Take part in the eBird Site Survey this summer!
California Thrasher, Carmel Valley, CA. Photograph by Brian Sullivan.
What is the eBird Site Survey?
You are about to join the ranks of elite eBirders who contribute some
of the most valuable data for scientific analysis: repeated
observations from the same location. In order to understand what's
happening with the birds in your backyard, you need to go out and count
them regularly. The dynamics of migration quickly become evident, as
new species pass through en route to breeding or wintering areas. You
begin to understand when the local birds breed, when the intensity of
their singing peaks, and when they quiet down to be inconspicuous
around a nest with young. Imagine being able to understand bird
populations with this granularity across a vast scale. Imagine not just
your backyard, but thousands of backyards sewn together across the
landscape providing a real-time snapshot of living bird
communities--all available to scientists with the click of a button.
This is the concept of the eBird Site Survey. Welcome to the
team!
Why become part of the team?
By collecting the most valuable citizen-science data possible, you'll
become part of the eBird Site Survey Team. This team of elite eBirders
will enjoy special recognition on eBird through a new page that will
feature a new eBird Site Survey location and participant each month.
You'll also become part of a group discussion about how best to develop
the Site Survey!
How to participate?
The first thing to do is to determine which site you are going to
survey, and what kind of survey you'd like to do. Many people will want
to do surveys in their backyards, and that's great! Others will want to
choose a local park, birding hotspot, or favorite location. The idea is
to pick a site that you know you'll be able to visit at least once a
week for a while!
Once you've determined what site to do, you'll need to decide how often
you'd like to do your count. We suggest at minimum once a week, with
once a day being ideal. Don't worry if you'll miss a week here and
there, that's okay, we all need a vacation now and then!
The kind of count you do is up to you, as long as it's one of our
"effort-based" choices (e.g., traveling, stationary, or area count). We
require a minimum duration of five minutes, and we also require that
you count ALL the birds you were able to identify to the best of your
ability, and answer 'yes' to that question on the checklist page. To
what extent you can, try to keep the protocol the same (e.g., Traveling
Count), but the duration and time of day might vary depending on when
you can get out, and whether or not you have lots of birds to look
at!
Once your site is registered you're finished with the paperwork,
just start doing your counts using eBird as you normally would. There
is no special protocol to select, but now that we know about your site,
we can automatically add your data to the Site Survey dataset. All of
your previous counts from the site will automatically become part of
the Site Survey dataset as well!
Tell us about your count
We'd like to keep track of the people participating in the "Site
Survey" and periodically update you on all things "Site Survey". To
register your site simply fill out the form at the link below. Be
prepared with the following information:
Your Name:
Your eBird username: hint--look on the home page on the upper
left!
Site Survey Location Name:
State:
County:
Type of Count (e.g., traveling, stationary):
Frequency (e.g., weekly, daily):
Click here to register your site! (to register multiple sites just
fill out the form once for each site).
Questions?
By participating in the "eBird Site Survey" process you'll be helping
us do more with citizen-science data. If you have questions about the
process, please email us at ebird@cornell.edu.
