EZBird--enter eBird checklists by email!

EZBird was developed by David Bell of California to promote the submission of more high-quality eBird data and he is committed to providing it free of charge to anyone. (Thanks David!)

Caution!: Before we tell more about EZBird, we wanted to caution you about its use. While EZbird is a great service and a potential time-saver, it is also a potential source of data entry errors if used improperly. We abhor data entry errors, and we know those of you that use eBird want your bird records to be accurate too! Thus, we are publicizing it with some trepidation and must ask our eBirders to use it with care. A few sources of potential error to be wary of include:

• improper species code translation, if you use the shortened bird names
• species omitted if you do not review your list within eBird or do not review a checklist when creating the file
  
• improper date entry, if you forget to specify the date
• checklists with incomplete effort information or erroneous information
• incomplete checklists marked as complete checklists
  

All of these errors would be a bad thing for eBird. Some of these potential sources of error are because the service is smart: if a date is left off, it assumes the submission is from today; it always assumes all species are reported unless you specify that all species were not reported; if you enter a mileage, it assumes a traveling count, etc. So be sure to learn how it works before you start using EZbird!

About EZBird

For those of us that could submit tens of checklists from a single day of birding, EZBird can make this significantly easier.

Guidance for how to use this new tool is at the EZBird pages. We encourage you to read these in full, but we also provide a summary on using EZBird below. [eBird cannot guarantee EZBird will work for you, as it was not developed within eBird. To correspond about issues or questions about EZBird send email to info@ezbird.org].

We have added EZBird to our Tips and Tricks page.

Using EZBird:

Here is how EZBird works. You write an email to reports@ezbird.org and format it to set off the location, date, and effort information with asterisked header codes (e.g., "*L" is the code for "Location"). Below that, you enter a species count followed by a bird name or bird name code. Separate your species comments with an asterisk (*) or pipe (|). the file you get back can be edited and uploaded directly to eBird using the eBird Data Upload Tool.

Step-by-step

Try following these steps for using EZBird:

1) Compose an email to reports@ezbird.org; in the subject line put the date and location you visited.

2) Paste the below into the email

*L [location]

*E [date]

*T [time]

*D [minutes]

*S [state]

*C [country]

*P [protocol]

*M [miles]

*N [notes]

 3) Fill in the details of your birding by replacing the bracketed info with what you did for the day.

4) Then below the list type in your bird species. Format your bird list with the species count followed by a space followed by the species name. If you want to add species comments, you must set those off from the bird name by using an asterisk (*) or a pipe (|).

You can use full species name (recommended), six-letter codes, or the bander's codes or four-letter codes; if you use either of the codes, make sure you know them very well! You don;t want to accidentally submit a Black-throated Gray Warbler when you mean Black-throated Green Warbler! If you type the full name but spell Le Conte's Sparrow incorrectly, don't worry, when your list is uploaded eBird willl prompt you to correct it.

for example:

12 Tufted Duck|rare; record high count

A full example is below:

----------------------------

*L Musquashcut Pond, Scituate

*E 11/2/2009

*T 915

*D 15

*S MA

*C US

*P s

*N A quick check in the rain.

3 gadwal

2 Northern Pintail

60 mallar

75 ambldu

8 docrco

14 commlo|flying over in one flock

1 grblhe

7 semipl

26 grye

1 semisa|*late; adult molting

14 Hpyse Slarrow

----------------------------------------------

Note that while this example uses six-letter codes (docrco = Double-crested Cormorant), there is also an example of a four-letter code (e.g., grye = Greater Yellowlegs) and a full species name (Northern Pintail). Remember that all three formats will work and that any species that is not in the eBird taxonomy, or anything with a typo (e.g., Hpyse Slarrow), will show up at the top of the list and will not be matched to a scientific name. No need to enter your list in order; EZBird will put it in official taxonomic order for you.

The resultant file should come back within a minute or less and is formatted for eBird upload as follows.

Make any necessary changes to the notes or species comments. The scientific names provided by EZBird are not necessary for a successful upload, but checking to see that they are there is one way to see that that a match was made.

There are two main ways to use EZBird: Entry of field notes or Entry from the field.

Field note entry: EZBird is a handy way to go through your shorthand bird notes for the day and rapidly format them for eBird. Just by sending an email, you can convert your notes to a properly formatted, eBird compatible upload. When you receive your file back, make sure it has the correct date and species names. Also make sure it has all the species that you are detected (assuming you are reporting all species as you should be!). With this format, it is much easier to make mistakes, so PLEASE make sure you check the upload carefully.

Entry from the field: The EZBird website gives instructions for how to format an email for direct upload to eBird. This requires that you use all applicable fields for the protocol your specify, requires that your species names/codes be 100% compliant, and that eBird recognize your location name automatically. However, if you meet these requirements, you can submit directly from the field.

It works with Blackberries, iPhones, all desktop email systems and most other phone-based email applications.  This file makes a great electronic record of your bird records, and can be imported into eBird.

CAUTION: Remember, that your eBird password should not be the same password that you use for your banking or other secure personal information.

CAUTION: To reiterate our cautions, a few things must be remembered when using EZBird. For starters, if you use four-letter codes, this raises the risk of accidental entry. For example, a single letter typo may turn your Great Blue Heron (GBHE) into a Little Blue Heron (LBHE) or your Ruddy Duck (RUDU) into a Tufted Duck (TUDU)! Be careful! AND CHECK YOUR UPLOAD. Once you do upload it, you will probably want to go into eBird, check out your state and county lists to make sure you didn't accidentally enter a Tufted Duck when you meant Ruddy Duck.

This is especially important for EZBird because the program makes some assumptions to simplify data entry. For example, if you forget to enter a date, the current date will be used. Be very cautious of this if entering old data!

Proofing your eBird lists after submission is good practice no matter what. Check that your location comes up in the right county and state, check that you entered the right date (and right year), and make sure you didn't submit your list for 1:00 AM if you meant 1:00 PM (a common problem).

Code Wizard: Note that EZBird also has a Code Wizard. By sending an email with the subject "Code" you can type any bird's name, code, or suspected code on the lines below to get a report back on what the four-letter, six-letter, scientific name, and official common name back in an email.

APPENDIX A: EZBird header codes.

Here at eBird we believe that Traveling Counts are often the best way to record your bird sightings. The header codes necessary for a Traveling Count submission from today are in italics below.

*L Location: any string is acceptable, e.g., "Highway 80 at Road 813" or "Hyde Park, Tucson".  If possible, use names that are the same of one of your locations in eBird.  Every checklist should have a location, even if it is just a short abbreviation to remind you where you where.

*E Date: Dates must be entered in month / day / year format. 01/15/08, 1/15/08 and 1/15/2008 are all valid. If the date is not specified, EZbird will assume the date that the email was received.

*T start time: Time must be entered in military format. Ex: 530, 0830 and 1600

*P Protocol: T = traveling; S = stationary; A = area; C = casual. Normally you do not need to specify protocol in your EZBird email: if you enter a distance, EZbird assumes "Traveling Count"; if you enter an area, EZbird assumes "Area Count".

*S State: Must be a valid eBird two-letter state code. In the US and Canada, standard two-letter mailing codes are used.  For example CA = California.  Follow this link for a list of valid eBird State and Country codes.

*C Country: Must be a valid eBird two-letter country code. US = United States; CA = Canada; MX = Mexico. Follow this link for a list of valid eBird State and Country codes.

*D Duration: must be an integer number of minutes.

*M Distance: in miles, one-way. Protocol will automatically be "Traveling"

*A Area: in acres. Protocol will automatically be set to "Area count".

*N Notes: any string is acceptable. Note that if comments are too long, then your email program may break them up into separate lines and some of the information may not be entered into the file.

*X Longitude: Must be in eBird-compatible format using at least 4 decimal places: example -122.2435. 

*Y Latitude: Must be in eBird-compatible format using at least 4 decimal places: example 36.2435.

*O Number of Observers: Any integer is acceptable.  If absent, EZbird will assume "1"

*R All observations reported: Y = yes; N = no.  If absent, EZbird assumes "yes".  Note: eBird recommends that you enter checklists that are a complete record of birds you have seen and heard to the best of your ability.