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For years, scientists have used data collected by birdwatchers to assess the pathways of migrating birds and changes in bird populations and range. The National Audubon Society’s Christmas bird count dates back to 1900 and provides an annual snapshot of bird populations throughout the country. More than 50,000 people participate each year.
But now, birders are supplying scientists with data every day, and technology is making the process easier. Since 2002, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has operated eBird as an online tool that birdwatchers can use record their sightings.
eBird takes advantage of the fact that birdwatchers like to make lists. From the birds they’ve seen on an excursion or in a particular region, to their life list, which tracks every species they’ve ever seen. eBird provides birders with the technology to maintain all of these lists and to compare themselves with other birders working the same region.
For scientists, eBird provides an enormous collection of data collected by citizen scientists. A recent peer-reviewed paper used eBird data to show that some species, like scarlet tanagers, arrive earlier in warm years, while others, like barn swallows, do not adapt to annual variations in climate.
Over 60,000 people participate in eBird and together they enter in around 3 million records each month. Even if your birdwatching is limited to your backyard birdfeeder, your observations can become part of the huge dataset at eBird, where they will help scientists unveil the intricacies of bird ecology.
Photo, taken on December 29, 2011 in Delanson, New York, US, using a Nikon D3100, courtesy of Barbara via Flickr.
Web Links
http://www.ebird.org
http://birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count