Caledonia

It is a pleasure to introduce to you our newest eBird Vermont Data Reviewers. Please join me in welcoming three new team members that help us keep eBird Vermont data strong.

Cat Abbott and Chad Witko – Windham County
Coleen Lawlor – Windsor County and Bennington Counties

All unusual observations are evaluated by eBird reviewers – birding experts who volunteer their time to manage filters, review records, and communicate with eBird users. Reviewers are selected for their expert knowledge of local birds and eBird, and ability to communicate that knowledge with others. It is very important to remember that reviewers are volunteers, and we are incredibly grateful for the hard work they do. eBird Vermont would not exist without this entire team! Learn more about eBird Vermont and the team behind the scenes.

There are over 1,800 volunteer eBird Reviewers around the world! Volunteer reviewers play an important role ensuring the eBird database remains reliable and accurate for science and conservation (learn more about the eBird review process). We are incredibly grateful to our volunteer reviewers for their dedication to eBird Vermont’s data quality.

Since eBird’s inception in 2002 followed by eBird Vermont in 2003, almost 23 million observations were reviewed, requiring more than 190,000 hours of effort by volunteer reviewers. What does a reviewer do? eBird reviewers work to improve eBird data in three primary areas. First, they develop and manage the eBird checklist filters for a region. These filters generate a checklist of birds for a particular time and location, and determine what records get flagged for further review. Second, if an eBird participant tries to report a species that is not on the checklist, or if the number of individuals of a species exceeds the filter limit, then these records get flagged for review. Reviewers contact the observer and request further documentation. About 60% of all records that are evaluated by reviewers are validated. Finally, eBird reviewers validate whether the participant is eBirding correctly. That is, are they correctly filling out the information on when, where, and how they went birding.

Learn more about our newest reviewers

Cat Abbott – Windham County

I’ve always been drawn to the natural world, one of those lucky kids who grew up playing in the woods.  Birds especially amaze me:  their forms and colors, their navigation abilities, their resilience and proclivity for coexistence.  The more I learn about birds, the more questions I have.  I love the meditative aspect of birding and watching birds helps to focus my attention on what is important.  I’m worried about birds and the steady, persistent decline in their numbers.  I believe that the data generated by citizen scientists, including eBirders, is vital to informing impactful conservation.  I lead bird walks for Audubon chapters and local land trusts, and currently serve on the Vermont Bird Records Committee.

Coleen Lawlor – Bennington and Windsor Counties

I come from a family that gardened, hunted, fished, camped, and generally spent time outdoors. They also lived with birds. My parents raised Ring-neck Pheasants and a flock of Tumbler Pigeons in a coop behind the house, it was very hands on. We sometimes had an incubator running or box with some kind of critter being raised in the dining room. There was a Purple Martin house in the field and I remember discussions about their return in the spring. During the Summers, I spent a lot of time with my Great Aunt on Cape Cod. She was always sharing “her birds” with me. Our favorites were Phoebes, Bobwhite Quail, and the Whip-poor-wills.  These experiences provided a good basis for enjoyment of and curiosity about the natural world. Several years ago I started looking for birds beyond my yard here in Windham County and as it happens I met several local birders who included me on some of their birding trips. I learned a lot from them. At the same time I began using eBird to record my sightings, between the two experiences a whole world opened up. Before eBird my record keeping consisted of an old field guide with a few notes made on the pages and occasionally a note made on a piece of paper. These were mostly lost shortly after they were written, not much of a system. eBird was fantastic for me. I could simply make a list, upload it, and there it would be organized and available, forever. It made documenting birds fun and easy. Currently, I keep several lists that I care about including a life list. I like nothing better than spending my time in nature looking for birds, observing them, and sometimes photographing. I have found that documenting birds can do them some good in certain situations and that is something I hope to do more of especially with Eastern Meadowlarks and other local grassland birds.

Chad Witko – Windham County

A lifelong birder, my earliest memories, at age three in the early 1980s, involve poring over waterfowl field guides. Since then, I’ve dedicated my life to the captivating world of birds and ornithology. My professional journey in avian conservation began in 2004 as an intern for Project Puffin. It most recently evolved to a focus on migration science, where I proudly co-developed Audubon’s Bird Migration Explorer for the Migratory Bird Initiative. Beyond my professional endeavors, I’m deeply engaged in community building and the role birding plays, resulting in the creation of Chat Happens Birding (2006) and the Antioch Bird Club (2016). As a birder, my passions include bird migration, vagrancy, distribution patterns, pelagic species, challenging IDs, and how to make birding more equitable, inclusive, and diverse. Finally, I am an early adopter of eBird, submitting my inaugural checklist featuring an incidental Eastern Towhee in April 2003. I have been an eBird reviewer since 2016, now including Windham County.