Birding News and Features

New Feature--eBird Checklist Sharing!

Are you part of a local OSNZ group that are all (or will become) devoted eBird users? Has it been frustrating that each of you has to enter your joint birdwalks into eBird separately? We are very excited to release eBird Checklist Sharing, which now allows you to copy checklists to another user’s account with the click of a mouse. From now on, when you go birding with friends you can designate who will be keeping the list and that person can enter the eBird list for the group. That checklist can be shared with the group using just an email address or eBird username. And once a checklist has been shared, you can add or delete species observed so that the list represents just what YOU saw. Read on for more information.

2008 Shining Cuckoo Arrival Records

The eBird/ Birding-NZ Shining cuckoo arrival mini-census was a great success with more than 40 people reporting the date they first heard cuckoos in their area.  Although we still don't have any records from Otago its time to tally up the results.

The first record for the spring was a bird heard on the first of Sept by Ian Purden & John Wilson from Waikino between Paeroa and Waihi.

Records came from as far afield as Akaroa and Northland but I'm afraid there is no clear pattern. Cuckoos either fly directly to their home territory (no matter where it is in the country) or they do not call until they get there. A couple of late records in the north of the South Island are a tantallising glimpse into what may be happening.

 

The mean date of arrival in an area was the 20th Sept. It will take a few more years of data before we will be able to say catagorically whether the date of first arrival is getting earlier. It is possible that the very early birds represent birds that are over-wintering.

 

There have not been any records of Long-tailed Cuckoo this year.

 

Thanks to all that provided records. And to those that haven't already why not try entering them in eBird. Its easy and just look how a few simple records have allowed us to tell an interesting story.

The cuckoos are coming!

With the arrival of a few warm days, the daffodils and the beginning of the breeding season of our passerines, it is only a matter of days till the first Shining Cuckoos arrive.

There is so much we don’t know about cuckoos! We know they spend the non-breeding season in the Pacific Islands but we don’t know if, on their return, they all fly into Northland and slowly move down the country or if they fly directly to wherever they spend the summer throughout the country.

Work in the UK and US has given them a good idea of the migratory patterns of their cuckoos but we simply don’t know about ours. The advent of real-time web reporting such as eBird allows us for the first time to get a handle on how cuckoos migrate from the Pacific Islands to NZ. So why not help!

How we Monitor eBird's 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 group of Ornithological Society Of New Zealand experts, eBird tackles the issue of data quality. 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 - NZ will, along with the OSNZ's two Bird Distribution and Abundance Atlases, become one of the most valuable data sets on New Zealands avifauna. Read more about our data verification process....

New Location Management Tools Launched!

When eBird started in the US in 2002 we didn't have the technology to allow you to select a location from a map for data entry (we do now--hooray!).  Because of that it was harder to be aware of existing eBird hotspots, and many users created their own versions of these places.  We've been asked for a long time to rectify this by creating tools that will allow you to merge your personal locations, and all associated data, with existing eBird hotspots.  We've recently upgraded the "Manage My Locations" option found under "My eBird" to allow for this, along with a suite of other useful data management tools.  Now you can easily combine your data from a duplicate personal location with eBird hotspots so that it can be shared by all.

Are you really seeing Grey Ducks?

 

Some people have commented to us “Why do you query our records of grey duck? The're common aren’t they?” Well unfortunately they are not. Indeed due to introgressive hybridization with Mallards they may well become the next extinct species in New Zealand. We challenge all using eBird to try a useful little key with ducks you suspect may be Grey Ducks to see if they really are. In doing so you will help us understand what is going on with Grey Ducks in New Zealand.

Make Your Bird-watching More Meaningful!

 

New Zealand eBird is growing rapidly and will quickly become an invaluable tool for conservation in New Zealand.  Your observations are making a huge difference in our understanding of birds at many levels. Scientists will analyze your data to find new patterns in bird distribution, abundance and population trends.  Casual bird observations of rare or unusual species and birds doing unusual things are great for us to understand the distribution of birds in New Zealand and can be incorporated in the annual New Zealand Bird Report. But for an in depth understanding of what is going on in the New Zealand environment, observations with effort are required. For this reason the Ornithological Society of New Zealand would like to promote several bird survey techniques that we consider most valuable in helping us understand population trends. We recommend making the most of your bird-watching by conducting traveling counts, stationary counts and area counts in a more meaningful way.  In this feature we'll give examples of how to make your observations count for bird conservation!

Atlas of Bird Distribution in New Zealand 1999-2004

The Ornithological Society of New Zealand (OSNZ) launched the most comprehensive survey of New Zealand’s avifauna in August 2007. With some 530 pages and more than 2100 maps (A4, Colour, case bound, delivered individually boxed) covering over 200 of New Zealand’s endemic, native, migratory and introduced birds, this work is the result of 5 years of extensive surveying by more than 850 people throughout the country. Conservatively valued at more than $10 million worth of voluntary effort, it emphasises the importance of nationally co-ordinated environmental monitoring and recording, by a largely amateur organisation.

Welcome to New Zealand eBird!

New Zealand eBird is sponsored by the Ornithological Society of New Zealand.  This tool is designed to give bird-watchers the power to submit observations from New Zealand into a permanent archive, while building their lists and enjoying birds!