Canada

We often get asked “What am I supposed to put in the comments of my eBird checklists?” or “What’s the difference between checklist and species comments?” and other similar questions. In this article we explain the proper use of comments and how the information entered can help provide key documentation for exceptional species or counts.

Is there a difference between Checklist comments and Species comments?

Yes! Checklist comments are those you enter on the same screen as your effort data. They are there for you to add anything you want, preferably about the conditions of your birding outing. The most common types of comments we see include recording the weather, detailing the trails walked within a park, general comments about how birdy the trip was and even habitat descriptions. Some of our favourites include embedded photos of the habitat or weather conditions. It is important to know that checklist comments are not visible to other eBirders (unless you have shared the checklist with them). However, checklist comments are visible to eBird regional editors. You can take advantage of this fact if there is information you would like a regional editor to know but don’t necessarily want to share with everyone else. For example, if you were in a park and observed a sensitive species you could include details about the observation in the checklist comments with a simple note in the species comments saying “see Checklist comments”.

Species comments on the other hand are visible to everyone. You can navigate to a checklist several different ways, including by an emailed link or from an eBird map. It is important to remember that anything you enter can be seen by anyone. Species comments are there to include any notes about that particular species, whether it is an interesting behaviour, plumage aberrancy, or field notes about how you identified the species. This is a great spot to embed any photos or other media you might have of the bird.

The “Need Details” message popped up when I tried to submit…help!

Congratulations, you’ve managed to find either a high count or a rare species! First, it is important to understand how eBird “knows” what you saw is special. For more on this, be sure to check out the data quality article. All records pass through data quality filters that work in the background. These filters have been created and adjusted by our Regional Editors. Each covers a different geographic area and sets daily limits for each species. If you submit more than the filter limit for a species, you’ll be prompted for details and to confirm the observation. This serves two purposes. First, it gives you a chance to double-check that you didn’t make an entry error. Second, it gives you a chance to include supporting details on the observation.

High Counts

When a species’ filter limit is set to a number above zero and you “trip” the filter with a high value, you will get the following message, “This is a high count for this data & location, please add comments and check ‘Complete’.” When you get this message the focus of your species comments should be on how you arrived at the count you did. This could be something like “estimated groups of 10 flying by” or “exact count” or “flock was sitting still in field and counted estimated groups of 100”. Of course, embedding a photo is even better although it also helps to detail in writing how you counted all those birds. Be sure to check out Bird Counting 101 and Bird Counting 201 for tips on counting groups of birds.

Rare Birds

When a species’ filter limit is set to zero, the eBird Regional Editors have decided that that species is rare for that location and date and any records should be manually reviewed. If you enter an observation of a species in that situation you will get the following message, “This bird is rare for this date & location, please add comments and check ‘Complete’.” When you get this message, you should include information about how you identified the species and, most importantly, how you eliminated similar species. We don’t expect you to write a novel, a couple sentences will usually suffice. Remember, this information will be archived for future researchers to look at and will give context to the observation. For rare birds that you think other people might want to see, the species comments are also a good place to include any specific instructions for finding the bird(s). For birds that are seen by many different observers or have been around for some time, a simple note such as “continuing bird” or “seen by many” will do just fine.

I don’t think my observation was really that unusual

Some of the filters cover very large areas and most are still relatively new. If you think a filter should be adjusted contact the local eBird Regional Editor (if you know who it is), otherwise send an email to eBird@cornell.edu and they will pass on your message. Remember, our Regional Editors are volunteers and are usually more than happy to receive helpful suggestions.

Of course, the level of detail you include in the species comments should be relative to the significance of the observation. If you are reporting a first record for your province or territory, you should be prepared to provide much more detail than you would for a species that is less rare. The same goes for high counts – include more details for truly exceptional counts. And finally, we encourage you to include notes for as many entries as possible. Just because an observation isn’t flagged by the filters doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate details as often as possible.