Reminder: Our November and December Zeiss eBirders of the Month will be selected from eBirders who submit at least 75 locations by the end of November (November winner), and those who submit at least 500 complete checklists by the end of December (December winner). More details are included below. Thanks to Zeiss, Princeton University Press and all of our eBird users for making this our best year ever.
November: Prize will be awarded to users who have submitted complete checklists from at least 75 distinct locations from 1 January – 30 November 2014. Spreading out your eBird coverage is important to the success of eBird. Those who proactively find areas that are under-covered maximize the value of every complete checklist and every observation. Over the course of a year, submitting from 75 different locations should be possible even if you stay in your home county. Each person who has reached this goal will be entered once in this drawing. To find out how many locations you have entered records go to the Manage My Observations link on the My eBird tab. Once you are there, you can sort the location by clicking the word location at the top of the page. Or you can just head there from this link. You’ll need to count these one by one (sorry — a better alternative is just to submit from lots of different locations so that you are sure you have accomplished it!). As long as you have at least one complete checklist from 2014, it will count.
December: Our December winner will be drawn from among those who have submitted 500 complete checklists or more between 1 January – 31 December 2014. Complete checklists are ones where you answer “yes” to “are you reporting all species”. These can be two checklists a day from your backyard or weekend blitzes of 10 checklists each. However you get to 500 total, we will enter everyone who reaches this goal in our drawing for the December prize. And who knows, we may have a little something special for everyone who accomplishes this major milestone.
ABOUT eBIRDER OF THE MONTH
Each month we will feature a new eBird challenge and set of selection criteria. The monthly winners will each receive a new ZEISS Conquest HD 8×42 binocular and a selection of books from another great eBird sponsor, Princeton University Press.
Carl Zeiss Sports Optics is a proven leader in sports optics and is the official optics sponsor for eBird. “Carl Zeiss feels strongly that by partnering with the Cornell Lab we can provide meaningful support for their ability to carry out their research, conservation, and education work around the world,” says Mike Jensen, President of Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, North America. “The Cornell Lab is making a difference for birds, and from the highest levels of our company we’re committed to promoting birding and the Lab’s work, so there’s a great collaboration. eBird is a truly unique and synergistic portal between the Lab and birders, and we welcome the opportunity to support them both.”
Princeton University Press publishes many of the best books about birds and natural history, including the popular new “Warbler Guide” from Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle. “We are delighted to be able to support the Cornell Lab’s innovative and ambitious range of programs in science and conservation,” says Robert Kirk at PUP. “The rapid expansion of eBird has had a major impact on our understanding of bird populations and movements in North America and beyond, and is a testament to the Lab’s commitment to game-changing citizen science.”