Welcome to New Zealand eBird!

Through collaboration with Cornell University and the Audubon Society of America, the Ornithological Society of New Zealand is proud to present this state of the art system for the recording of all your bird observations. Ever wondered what to do with your bird observations? Do you want to
know how many species of bird you have seen in NZ but are too lazy or
shy to make a list?

This program allows anyone who wishes to, to enter bird observations from NZ (and incidentally anywhere else in the western hemisphere). This data is then compiled into your very own monthly, yearly, regional and life lists for the user
AND it contributes data that can be used by scientists to assess the
status of New Zealand's birds. It enables all who visit the site to
view maps of bird distribution in NZ and updates users on rare bird
sightings and lists for over 100 "hotspots" around the country. We hope
that as many users as possible will take advantage of this program to
add an extra dimension to their bird-watching and help science and
conservation. If you visit a spot regularly, are working in the back
blocks or even if you just record birds on the way to work or in your
backyard you should add these observations to eBird. There are so many
things we don't know about NZs birds that eBird may help us resolve.

We hope eBird will help us answer many questions that have been asked on
Birding-NZ: when do the first cuckoos arrive each year - do they first
arrive in the north and filter down the country or do they get to most
places simultaneously? Are cuckoos declining? Where do the introduced
finches go in the winter? Which introduced birds migrate in NZ? Which
native bush birds migrate in NZ? The Atlas of Bird Distribution in NZ
1999-2004 was a great achievement but we mustn't stop now. What is
happening to birds in NZ today? Is the intensification in agriculture
and the "dairy boom" affecting even NZ's common birds? Did you know
red-billed gulls are declining all over NZ - is this serious or a minor
readjustment?

All these questions require lots of observers making regular records.
Even if you don't do regular counts already why don't you start? You can
do it whilst walking the dog, driving to work, driving to the beach
house, going for a relaxing bush walk - when ever. You can make a
difference.