Do you want to make an important contribution to ornithology? Do you want your bird observations to become a part of a HUGE database of bird sightings from all across the continent? Do you want an easy way to compile your personal birding lifelists and county bird
totals?
If you do, then please consider becoming a part of eBird. eBird is a fast-growing project of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology that enables birders to submit their bird sightings over the internet -- through the website: www.ebird.org. Birders from all over the continent are contributing their observations to a huge database that is maintained by Cornell, and which provides a tremendous resource for bird research and conservation. The kinds of analysis that are possible of all this bird data are limitless, and anyone with a computer and access to the internet can look at the data, distribution maps, etc., for all of the various bird species. Since eBird Version 2 was launched last year, it has become easier than ever to submit and keep track of your personal bird sightings. This can be done in a variety of ways, using a variety of location types, including“My Locations”, Birding Hotspots (that are already established, or you can add your own), Find it on a Map, or Latitude/Longitude (such as from a GPS).
We are expecting that in the very near future this will become an important part of the way that WSO compiles bird sightings from birders around the state for the quarterly seasonal reports. We believe that more birders will become interested in contributing their personal sightings if the reporting process is simplified. Instead of having to keep track of arrival dates, peak numbers, and locations of all of your birds over the course of a season, and then fill out various written forms and mail them in, you would simply be able to report your sightings on eBird on a daily or weekly basis (or whenever you go out birding) and then WSO could receive the data in a much simpler (and paperless) manner.
To get started, go to the eBird website and click on“Submit Observations”. This will take you to a page where you can register with a user name and password. From there you will be led through the steps of the process––which they have really made very simple. You can select your birding location, and then proceed to enter your sightings. Depending on the way you did your birding, you can choose from various choices that would include Casual Observation, Stationary Count, Traveling Count, or Exhaustive Area Count. You will soon be presented with a checklist of species, where you can either enter numbers of individuals or an “X” to indicate presence. After a final opportunity to recheck and confirm your submission, you will submit your checklist and you’re done! You can then click on “My eBird” to look at your personal lifelist and totals to date.
Please take a few moments to explore the eBird website and familiarize yourself with its layout and possibilities, and then take the big step ahead into the realm of electronic bird reporting and all it has to offer. Many Wisconsin birders are already submitting their sightings on a regular basis, and we are actually one of the top states in reports submitted to eBird! I hope you will consider becoming a part of this exciting and important effort!
Tom Schultz
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