The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
A while ago the question arose in the comments of a Bucket whether it is complicated to access and contribute bird observations at eBird, after several folks referred to it as being a handy tool for bird watchers. eBird is a citizen science project, meaning a database of observations from volunteers using specific protocols, and it is large enough for the observations to be useful to bird watchers. You might ask whether data gathered and submitted by regular people over the internet is as scientifically valuable as that collected by trained scientists...the general consensus from studies about citizen science reliability (a few examples
here,
here and
here) is that their larger sample size compensates for possible data inaccuracy, given clear objective protocols, redundancy and a large number of observations.
eBird is a project of Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which also runs Project FeederWatch and others. The Audubon Society runs the Christmas Bird Count, the longest running citizen science project in the world. There are many other citizen science projects out there, from butterflies to moon craters.
I find the eBird website nicely set up for both participating and for reference, so here's a brief rundown on using it.
Accessing information
If you go to the eBird website you'll have several links along the top of the page to choose. Click on "Explore Data", and the new window has different ways to look at information. The "Explore a Region" link allows you to see a list what people have been reporting in a particular area in chronological order, from most recent. I find this page handy in learning what's around at the moment. "Species Maps" will show you where a particular bird has been observed and when. For example, on my most recent trip to the mainland I saw Black-Capped Chickadees. Now, I know these are extremely common birds for many of you, but I have never seen one in the San Juan Islands. Here's the eBird map for Black Caps in my area. Notice that there are lots of observations on the mainland but only 3 (and old) in my whole county, a short distance across the water. A little further west there are no Black Caps on Vancouver Island at all.
If I pulled up a map for Chestnut-Backed Chickadees, it would be wall to wall observation points in the islands however! The Golden-crowned Kinglets, Hairy Woodpeckers, Great Blue Heron, Song Sparrows, Oregon Juncos and several other birds I saw on the mainland that day are found out on the islands as well...old friends.
Another way of looking at information is timing. Many birds are migratory and even year-round birds wax and wane in numbers depending on their behavior. This is a portion of the page for my area showing when ducks are numerous (thick green), rare (less green) or absent (no green).
Contributing Observations
We all see birds during our day, even right outside our windows at home like these Red Crossbills on my feeder.
(All photos by me. In Lightbox...click to enlarge)
Follow me below the fluffy bird's nest for more on how to report your observations.
You need to create an account with eBird to participate, user name and password. It is free. At my computer I'm cookied in every time I open the website and can start directly with "Submit Observations" on the home page. First page is where you were birding, either from a pull down list of your saved locations, or creating a new one with a map or coordinates. Next page is the date, time and your type of observation: stationary, traveling or others. Third page is a list where you enter how many of what kinds of birds you saw, and any relevant details about them. You hit submit and that's it. Easy. If you forgot something or discovered it was a White-winged Scoter not a Surf Scoter you can go back and edit your report. By the next day your data will show up on the "Explore a Region" page for your area, where others can see what you saw that day and where.
Providing accurate observations is important of course. Every birder I've ever known takes great pride in making definitive IDs, otherwise foregoing a report. I have some tools I use to help me with that. How can I know the number of Oregon Juncos below my feeder on this snowy day? One way is to count up ten, get a sense of what that looks like, and then estimate how many tens. I can only count the ones I see since in the next moment it may be the same ones for this "Stationary" report.
I use a camera often. It's essential in documenting a rare appearance, and useful in capturing a gathering that can be examined at leisure later. There are more male than female juncos in that photo, and even one Golden-crowned Sparrow!
These Wild Turkeys in my neighborhood are considered rare for this location by eBird based on their aggregate data. My report is flagged when I list them, and eBird requires additional information to be sure that's what I saw. I can describe the setting or behavior or submit a photo. To avoid having just an unusual species being reported, eBird will flag your report if that's all you list. It's more valuable to know all the birds seen at that time and location. This is another protocol to improve reliability of data.
Besides a camera, another tool birders use is their ears. There are some remarkable people who can bird entirely by ear! I have a long ways to go to be any good at that, but even for a newbie like me, hearing a song will direct my attention. I almost always hear camouflaged Killdeer before I look for the source of that piercing cry.
Camera captures are also useful for flying birds who are gone in an instant. I took a series of quick photos as these Kingfishers flew by and one picture showed it was a male and a female, likely a mated pair, by the breast markings. Most of my photos are for information like this. You can record gender and age of the birds you've seen at eBird.
This group of three raptors flying around overhead was a puzzle until I looked at the photos (and asked the opinion of other birders at the Dawn Chorus). It is two juvenile Red-tailed Hawks harassing an adult. Most likely the adult has encouraged them to go find their own food and the youngsters would prefer to be fed by mom or dad ;-)
You might be "Traveling" as you bird watch, on a walk or boat ride, so you record the distance and time of your journey at the eBird site. When I'm observing birds from the boat, often they are far off which is a big ID problem. Use a good pair of binoculars or a super zoom lens. The white dots on this island turned out to be almost entirely breeding Glaucous-winged Gulls.
Sometimes birds pop up nearer by but depart hastily so it's mostly their rear end you see. Other times you are looking into the sun so the bird is a silhouette. Clues like body posture and shape, angle of the beak, swimming or diving behavior, and how they are grouped help in ID. This is a Rhinoceros Auklet in winter plumage, without its distinctive rhino horn.
Plumage variations can be confusing. The group below looks at first glance like two kinds of birds. In fact they are all Common Murres but the three on the left have not changed into their winter pattern like the two on the right have.
I still have lots to learn about birds and their behavior. I spend a fair bit of time outside watching, but field guides and web resources are essential in finding meaning in what I see. Accessing the broader information of the local birding community has been helpful, and I like to contribute to that pool.
And comparing my observations to what people are seeing elsewhere in the country is fascinating and brings perspective. That's what the Daily Bucket is about! Please add your own observations of wildlife and the natural world.
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"Spotlight on Green News & Views" is posted every Saturday at 1:00 pm Pacific Time and Wednesday at 3:30 on the Daily Kos front page. It's a great way to catch up on diaries you might have missed. Be sure to recommend and comment in the diary.