eBird Trip Reports

Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Credit: Sue Barth, Macaulay Library.

Looking for new ways to tell stories on your land? eBird Trip Reports are a great way for land trusts to engage the birding community and share birding stories.  

What Are eBird Trip Reports?

With eBird trip reports, birders can compile their eBird checklists to make a summary of their birding trip in one easy-to-share place. Trip reports feature an eBird checklist location map, species totals across all checklists on the trip, “lifer” stats (the first time someone has seen or heard a bird species in their life), photos, audio clips, bulk checklist sharing, and links to share with friends on social media. People can add comments to the checklists as well to highlight their favorite moments on the. Trip reports can also be accessed “live,” so birders can share their trip reports with friends who want to follow along with their species checklist as new birds are added.  

Land Trusts and eBird Trip Reports

There are many ways that landowners can use eBird Trip Reports to engage the birding community. One way is to use eBird Trip Reports during Christmas Bird Counts and other bird surveys, which would merge checklists and compile bird counts that other people make across a property into one convenient place. This helps landowners see the diversity and number of birds across their property. Another way to use eBird Trip Reports is for fundraising opportunities like Bird-a-thons, where birders fundraise money based on the amount of bird species or amount seen. Trip Reports can also be used for general birding events and bird tours because leaders can share checklists and photos and participants can add comments later, making an event collaborative and fun.  

What stories will your community tell? Create your own trip report here!