eBird


eBird is an online database for accessing and reporting information about birds.  It was created by Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in coordination with the National Audubon Society (Cornell University 2019).  However, eBird is only successful because of the widespread participation by regular citizens.  From amateur birders to working ornithologists - everyone is able to use and contribute to eBird data. There are nearly one half million eBirders covering 84% of the world (Borgmann 2019, eBird 2019).   Together, they have observed 10,508 species and completed almost 39 million checklists (eBird 2019).  The collaboration and data sharing is critical to identifying important species data such as habitat, abundance, range, and population trends (eBird 2019).  What's more - the data is immediately available for download as soon as it is entered in eBird.  Anyone seeking eBird bird data for research, scientific, and/or education purposes can download it free of charge or view it using one of the tools provided on the eBird Science webpage.

As long as it exists for the specific area of interest, the applications of eBird data are essentially limitless.  Researchers have used eBird data to create next generation species distribution models.  Cornell Lab even created BirdVis as a way for citizens and scientists to interact with those models (eBird 2019).  Conservationists have used eBird data as a monitoring tool to guide management, protection efforts, and even policy (eBird 2019).  Datasets are available for download and can be used for everything from publications to applied projects.  If you're interesting in learning about specific projects and research in which eBird data has been utilized, check out this article from the journal of Biological Conservation.

Top 10 Worldwide eBird Species and Checklist Leaders
For more information, visit https://ebird.org/home.

Data Compilation Example: Bald Eagle 
To view the status and trends of other birds, visit https://ebird.org/science/status-and-trends.

Interacting with BirdVis
To use BirdVis, visit https://ebird.org/birdvis/.

Note in the image above that Hermit Thrush populations peak in my area (northeast Illinois) in April and October. Even so, there is no local habitat data available. Unlike the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), for which detailed habitat data has been compiled in BirdVis:

Since 1970, North America has experienced a net loss of almost three billion birds (29%) (Rosenberg et al. 2019).  Avian species are threatened by habitat loss, lack of resources, collisions, pesticides, fisheries, predation, and climate change (American Bird Conservancy 2019).  It has been estimated that domestic cats venturing outdoors kill between 1.3 and 4.0 billion birds in the United States every year (Loss et al. 2013).  An estimated 67 million birds are lost each year to pesticides and insecticides like neonicotinoids, the most utilized insecticide in the world (Pimental & Burgess 2014, American Bird Conservancy 2019).  It's estimated that up to 100 million birds are killed each year by colliding with infrastructure (Cornell University 2016).  Others estimate that collision losses can be up to one billion (Loss et al. 2014).  Birds collide with reflective surfaces like windows and migratory birds are drawn to lit windows in darkness (Cornell University 2016).  Aquatic birds are vulnerable to overfishing (reduction in food sources) and bycatch - around 720,000 birds killed by longlines and gillnets every year (American Bird Conservancy 2019).  Changing climate patterns and shifts in tolerance range are also impacting population dynamics (American Bird Conservancy 2019).  My goal is to contribute to the eBird database to help researchers fill in the gaps - such as the habitat used by Hermit Thrush populations in my area.  These factors and more have prompted researchers to gain a better understanding of population trends through citizen science projects like eBird.

To submit data on eBird you must first create a Cornell Lab account.  From there you identify the location of the observation.  It's recommended that submissions be as precise as possible, so I will be entering data using the latitude and longitude of my sightings.  You can also import your data from another database, a spreadsheet, or from various birding programs.  Once entered, you enter the date and the method by which you observed the bird(s).  Options here include traveling (walking a specific distance for field birding, walking a trail, etc.); stationary (watching from a window or another fixed location); historical (birding was the primary purpose for the viewing but the exact date and time cannot be determined); incidental (birding wasn't the primary purpose but you saw a bird while gardening, driving, etc.); or other methods ranging from banding to participating in a count or survey.  I will be making most of my observations on hikes, in my backyard, or set up somewhere else with my camera in hand, so my observations will all be categorized as traveling and stationary.  Next you enter the time, duration, and party size for the observation.  From there you select the species observed, the total number, and details related to habitat and behavior.  You can also add characteristics like age and sex if they are able to be determined.  There's also the option to add media such as pictures and audio.

I'm excited about eBird because I can submit as much data as I'm able collect.  Observations can be made at anywhere, at any time of day, and for any length of time.  I'll be birdwatching as often as I can in the coming weeks and will update you on my progress along the way.  Stay tuned for details of my encounters!


Resources
  1. American Bird Conservancy. (2019). Climate Change. Retrieved from https://abcbirds.org/threat/climate-change/. 
  2. American Bird Conservancy. (2019). Protect Birds from Pesticides. Retrieved from https://abcbirds.org/program/pesticides/. 
  3. American Bird Conservancy. (2019). The Threat of Fisheries. Retrieved from https://abcbirds.org/threat/fisheries/. 
  4. Borgmann, K. (2019, October 28). Bird sightings from eBirders cover 84% of the globe. Retrieved from https://ebird.org/news/bird-sightings-from-ebirders-cover-84-of-the-globe. 
  5. Cornell University (2019). Citizen Science Central: eBird. Retrieved from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects/clo/eBird/. 
  6. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. (2016). What We Gain by Celebrating Urban Birds. Retrieved from https://celebrateurbanbirds.org/learn/science/what-we-gain-by-celebrating-urban-birds/. 
  7. eBird. (2019). eBird Science. Retrieved from https://ebird.org/science. 
  8. Loss, S. R., Will, T., Loss, S. S., & Marra, P. P. (2014). Bird–building collisions in the United States: Estimates of annual mortality and species vulnerability. The Condor, 116(1), 8–23. doi: 10.1650/condor-13-090.1 
  9. Loss, S. R., Will, T., & Marra, P. P. (2013). The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States. Nature Communications, 4(1). doi: 10.1038/ncomms2380 
  10. Pimentel, D., & Burgess, M. (2014). Environmental and Economic Costs of the Application of Pesticides Primarily in the United States. Integrated Pest Management, 47–71. doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-7796-5_2 
  11. Rosenberg, K. V., Dokter, A. M., Blancher, P. J., Sauer, J. R., Smith, A. C., Smith, P. A., … Marra, P. P. (2019, October 4). Decline of the North American avifauna. Retrieved from https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6461/120. 
  12. Sullivan, B. L., Phillips, T., Dayer, A. A., Wood, C. L., Farnsworth, A., Iliff, M. J., … Kelling, S. (2017). Using open access observational data for conservation action: A case study for birds. Biological Conservation, 208, 5–14. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.031 

Comments

Post a Comment