McFadden Ranch participates in eBird.

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

Launched by Audubonand Cornell Lab of Ornithology

What is eBird?

A real-time, online checklist program, eBird has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.

eBird's goal is to maximize the utility and accessibility of the vast numbers of bird observations made each year by recreational and professional bird watchers. It is amassing one of the largest and fastest growing biodiversity data resources in existence. For example, in 2006, participants reported more than 4.3 million bird observations across North America.

The observations of each participant join those of others in an international network of eBird users. eBird then shares these observations with a global community of educators, land managers, ornithologists, and conservation biologists. In time these data will become the foundation for a better understanding of bird distribution across the western hemisphere and beyond.

How does it work?

eBird documents the presence or absence of species, as well as bird abundance through checklist data. A simple and intuitive web-interface engages tens of thousands of participants to submit their observations or view results via interactive queries into the eBird database. eBird encourages users to participate by providing Internet tools that maintain their personal bird records and enable them to visualize data with interactive maps, graphs, and bar charts. All these features are available in English, Spanish, and French.

A birder simply enters when, where, and how they went birding, then fills out a checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing. eBird provides various options for data gathering including point counts, transects, and area searches. Automated data quality filters developed by regional bird experts review all submissions before they enter the database. Local experts review unusual records that are flagged by the filters.

Data integration

eBird collects observations from birders through portals managed and maintained by local partner conservation organizations. In this way eBird targets specific audiences with the highest level of local expertise, promotion, and project ownership. Portals may have a regional focus (aVerAves, eBird Puerto Rico) or they may have more specific goals and/or specific methodologies (Louisiana Winter Bird Atlas, Bird Conservation Network eBird). Each eBird portal is fully integrated within the eBird database and application infrastructure so that data can be analyzed across political and geographic boundaries. For example, observers entering observations of Cape May Warbler from Puerto Rico can view those data separately, or with the entire Cape May Warbler data set gathered by eBird across the western hemisphere.

Data accessibility

eBird data are stored in a secure facility and archived daily, and are accessible to anyone via the eBird web site and other applications developed by the global biodiversity information community. For example, eBird data are part of the Avian Knowledge Network (AKN), which integrates observational data on bird populations across the western hemisphere. In turn, the AKN feeds eBird data to international biodiversity data systems, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). In this way any contribution made to eBird increases our understanding of the distribution, richness, and uniqueness of the biodiversity of our planet.

Sponsors and affiliates of eBird include (http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/affiliates):

Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Audubon
National Science Foundation
ANCON
Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Audubon Alaska
Audubon California
BirdLife International
Bird Studies Canada
Bird Conservation Network
Canopy Tower
Costa Rican Ornithologist's Union
Conabio
FERMATA
Gulf Coast Bird Observatory
Hawk Mountain
International Migratory Bird Day
Klamath Bird Observatory
Louisiana Bird Resource Center
Manomet Center for Conservation Science
Mass Audubon
The Ornithological Association of Costa Rica
Panama Audubon Society
PRBO Conservation Science
Organization for Tropical Studies
Redwood Region Audubon Society
Redwood Sciences Laboratory
Rogue Valley Audubon Society
Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act Fund
Sociedad Ornitologia de Hispaniola
Societe Audubon Haiti
Tropical Science Center
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Wildlife Without Borders-Latin American and Caribbean Program
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
Wisconsin Society for Ornithology
University of the Virgin Islands
Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative
World Birding Center

Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation