Birding News and Features
North American Big Day Record Broken
On April 19th the EDG Birding Team sponsored by Nikon Sport Optics and Birding America set a new Big Day record for the ABA area with 260 species. The day started in the Texas Hill Country and ended in the rice fields of the central Texas Coast. The team, consisting of Ken Behrens, Pete Hosner, Michael Retter, and Cameron Cox, experienced an incredible day of birding…
Download My Data Released!
Birders have asked for eBird functionality that allows one to back up their data on home computers. We have built a tool for this, and are pleased to announce its release. We've recently added the ability for users to retrieve a file containing all the data they've ever entered into eBird in spreadsheet format, which can be easily read using Microsoft Excel, manipulated and analyzed using tools outside eBird, and saved and stored on your home computers. This new tool gives users the ability to analyze their own raw data and to look at patterns in their own observations beyond what the eBird View and Explore data tools now provide. The idea is to make eBird as versatile as possible, and give you the raw data in order to allow you to perform your own data exploration!
Bird Watchers Urgently Needed to Track Rusty Blackbirds
Populations of Rusty Blackbirds are crashing! Their numbers have plummeted by as much as 88-98% over the last few decades, according to data gathered between 1966 and 2006 for the North American Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count. A species that was once considered to be abundant is rapidly disappearing before our eyes. Your observations can help save this species by arming scientists with critical information about this species' ecology during migration. Bird watchers across North America are being asked to help scientists track spring migrant Rusty Blackbirds from April 1-7 using the eBird online checklist program. Your observations of this species can help fill in the important missing pieces of this conservation puzzle! Note: Your observations from outside this time frame are also sorely needed, so please enter any and all Rusty Blackbird records into eBird if possible!
El Grupo Cerúleo to Receive Conservation Award
Congratulations to all members of El Grupo Cerúleo, an international group of scientists dedicated to the study and conservation of Cerulean Warblers. The Chief of the U. S. Forest Service at the Office of International Programs has awarded the group the Wings across the Americas International Partnership Award for 2008. The award is given in recognition of the group's efforts to develop the assessment of the nonbreeding range of the Cerulean Warbler in South America. Priority Migrant eBird contributed significantly to this effort. Read on to learn more about this collaboration and Priority Migrant eBird.
New eBird Output for Arrivals, Departures, and High Counts
We are pleased to announce the release of several new eBird output tools featuring Arrivals, Departures and High Counts. These tools provide birders with new ways to explore the eBird data, to learn when and where birds are being reported and to get a better sense of eBird's historic data. Are you curious about how many species birders have reported in your state or county this year? Do you want to know if your 15 March Yellow-throated Warbler was the first one seen this year, or perhaps even the earliest record ever submitted to eBird? Or do you want to know if the 137 Stilt Sandpipers you counted at your favorite shorebirding spot was the all-time high count reported to eBird? Exploring the answers to these questions is now possible within eBird. Simply log in to eBird, go to 'View and Explore Data,' and then try out the 'Arrivals and Departures' or 'High Counts' options. These new tools allow you to dig deeper into the eBird database than ever before!
New Rare Bird Mapping Tool
Jack Siler, the webmaster of Birdingonthe.net (one of the most popular North American birding sites in North America), has developed a new way to explore rare bird observations from eBird. Using the same data that go to the eBird Google Gadget, Jack developed an interactive map that shows these rarities on a national map. The stickpins mark the exact location as reported by the eBird user and are color-coded according to the ABA Code.
South America eBird Beta-Testing!
The eBird team is excited to announce that you can now enter data for any location in the Western Hemisphere, including South America and Antarctica! Country lists have been developed for each South American country with the help of our friends at Avibase, and filters have been set to provide quality control and prevent erroneous entries or typographical errors. Taxonomies have been merged so that your lists appear in order. The Google maps tool for plotting your location works just as it does in the United States (although there may be fewer roads and other landmarks to help you find the location!). So dig out your bird lists from past trips to the Galapagos (Ecuador) or Asa Wright Nature Center (Trinidad), to Manu N.P. (Peru) or Torres del Paine N.P. (Chile), or from wherever you have been birding on the world's birdiest continent (South America) or its most birdless (Antarctica).
eBird Data Import Tool Released!
We are happy to announce that we have officially released the eBird Data Import Tool. Many users have been asking how we can bulk load their existing sightings that are kept on their home computers in various file types. This tool is designed to bring in data from Excel files or other similarly structured datasets. We have created two file formats that we feel conform well to the types of data people typically store. If you have data stored in Excel or a similar format, and you would like to upload those records to eBird then please read on.
Changes to Listing Calculations
WHY ARE MY LISTS LOWER?? We have made a significant change to the way that the totals are calculated in the "My eBird" tab. In the past, these totals included all hybrids and spuhs--things like "scoter sp." or "Accipiter sp.". We have changed this so that the My eBird lists now exclude all subspecies, hybrids, and spuhs that were not identified to the species level. If you report a subspecies, these automatically "roll-up" into the parent species. This means that the totals on the My eBird pages count species, not subspecies, hybrids, or spuhs. So, if you see the bird on the right and know that it's a White-rumped Sandpiper, great--enter it as White-rumped Sandpiper. But if you only know that it is some kind of peep, enter it as "peep sp."
eBird on the Road
Want to find out more about eBird . . . in person? Perhaps you have specific questions about using eBird. Or maybe you want to know how other people use eBird to keep track of their observations. This year we will maintain a calendar of upcoming events where eBird Project Leaders and other expert eBirders will be leading trips, giving eBird talks and conducting workshops on using eBird. During these events, we hope to provide an idea of how to use eBird more effectively--both in the field and on the computer. Topics we're likely to discuss include how researchers make use of these data, how your observations aid conservation efforts, and how you as an eBirder can do more with the application. In the coming months we'll be in Alaska, California, Florida, Texas, and Wisconsin.
eBird Recieves 1,000,000th checklist!
eBird has surpassed one-million checklists! In December, John Beetham of Highland Park, New Jersey, submitted the millionth checklist and will receive a pair of Zeiss 8x30 Conquest binoculars to commemorate this milestone. He says, "Contributing sightings to eBird is an extension of activities that I enjoy doing anyway. Birding is at its best when it is both a personal challenge and a contribution to bird conservation." Beetham reported 34 species from Liberty State Park, including 60 Snow Buntings and one lingering Ruby-crowned Kinglet.
Bohemian Waxwings, Pine Grosbeaks & other boreal irruptives on the move!
Although wintry weather is just barely upon us, birders in northern border states from Minnesota to Maine are already enjoying one of the occasional joys of winter birding--an influx of boreal irruptive species like Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, and Common Redpoll. In New York alone, both Pine Grosbeak and Common Redpoll, usually the two latest species to appear during an irruption year, were reported before the end of October, and Bohemian Waxwing was seen on a record early date. The early arrival of these species, and the numbers in which they are being seen, suggests that we could be in store for a major irruption year, with some boreal species approaching the southern limits of their irruptive ranges. In fact, the early fall months have already seen a sizable irruption of Red-breasted Nuthatches, Purple Finches, and Pine Siskins out of Canada's boreal forest to areas as far south as Georgia. Below we summarize the current status of several boreal irruptive species, and suggest the extent to which they could be found if this winter does prove to be a major irruption event.
An easy way to calculate distances and areas
Do you struggle to estimate mileage or area when eBird asks you to enter information for your Area Search or Traveling Count? If so, there are some excellent web-based tools that you can use to make your measurements much more accurate. Using these tools you can draw a shape around your favorite birding area to get an accurate calculation of the area or you can plot the route you took to get more accurate figures for your Traveling Count. Click the above link to read more and please remember that when you enter your data into eBird it is always more valuable if it has effort information-- click here to read why.
eBird Announces Revised Taxonomy!
With the implementation of a new and improved taxonomy, it is now possible to enter bird observations from anywhere in North America south through Panama! We have updated the taxonomy to be in compliance with the latest American Ornithologists' Union supplements, and we've also added a host of new subspecies to our taxonomy along with other valuable options such as hybrids and "sp." options (e.g., Empidonax sp.). We are in the process of working with our partners in South America so that soon data entry will be available across the Western Hemisphere. The many revisions and improvements in this new version are discussed in detail below.
Exciting Google Maps Update!
We've just launched an updated version of Google Maps that not only shows you where eBird birding hotspots and your personal locations are found on the map, but it also allows you to select these for data entry directly from the map! With over 15,000 hotspots now in our database, you should be able to easily find an exciting birding location near you and efficiently contribute your data. If your local hotspots still aren't there, you can always map them and send them on to us through our hotspot suggestion interface. Plotting new locations on the map still works like it used to, but the added bonus of selecting hotspots should make data entry even easier. Read more by clicking the Google Map.
eBird Launches Rare Bird Google Gadget
Imagine having all the reports of rare birds entered into eBird in your home state delivered straight to your desktop! That's exactly what the new eBird Rare Bird Gadget does! We've developed a Google Gadget to deliver rare bird sightings straight to your desktop including important details such as observer information and mapping information! Any record submitted to eBird that requires the user to click the "Rare species" link on the checklist page will now appear on the rare bird gadget. You'll know within minutes when someone reports a great bird in your region. Find out more about how to use the eBird Rare Bird gadget.
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.
Bird Counting 201
In this second installment of our series on counting birds we'll discuss some approaches to counting more problematic groups of birds including large numbers, moving flocks, and mixed species flocks. How do the hawk counters do it? How should you count that constant stream of Cormorants passing your local headland? How do you go about picking out different species in large flocks of birds. "Birds of a feather flock together!" Well, sometimes, but more often than not we're presented with heterogeneous flocks of birds comprised of many different species. Learning how to look at species ratios within flocks is important, and developing an eye for picking out what is different will help you find that proverbial needle in the haystack that we're all hoping for--a rarity. Armed with the tips in this column we hope you'll improve your ability and begin to enjoy counting birds.
eBird Data Quality
Did you know that every record submitted to eBird goes through the eBird data verification process? Using a combination of automated data filters and a network of local experts, eBird tackles the issue of data quality in Citizen-Science. In order for us to maintain the integrity of the database, and for it to be used fully by the science and conservation community, we as observers must fully understand and strive to reach the highest level of data quality. Therefore, we've developed procedures to facilitate communication between eBird observers and scientists, including some new and improved review tools for our editors. Through our combined effort to maintain high data quality, eBird will take its place among the most valuable large-scale data sets on bird distribution and abundance in the world. Read more about our data verification process....
Bird Counting 101
At eBird we encourage you to make your best estimate of bird numbers on every checklist. Your best estimate of numbers is always more useful than putting an "X' to indicate presence. An "X' could be one or it could be a thousand! We can always simplify numbers back to presence/absence for analysis. Your estimates of numbers help us judge relative abundance, and are an important part of checklist data. So what do you do if you're having trouble counting birds? Large flocks of birds are always challenging, and in this article we'll talk about some techniques for estimating numbers so that you can practice and become more proficient at counting birds. This will be the first in a series of articles discussing techniques for counting birds.
