Birding News and Features

eBirder of the month -- Mike San Miguel

It is with equal parts pride and sadness that we introduce Mike San Miguel as our July “eBirder of the Month”. Mike helped build the popular birding scene in California throughout the 1960s and 70s, and was instrumental in developing the Western Field Ornithologists into the vibrant organization it is today. He was a tireless environmentalist, a loving family man, and an absolutely passionate eBirder. Mike died tragically from a fall down a steep cliff on the night of July 14th while conducting Spotted Owl surveys in the San Gabriel Mountains. He was 70 years old. Below we offer three tributes to Mike: one from all of us at eBird, one from long-time birding friend Kimball Garrett, and one from his son Mike San Miguel Jr.

New Gulf Coast Oil Spill Bird Tracker

eBird Global Now Beta-Testing

We're happy to announce that eBird is now officially available for data entry worldwide! In early June we quietly enabled global data entry, and so far we've gathered data on nearly 8000 species from 176 countries! Pull out your notes from past trips abroad and help us beta-test the new data entry functionality. We've also developed a new mapping tool that we call 'eBird Range Maps'. These maps show species' ranges worldwide, and we welcome your feedback on those. We're currently working with new partners to develop better checklists and data quality filters for countries around the world. Send us general feedback on how things are working (email us at ebird@cornell.edu). Are your lists correct? Was the checklist usable? Your comments will help us make things better as we move forward with this monumental task.

eBird Map Quiz 12

The "eBird Featured Map" shows just how well the aggregated observations of eBirders are doing with describing bird ranges, occurrence changes throughout the seasons and even across different years. Test yourself on the map quiz and in the process, let yourself get lost in the "View and Explore" Data section--this is a great way to answer many questions about bird occurrence. If you want to see the answer to the previous quiz (Map 11), go to the Map 11 answer. To see previous Map Quizzes you can go to the Map of the Week archive. If you still see the old map, click control + refresh to update to the map!

Taxonomic update -- June 2010

Many of you may have noticed a pleasant surprise recently if you bird in the Neotropics: your eBird Life List probably increased!! This was due to a number of taxonomic splits that took place in our June 2010 taxonomic update. Species names like Trinidad Motmot, Gartered Trogon, Chestnut-winged Cinclodes, and even Barolo Shearwater are now appearing on birders' lists and the eBird View and Explore Data pages. With this update, a number of species have been split, some names have changed, and the order has shifted around as bird relationships have been clarified. Just two species have been lumped. However, the biggest change is that eBird has now formally adopted the Clements taxonomy as our official source of bird names (the Clements taxonomy complies with the AOU whenever possible). This has allowed us to expand globally and it is now possible to enter any species in the world in eBird! Read on for more about this major taxonomic update and its implications for your lists.

eBird Tip--Use the "Jump to Species" box for faster data entry

As eBird goes global, using the "Jump to Species" box for faster data entry will become more important. In many parts of the world we have rudimentary checklists in place, unlike the refined ones that exist across most of North America. These basic checklists will have many species, in some cases more than 1,000! In these cases it's a lot easier to run through your species list using the "Jump to Species" box on the checklist page. A list of 50 birds can be entered in just a few minutes! The "Jump to species" box is also handy if you write field notes and your species lists are not in alphabetical or taxonomic order. By using this feature you can enter a list of birds without having to click the mouse more than once! Learn how by reading more.

Take part in the eBird Site Survey this summer!

The concept of the eBird Site Survey is simple: pick your favorite birding location and count birds there once a week, several times per week, or every day. This kind of repeated sampling at the same location tells us a lot about the ebb and flow of bird activity in your area, and can be some of the most valuable data collected in eBird. Your site could be your backyard, or your favorite park, beach, or local birding location. Summer is a great time to get started with this initiative. Birds are breeding, your yard is bustling with activity, and many birds are undertaking little-known local movements to molt before migration. With more than 800 sites already registered by fellow eBirders, you're helping us collect important data on birds every day of the year. Read more about the Site Survey and then register your favorite place to count birds.