Hi Everyone,
With many thanks to all of you dedicated eBird contributors out
there--whether you are old pros or are just now getting into it--here are a
few friendly reminders to help you make the most of your efforts.
Please...
1. Do not submit any checklists for periods greater than 24 hours.
Observations are linked to dates, so you should never consolidate more
than one day's birding into a single checklist.
2. Consider keeping more lists covering shorter distances. An eBird
guideline is to try to keep traveling counts to 5 miles or less.
Exceptions to this are sometimes reasonable (and better than losing the
information altogether), but your contributions are most valuable when you
do traveling counts of 5 miles or less.
3. Use existing hotspots instead of creating personal locations in the same
area. If you regularly bird in a public area that lacks a hotspot, please
consider recommending the location as a hotspot. All hotspots will show up
for you if you select the option "Find it on a Map" when beginning your
checklist submission.
4. When eBird asks for comments for a high count or an unusual sighting,
please enter notes before submitting the checklist about how the count was
made or details that you used to identify the bird and rule out similar
species.
5. Even better, if you are amenable, please try to obtain photos and/or
recordings to support your observations. Even a poor photo can be much
more of a slam dunk for review purposes than a written description. Better
yet, if you're trying to advance your birding skills and knowledge, get
into the habit of making written descriptions in the field and submit those
in addition to the more concrete evidence (photos or recordings).
6. If you have a photo for a flagged species, please embed the photo into
the checklist before you submit it. If for some reason you can't do that,
please email the photo to one of the reviewers when you submit the
checklist. How to add photos to a checklist:
http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/973966-adding-photos-videos-and-recordings-to-checklists
Please remember that eBird review involves a lot of volume. Details that
may seem minor at the level of the individual eBirder are quickly magnified
by the awesome level of participation we have here in MD and DC. This is
surely a good thing! But it also means that each eBird contributor has the
power to make the process more or less efficient. We on the MD and DC
eBird Review Teams certainly prefer the former, so thanks in advance for
your help! :)
The eBird website (www.ebird.org) is a great place to explore for all kinds
of helpful information. Just click on "Help & Info" at the top of the page
next to "My eBird" and explore from there. Here is the link to advice for
making your submissions more valuable:
http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/974012-how-to-make-your-checklists-more-valuable
Thanks again to everyone out there using eBird! If we can answer questions
or help with anything, please let us know.
Oh, almost forgot, the most important eBird practice of all--have fun!
Ron Gutberlet
on behalf of the MD and DC eBird Teams
rlgutberlet@salisbury,edu
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