http://ebird.org/content/birdsleuth daily 1 2008-03-14T17:41:23Z http://ebird.org/content/birdsleuth/news/overcome-those-fears-why-you-shouldnt-worry-about-your-checklists Even the most experienced birders express apprehension about their eBird checklists. So, it's not surprising that teachers worry about their students’ data - they often wonder, what if the data is not good enough for the eBird database? What if something goes wrong? What if a species is misidentified? What if the date of the sighting is entered incorrectly? These are understandable concerns, given that most students are new to birding and that scientists and people around the world rely on the quality of the data. Without question, the accuracy of eBird data is important, but it shouldn't keep you up at night. Professionals at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have designed the eBird program to evaluate the vast amount of data entered each year, and you have the tools to help your students make the cut, every time. No publisher admuscente 2011-12-05T20:32:24Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/birdsleuth/news/whats-a-birdsleuth-schoolyard-anyway-1 A BirdSleuth Schoolyard is not a schoolyard at all, really. It's a record of all the bird sightings that students and teachers from your school make throughout their daily lives. The bird sightings can come from any place where people from your school routinely see birds. These sightings may come from your school's playground or blacktop, but they really don't have to. Your Schoolyard can consist of as many locations as you want. Its true scope depends on how much birding your school really wants to do (and where it wants to do it). No publisher admuscente 2011-09-20T19:23:44Z Feature http://ebird.org/content/birdsleuth/news/are-you-really-making-casual-observations We've noticed at eBird that many observers are choosing the "Casual Observation" methodology when in fact they are actually conducting more rigorous types of surveys while birding. Casual Observations are of limited value because there is little effort information required, which allows them to be used in fewer analyses because we know less about how you went birding. It's important to let us know what kind of effort you put into making your observations. Please read on for a better understanding of the eBird methodology choices, and to learn how to make your data most valuable. No publisher ploneadmin 2009-08-24T17:20:15Z Feature