean-Luc Zollinger.

A big thank you also goes to all volunteer collaborators and partner organisations who collected data for the Swiss Ornithological Institute's ongoing monitoring projects. These data were also used in the 2013–2016 atlas. Michael Lanz, Pierre Mollet, Muriel Perron and Martin Roost helped us identify potentially suitable areas for White-backed Woodpecker, Western Capercaillie, Eurasian Woodcock and Western Yellow Wagtail. Jérémy Savioz played a major role in creating the point maps and population estimates. J. Andrew Royle from the Patuxent Wildlife Research Institute in the United States provided support in calculating the population estimates.

We thank the regional atlas coordinators for their contacts with local ornithologists and especially for organising the regional atlas meetings: Edi Baader, Albert Bassin, Jean-Daniel Blant, Jérôme Duplain, Martin Gerber, Jérôme Gremaud, Alain Jacot, Roberto Lardelli, Bernard Lugrin, Christoph Meier-Zwicky, Claudia Müller, Bertrand Posse, Pierre-Alain Ravussin, Martin Roost, Michael Schaad, Hans Schmid, Natalina Signorell, Silvana Signorell, Stephan Trösch, Martin Weggler and Georg Willi.

We are grateful to the following institutions and organisations for publishing calls for participation in the 2013–2016 atlas field surveys and/or progress reports as well as for organising lecture venues: Association Coup d’Ailes, Association Sorbus (Sauvegarde des Oiseaux Rares et de la Biodiversité Utile à leur Survie), Basellandschaftlicher Natur- und Vogelschutzverband (BNV), Berner Ala – Bernische Gesellschaft für Vogelkunde und Vogelschutz, Berner Vogelschutz (BVS), BirdLife Aargau, BirdLife Luzern, BirdLife Sarganserland, BirdLife Switzerland, BirdLife Solothurn, BirdLife St. Gallen, BirdLife Zug, BirdLife Zürich, Bureau exécutif de l’Association de la Grande Cariçaie (BEx), Centre d’Étude et de Protection des Oiseaux Bienne et environs (CEPOB), Cercle des sciences naturelles de Vevey-Montreux, Cercle des sciences naturelles du Chablais, Cercle des Sciences Naturelles Nyon-La Côte, Cercle Ornithologique de Fribourg (COF), Cercle Ornithologique de Lausanne (COL), Cercle ornithologique des Montagnes neuchâteloises (COMONE), Cercle ornithologique et des sciences naturelles d’Yverdon-les-Bains (COSNY), Commune de Bernex, Fauna.vs, Ficedula, Groupe des Jeunes de Nos Oiseaux, Groupe Ornithologique du Bassin Genevois (GOBG), Groupe ornithologique et des sciences naturelles de Morges et environ (GOS), Le Pèlerin – Association franc-montagnarde d’étude et de protection des oiseaux, Musée d’histoire naturelle de La Chaux-de-Fonds, Natur- und Vogelschutzverein Oberwallis (NVO), Naturmuseum Solothurn, Naturmuseum Thurgau, Nos Oiseaux – Société romande pour l’étude et la protection des oiseaux, Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bodensee (OAB), Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Graubünden (OAG), Ornithologische Gesellschaft Basel (OGB), Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), Société des Sciences Naturelles du Pays de Porrentruy (SSNPP), Société Neuchâteloise des Sciences Naturelles (SNSN), Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles (SVSN), Société Zoologique de Genève and Thurgauer Vogelschutz (TVS). Our launching and closing events were held at the University of Fribourg.

Developing the methodology

The 2013–2016 atlas builds largely on the methods used in the 1993–1996 atlas. Valuable advice on methodology came from Beat Naef-Daenzer, Hans Schmid and Niklaus Zbinden. We thank Gaëtan Delaloye and the Biolovision Sàrl team for adding a special atlas tool to www.ornitho.ch. Pirmin Kalberer (Sourcepole AG) and Guido Häfliger developed "Terrimap online". Daniel Rohrer advised us with regard to ideas for automatic territory mapping.

Species notes were provided to facilitate the search for species that are difficult to survey. These notes were compiled by: Ernst Albegger, Simon Birrer, Martin Blattner, André Bossus, Ueli Bühler, François Estoppey, Philippe Frei, Anatole Gerber, Chris Hails, Pierre Henrioux, Ruedi Hess, Alain Jacot, Verena Keller, Jacques Laesser, Roberto Lardelli, Hans Märki, Valère Martin, Pierre Mollet, Christoph Moning, Claudia Müller, Gilberto Pasinelli, Bertrand Posse, Pierre-Alain Ravussin, Hans Schmid, Antoine Sierro, Philippe Vuilleumier, Michael Widmer and Niklaus Zbinden.

Geodata sets and maps

To generate the field maps, the variables for the models, and the output maps, we were able to use geodata from Swisstopo (VECTOR 25, Topographical Landscape Model, aerial images, pixel maps), the Federal Statistical Office (land-use statistics), the Office of Construction and Infrastructure of the Principality of Liechtenstein (land-use statistics), Meteotest/Federal Office for the Environment (nitrogen deposition) and the European Environment Agency (CORINE land cover). Geodata on woodland habitats were made available in an exchange with the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).

The ETH Zurich Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation provided us with the relief background for our maps, and René Sieber and Stefan Räber advised us on the cartographic design. Thanks to Lorenz Hurni and Christian Häberling, we were able to use the overview map of Switzerland from the Swiss World Atlas published by the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK). The following agencies and individuals supplied us with maps and data for the chapter on habitats: Office of Construction and Infrastructure of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Amt für Raumentwicklung und Geoinformation Kanton St. Gallen, Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Linus Cadotsch, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), MeteoSwiss, Section du cadastre et de la géoinformation canton du Jura and Swisstopo. Martin Vollenweider and Isabelle Bentz of the Institute for Multimedia Production (IMP) at the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) in Chur provided us with concept ideas for the multimedia presentation of atlas data.

Text and photos

We would like to thank the 70 authors of the species accounts, focus texts and habitat texts. The following experts offered their knowledge for the interpretation of observations and to review the texts: Bettina Almasi, Michel Antoniazza, Raphaël Arlettaz, Raffel Ayé, Alain Barbalat, Hans-Günther Bauer, Laurent Broch, Daniel Bruderer, Ueli Bühler, Walter Christen, Serge Denis, Hubert du Plessix, Jérôme Duplain, François Estoppey, Christian Geiger, Bernard Genton, Urs N. Glutz von Blotzheim, Dominik Hagist, Heinrich Haller, Isabelle Henry, Petra Horch, Harald Jacoby, Alain Jacot, Lukas Jenni, David Jenny, Markus Jenny, Verena Keller, Marc Kéry, Matthias Kestenholz, Andreas Kofler, Peter und Ursula Köhler, Daniel Kratzer, Jacques Laesser, Michael Lanz, Roberto Lardelli, Hans Märki, Christian Marti, Christoph Meier, Christoph Meier-Zwicky, Florian Melles, Stephanie Michler, Pierre Mollet, Claudia Müller, Mathis Müller, Beat Naef-Daenzer, Luca Pagano, Bertrand Posse, Mathias Ritschard, Michael Schaad, Michael Schaub, Bruno Schelbert, Hans Schmid, Martin Schuck, Markus Schuhmacher, Reto Spaar, Jürgen Ulmer, Henri Vigneau, Jan von Rönn, Martin Weggler, Stefan Werner, Friederike Woog, Ruedi Wüst-Graf, Niklaus Zbinden and Jean-Lou Zimmermann. Marcel Burkhardt, Philip Büttiker, Guido Häfliger, Isabelle Kaiser and Tabea Kölliker were responsible for the layout and website. The texts were translated by Tania Brasseur Wibaut, Bärbel Koch, Stephanie Morris, Osvaldo Negra, Francesca Pedrocchi, Bertrand Posse, Chiara Solari, Johann von Hirschheydt and Henri-Daniel Wibaut. Copy-editing was performed by Walter Christen, Lukas Jenni, Verena Keller, Matthias Kestenholz, Bertrand Posse, Jérémy Savioz, Arno Schneider, Chiara Solari and Bernard Volet. The authors of the images are credited beneath each photo. Some of them gave us permission to use their photos free of charge.

Funding

We are extremely grateful to the following donors, whose generous support allowed us to realise the 2013–2016 atlas in its entirety: Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Amt für Natur, Jagd und Fischerei des Kantons St. Gallen, Ministry for the Environment of the Principality of Liechtenstein, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), legacy of Zoé Jeanne Matthey-Jonais, Fondation Grenouille, Alfons und Mathilde Suter-Caduff Stiftung, the charitable foundation Accentus, Stiftung Vinetum, Stiftung Yvonne Jacob, Zigerli-Hegi-Stiftung and an anonymous foundation. Sponsors who donated 250 francs or more are acknowledged in the species accounts. We received further donations from the following individuals, in part thanks to a special atlas send-out:

We are grateful to all our donors for their financial support!