Brian Deans, December eBirder of the Month

Please join us in congratulating Brian Deans of Cordeaux Heights, Australia, winner of the December 2016 eBird Challenge, sponsored by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics. Our December winner was drawn from eBirders who submitted at least 3 eligible eBird checklists in a single day in December. Brian’s name was drawn randomly from the 8,271 eBirders who achieved the December challenge threshold. Brian will receive new ZEISS Conquest HD 8×42 binoculars for his eBirding efforts. We asked Brian to tell us a little more about himself, his use of eBird, and his love of birds – read on for more.

I was introduced to birding about 30 years ago and since then have been moderately interested in it. However, toward the end of 2014, a friend told me about eBird and after signing up my birding moved to a whole new level.

Having said that, it was a bit of a slow start but by the end of 2015 I had submitted over 1000 lists. Prior to eBird, I didn’t really keep lists but now I have a perfect place to keep my lists. I just love the way I can easily search through my observations. It also gives my the opportunity to search other birder’s lists. This was very helpful for a trip I had, last year to Canada. I was able to search hotspots in places that we were going to visit and by noting what other birders were seeing, I was able to compile a list of birds I was most likely to see.

Barred Owl by Brian Deans/Macaulay Library.

Another aspect of eBird that I like is the fact that the year list starts all over again on the 1st January, giving me a brand new challenge. I always try and improve on the previous year. It’s always great to add new birds to my list and one of the occasions I achieved this, was late in December. The bird was a Glossy Ibis—check out the eBird list here.

Glossy Ibis by Brian Deans/Macaulay Library.

I find eBird an amazing research tool, whether it’s checking new areas to visit, checking the range of certain species or even looking at photos and listening to recordings that members have imported.

I will continue my birding journey using eBird and look forward to more wonderful birds to observe. You can also check what I’ve been doing recently on my Profile Page, just another great innovation by eBird.

I’d like to thank eBird for organizing the monthly challenges and a special thanks to Zeiss for their contribution.