January eBirder of the Month Challenge
This January’s eBirder of the Month challenge, sponsored by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, will make sure that you know the basics of how eBird can help you. Last year we developed a free eBird Essentials course that has the foundational information we think every eBirder should know: covering everything from best practices to how eBird can most effectively help your birding. The eBirder of the Month will be drawn from eBirders who have taken the eBird Essentials course and submit 1 or more eligible checklists in January; if you have already taken the course, just submit at least one checklist in January to qualify. Winners will be notified by the 10th of the following month.
More than 25,000 eBirders have taken eBird Essentials and everyone from beginning eBirders to long-time users found the course helpful. One beginner birder wrote, “I have been hesitant to begin using eBird, unsure how or where to begin. Thanks to this course I feel more confident on how to begin using the program.” A long-time eBird user wrote, “Though I already use eBird regularly, this course explained details and features I wasn’t aware of. It also described the importance of details that I normally took for granted.” We recommend the course to everyone who uses eBird, whether it is your first time or you are a daily checklist submitter. Check out eBird Essentials today.
Each month we will feature a new eBird challenge and a set of selection criteria. The monthly winners will each receive a new ZEISS Conquest HD 8×42 binocular. Don’t forget about the 2020 Checklist-a-day Challenge. Can you submit 365 eligible checklists this year?
Carl Zeiss Sports Optics is a proven leader in sports optics and is the official optics sponsor for eBird. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and support the vital scientific data being collected by dedicated eBirders.” – Richard Moncrief, Birding and Nature Observation Segment Manager at Carl Zeiss SBE