Please join us in congratulating Vincent Agnesi of Quebec, Canada – winner of the October 2021 eBird Challenge, sponsored by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics. Vincent’s name was drawn randomly from the 4,581 eBirders who submitted at least 5 eligible checklists on October Big Day. Vincent will receive a new ZEISS Conquest HD 8×42 binocular for his eBirding efforts. Here’s Vincent’s birding story:
Having grown up on the Gaspe coast in Eastern Quebec, I was always interested in nature, the outdoors. I enjoyed walking the beaches to see what I could discover but it was usually the birds that caught my attention. With a cheap pair of binoculars and a Peterson Field Guide I was hooked. I started with shorebirds and seabirds because they were so plentiful.
Brant © Vincent Agnesi / Macaulay Library
Over the years, I have taken up other hobbies and interests but birding has been the one constant. I rarely go anywhere without my camera and binoculars. It is a very portable hobby which has allowed me to meet new people and forge lasting friendships. I hope to enjoy it for many more years to come.
I can recall dutifully sending in my paper checklists to the local bird club at the end of each month. However, I then had to wait for the quarterly publication to find out what other birders were reporting in the region. It was good information but always long after the fact. And then we switched to the eBird platform, WOW. It was user friendly and all the stats and media were readily available. You could actually see what species had been reported by other birders that very day in your area. That was a major benefit especially for those of us living in outlying areas.
I check eBird daily to see what is being reported, what new species are moving in or better yet a rarity which I may try to track down. I also often use eBird Targets which helps me to focus on which species I may still expect to find in my area for each month. I use the bird recordings to help identify birds by sound rather than just sight. And of course, now I don’t have to worry about recording any stats, they are all there at my fingertips.
Snow Goose © Vincent Agnesi / Macaulay Library
During the lockdowns due to the current Covid pandemic, being able to still go out birding even if it was on my own helped me to maintain some sense of normalcy, especially during the long winter months. I depended more and more on the eBird platform to maintain a connection with my fellow birders.
I am very grateful to the Cornell Lab for having developed the eBird platform. It is an invaluable tool that is freely available to everyone around the world. Whenever I travel to a new area for whatever reason, I always check it out on eBird first. It helps you make the best use of the time you can devote to birding in that area. I also appreciate the ongoing support of Carl Zeiss Sports Optics for their efforts in encouraging everyone to participate in this great hobby / passion. I am looking forward to trying out the new binoculars with much anticipation as they will be a major improvement over those I currently use. A sincere thank you to all those involved in this project.