Central America

This month’s eBirder of the Month challenge, sponsored by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, will help you get very familiar with one of your favorite birding locations. The eBirder of the Month will be drawn from eBirders who submit 15 eligible checklists from one eBird location in September. Winners will be notified by the 10th of the following month.

September is a month of birding flux. Much of the Northern Hemisphere is in the midst of migration, and the southern reaches of the world are celebrating the arrival of springtime. What better time of year to visit one place and document the change? With the constant change of season and migration, repeated visits to a single birding site will help illuminate the differences from week to week.

There’s a lot of ways to take part in this month’s challenge. You could visit the park down the road 15 times. Do a list from your house or apartment every other morning before work. Make a stop on your way home for 5 minutes and see what you can turn up. One place, 15 times. If you do two places 15 times each, you won’t be entered twice, but it will be twice as awesome of an achievement. These don’t have to be herculean multi-hour lists—five or ten minutes is great as well. If you want to keep track of your local spot, and how it compares to other local “patch” birders, consider keeping a patch list using the eBird Yard/Patch tool. Good luck, and have fun!