Chestnut-backed Antbird – Poliocrania exsul © Gates Dupont / Macaulay Library
Welcome to eBird Central America! You are now part of a global network of birders, researchers, and conservationists—united through our interest in birds and the natural world. More than 200,000 people have used eBird, submitting more than 260 million bird observations from every country on earth. Whether you are reporting birds seen out the window of your home, or spending a day hiking remote mountains for rare species—we want your observations! Any bird, any time, any place. Now, you’re ready to go birding, but you might not be sure about how to get your sightings into eBird, or what the best practices are for eBirding? We’ve got you covered. This article should have what you need to get started.
How do I submit my sightings to eBird?
To have your sightings appear across eBird, they have to be entered as one or more checklists.
If you’re just starting out with eBird, we have an article that should be able to help you out with the whole process – from setting up an account to entering your first observation: read it here. Our Getting Started page has additional help if you have more questions.
To view the names of the birds in the language of your choice, make sure to go to your eBird Preferences. Here you can choose the Common Names of birds that you want to see, as well as Scientific Names if you wish.
Every bird counts in eBird! Whether it is a Red-winged Blackbird in your yard, or a critically endangered species on some island – we want to hear about it!
eBirding Best Practices
No matter how passionate you are about birds, you have the potential to gather valuable data for science, if you upload your observations to eBird and take a little time to ensure that you are submitting your sightings the most appropriate way. We want your eBirding to be lots of fun, but we also want it to be of highest value for conservation, ornithology, and for other birders. Here are 6 tips that will help improve the quality of your eBirding, and also increase the number of birds you can find:
Important: these are not requirements, but they are the best ways to contribute your sightings to help science and global bird conservation
Explore the Birding “Hotspots” in your area before going to the field. eBird’s Hotspot Explorer is a fantastic way to find out about great spots to visit for birds, and to learn more what is being seen in your area. If you do decide to go birding at an eBird hotspot, please make sure to upload your checklist to the hotspot, rather than by creating a new personal location. If you don’t go birding at a hotspot, that is great too! You can create a new location for where you went birding!
Exploring eBird Data
Well, now that you’ve submitted your bird observations, you want to learn how to look at those sightings. Do you want to view and explore the sightings that you’ve submitted, and see the lists of birds that you’ve seen? Then My eBird is the place for you. Check it out. What if you’re wondering about that park down the road, what have people seen there? Want to know about all birds seen at a location? Here you go. Maybe you just want to find a certain species, or a specific rare bird that you know people have been seeing somewhere. Then you want to know all about a specific bird—this is how.
This is only the tip of the iceberg—you can find out all of the species that you haven’t seen in a region; sign up for email notifications for rare and unusual birds; or even watch a live map of eBird submissions worldwide. All of this and much more can be found in the Explore Data section of eBird. Enjoy!
To learn more about eBird in Spanish, please check our Central American regional portal in Spanish:
Most importantly, get outside, see some birds, and contribute your sightings to global bird conservation! At the end of the day, we all share common interests that go beyond any language or cultural barriers, beyond professions, political leanings, or ways of life. We all care about birds, and we’re here to show it at eBird. Thousands of checklists are submitted each day—every one increasing our understanding of birds across the world. We look forward to seeing yours.
None of this would be possible without eBirders like you. Thank you.