Subject: [Tweeters] eBird for County Year List Project
Date: Dec 11 11:55:26 2009
From: Charlie Wright - c.wright7 at comcast.net


Hello All,
Thanks Matt for your work compiling all the county year lists into one file.

The easiest way for a compiler to look for some of these missing county sightings is by using the Explore tools in eBird. Each compiler should check the sightings for their county on eBird. In a very brief check of just 3 counties, I noted the following reports that add to county year lists, per Matt's e-mail:

1 Blue-winged Teal in Kittitas County
4 Canvasback records in Kittitas County
4 Eared Grebe records in Yakima County
2 Sora records in Kittitas County
3 Herring Gulls in Kittitas County
1 Barn Owl in Kittitas County
2 Red-breasted Sapsucker records in Kittitas County
1 Red-naped Sapsucker in Whitman County
2 Olive-sided Flycatcher records in Whitman County
3 Hermit Thrush records in Whitman County
1 Marsh Wren in Kittitas County
2 Brown Creeper records in Whitman County
1 Hermit Warbler in Yakima County
9 Wilson's Warbler records in Whitman County
1 Harris's Sparrow in Yakima County

There are several ways to view the data. Most directly, you can go to "View and Explore Data" then click "arrivals and departures." For this you will have to sign up with eBird (for free), unless you have already made an account for Project Feederwatch or other Cornell projects. Then select your county and press Continue. The output will automatically show the first sighting for 2009 of each species. For example, Yakima County has 222 species entered in eBird for 2009, not quite up to the 237 species Denny has compiled, but with at least the 3 additional species noted above. Be wary of vague location names, as they can be checklists for areas across multiple counties, which we try to discourage in eBird. Also, if there is something rare for your county that you haven't heard about, you may want further details, as there are some inevitable errors. Just e-mail one of the eBird editors, being myself for the westside and Michael Woodruff (em:crazybirder98 at hotmail.com) for the eastside, and we'll try to get that information to you.

Also be sure to check out the mapping features, where you can click on a particular location anywhere in the state and see every record listed with date and observer.

Some counties are still not getting much coverage in eBird, but more birders are using it all the time. We now average better than 50 checklists per day in Washington.

If you have any questions about using eBird, let me know.

Cheers,
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington
c.wright7 at comcast.net