New from eBird

Since 2002, thousands of birders have contributed their bird sightings to eBird (www.ebird.org), a dynamic online checklist program that keeps track of their sightings and makes it possible to explore what others are seeing around the continent. Now the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and Audubon have released a new version of eBird, making it quicker and easier than ever to record observations and view the results.

"From the beginning, eBird has had tremendous potential to unite birders' observations to paint a picture of bird distribution, abundance, and seasonal timing, said Chris Wood, a project leader. "To improve eBird's capabilities, we created 'My eBird', a quick and easy way to look up your own life lists and see exactly what you've contributed to the project overall. We also worked with programmer Tim Lenz on improving visualization of the data, including new maps and bar charts.

Now with eBird you can do the following:

• See your life list, automatically generated and updated. You can view your lists by county, state, province, and nation, and retrieve details about each sighting.

• Ask eBird to summarize all your observations by week, month, or year.

• Type in the name of a bird species, then view maps and graphs from any location, region, or time period you choose.

• View the maps--the only ones available anywhere that show the frequency with which North American birds are being recorded year-round across the continent, updated continuously as participants enter data.

• At a glance, compare the frequency with which different bird species are reported throughout the year, using new bar charts.

• Retrieve information about all the birds at a location of your choice, whether it is your favorite hot spot, your own backyard, or a place you plan to visit.

• Read "Birding News and Features for articles about rare birds, migration trends, and the latest stories about what birders are finding out using eBird.

• Notice gaps in the data? You can help by contributing your sightings and inviting friends, birding clubs, and list serves to participate.

Try out the new version of eBird and let project leaders Chris Wood and Brian Sullivan know what you think. Send your feedback to eBird@cornell.edu or sign up for the eBird discussion group at www.ebird.org to share your opinions, suggestions, and questions online.