Some good info there Bill!  I have ordered some clickers already!

My unofficial two cents worth of tips and suggestions:

--I've found eBird to be a very useful birdfinding tool, and also great 
for getting directions to any locations mentioned on this list.  If you 
want to know where Great Oak Pond is, for example, you can get a precise 
location (even a satellite map) quickly using eBird.  (What I do is call 
up the bar chart for the Maryland hotspot of that name, and then click 
on a species--that'll take you to a google map of the location)

--Once you become familiar with all it has to offer, eBird can be fun 
and addictive, and also a great way to connect with others in the local 
birding community (e.g. via top 100 lists).

--While complete checklists are most valuable (where all species seen 
are recorded), it's better NOT to submit it as complete unless you've 
truly made an effort to submit all species seen--including common ones 
like starlings, robins, Carolina Wrens, Song Sparrows, etc.  Indicating 
that a checklist is complete when it's not is submitting inaccurate data 
(which should be avoided at all costs)--because it in effect records 
that a bird was absent when it was actually present.

--While submitting CBC data into eBird is great, it should be remembered 
that multi-party data should not be submitted--only what one group of 
birders saw throughout the day.  To give one example about the evils of 
multi-party data, it makes eBird "high count" figures meaningless 
because a team of people birding multiple locations in a day are almost 
always going to see many more individual birds than a single party.  (I 
mention this because I've seen what I'm almost sure are multi-party 
entries in some of the eBird high count lists for various locations).  
(More info about CBC eBird reports here:  
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/ebirding-your-christmas-bird-counts).

--As Bill says, when estimating, being conservative is best.  
Overestimating is submitting inaccurate data--underestimating is just 
not reporting every individual you saw.  Also, if someone takes the time 
to precisely count 163 Brown Pelicans on Skimmer Island, and then you 
come along and report a guesstimate of 200 for the same day, you've in 
effect made the precise counter's effort a waste of time because eBird 
will record the presence of 200 BRPE for the day at that location.

Good eBirding!
Jim Moore
Rockville, Maryland
PLEASE REPORT YOUR BIRD SIGHTINGS to http://ebird.org/

On 12/31/2010 12:42 PM, Bill Hubick wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> As we prepare to begin a new year of Maryland birding, it seems appropriate to highlight Maryland birders' success in collecting better bird distribution data than ever before. In addition to continuing support to the well-established MD/DCRC, Maryland birders have really led the charge in supporting eBird.
>
> [SNIP]
>
> HAPPY NEW YEAR!
>
> Bill
>
> Bill Hubick
> Pasadena, Maryland
> 
> http://www.billhubick.com
>