These two sites are limited to particular census programs.\u00a0 Is there a site where any bird observation can be posted and shared?\u00a0 Yes, there is a site called eBird, administered by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.\u00a0 eBird was begun in 2002.\u00a0 It is essentially an on-line checklist project.\u00a0 Over 200,000 birders and ornithologist are currently submitting their trip lists to eBird.\u00a0 All of the data go into a common database that can be searched by anyone.\u00a0 The sharing of data makes eBird a tremendous resource for birders planning a trip or for scientists looking to determine how various phenomena affect birds.<\/p>\n
eBird version 3 has recently been introduced.\u00a0 This version is a great improvement over the previous versions.\u00a0 eBird 3 is intuitive, clean and simply a joy to use.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how one goes about contributing bird data to eBird.\u00a0 I do a lot of birding in the Perkins Arboretum on the Colby College campus.\u00a0 For the first checklist I added, eBird asked me for the date, the hours of observation and the location of the site.\u00a0 To identifiy the location, you can add the latitude and longitude or you can find it on a map.\u00a0 Clicking on the \u201cfind on a map\u201d took me to Google Maps in an embedded window.\u00a0 I quickly found the arboretum and named my location \u201cPerkins Arboretum \u2013 Colby College\u201d.\u00a0 That location now shows up in \u201cmy locations\u201d on eBird.\u00a0 When I add new checklists for the arboretum, all I have to do is indicate the location by name and eBird fills in the details.<\/p>\n
Next eBird presents you with a checklist of birds for the area.\u00a0 So, you will see a different list for a Maine location compared to an Arizona or Gal\u00e1pagos location.\u00a0 You can just scroll down through the checklist and either check-off or give the actual number of birds seen on a trip.\u00a0 Punch submit and the checklist is part of the eBird database.<\/p>\n
Every eBird registrant has a \u201cMy eBird\u201d page.\u00a0 eBird goes through all of your sightings and prepares lists of your birds.\u00a0 You can see your life list, year list, month list as well as lists by region of the world, country, state and even county.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0You can sign up for an email alert (daily or hourly) that will send you reports of, for instance, birds in Maine that you have not seen.<\/p>\n
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