Notice from eBird: novel coronavirus update; online resources
Dear close eBird friends,
We very much hope that you and your friends and family are safe and healthy. These past few weeks have developed into something unlike any other era in our lives. We’re writing today to give an update on eBird and to provide some resources that we hope will be helpful for you and your communities.
The Cornell Lab itself is physically closed as of this week, but our entire team is equipped to work remotely, and has transitioned to working that way over the past several days. We plan to maintain our normal level of development, outreach, and engagement. Those of us that you may normally correspond with (Chris, Marshall, Jenna, Ian, John) are “here” as usual—perhaps with the occasional eye toward some yard listing.
We are moving forward with events like Global Big Day, but we stress that this must be done with the utmost care and concern for the local situation. Some may be under local travel restrictions, which must be followed. Please follow the advice of your local authorities.
For updates about Global Big Day, watch our social media and this article: https://ebird.org/news/global-big-day-9-may-2020.
eBird contributions continue to grow this month. Checklist contributions and number of users are up 20% for 1-15 Mar 2020 vs. 1-15 Mar 2019. Photo and audio submissions are up 34% and 81% respectively. People are still watching birds, and logging many historical sightings, photos, and sounds as well. For much of the world, spring migration is also heating up and is sure to lift the spirits of eBirders in those regions.
We have put together an eBird news post that addresses some of our recommendations for how people can still find relaxation and hope through birds, regardless of circumstances: https://ebird.org/news/online-resources-to-enjoy-birds-from-your-home. If you would like this to be copied into your WordPress portal, please let Ian know. Please don’t hesitate to adapt this post in whatever way makes most sense for your communities.
Let us know if there’s anything we can help with in terms of eBird assistance around birding resources in the coming weeks—we’re here to support the work that you do, and are proud to be your partners.
Very best,
Chris, Marshall, Jenna, John, and Ian for Team eBird