eBird and : How eBird is tapping into the crowd to revolutionize avian science.

-- Jeff Gerbracht-- •8,676 contributors

• 239,856 checklists

• 3,175,430 observations Overview

• Citizen Science • Introduction to eBird • Pushing data out • Research, Analysis, Conservation OBSERVATION OF NATURE

1982 - 83 1994 - 95 2000 - 01 2005 - 06

Millions of 21.2 54.1 people 70.4 71.1 Percent 12 % 27 % 33% 31% Of Adult Population

* Joint agency surveys of U.S. outdoor recreational habits Citizen Science and

National Audubon Society’s 2,100 Counts >50,000 Participants Started in 1900 Christmas Count

USGS Breeding Bird Survey 4,100 Counts >3,000 Participants Started in 1966

Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas >45,000 Effort Hours > 1,200 Participants [Feb 2010]

San Diego County Bird Atlas >50,000 Effort Hours >3,000 Participants

eBird >1,200,000 observations / month > 70,000 Participants Interpret and conserve the earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and citizen science focused on birds.

Global in 2010 Citizen eBird

Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation

Basic Data Exploration within eBird Seasonal Occurrence of Passerines:

San Bernardino (California)

White-winged Scoter (December – February) White-winged Scoter (March - May) White-winged Scoter (June - July) White-winged Scoter (September - November)

Flagged Records

• Around 15% of all checklists submitted to eBird are flagged by the automated filters.

A bird dog A Catbird Flagged Records

• Around 15% of all checklists submitted to eBird are flagged by the automated filters. • These flagged records are then reviewed by regional experts in bird distribution.

A bird dog A Catbird Growth in eBird Checklists and Observations

1,800,000 eBird 2.0 launch 180000

1,600,000 160000

Observations 1,400,000 140000

1,200,000 120000

1,000,000 100000

800,000 80000

600,000 60000

400,000 40000

Checklists 200,000 20000

0 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 eBird Statistics 2009

More than…

13.9 million observations submitted

302,000 unique visitors to eBird

14.1 million page views

10:47 average time on site

260 eBird editors Building Community

Way cool

Science BUT….,

What have we learned so far with eBird data??? STEM Modeling; Fink et al. Avian Spatial Analysis; T. Fox et al. DuckseBird /BBSUnlimited Modeling; – Latin Munson America et al. ShorebirdSTEM Modeling; Surveys; Fink Save et al.our eBird Participant Modeling; Wong et al. Shorebirds, Mendocino Co., CA MaxentLandscopemodeling; AmericaD. Jongsomjit, PRBO Species occurrence in N. Pacific Site-based bird conservation; K. Cauldwell Ranforest BCR; Canadian Wildlife YellowSnail-billed Kite Magpieresearch; Survey; K. Pias Audubon Bird OccurrenceService Analysis; Rogue Valley Upper Basin BirdCalifornia Monitoring; N. C. WA Council of Governments Avian habitat useAudubon analysis; Gailbraith et al., Kittlitz’s MurreletUSFWS,research; AK H. Carter

National Landcover eBird Data Data (NLCD)  Traveling Count – 2001  Lat - Lon – 16 Classes  Year (2004 – 2008) – 1.5 km pixel  Julian Date (1-365) – Spatial Composition (% coverage)  Observation Effort – Spatial Configuration (Fragstats)  Observation Time  Number of Observers o Elevation o Climate  Presence/absence (30 yr average) <= 8 km long Housing Density <= 3 hours o ~150,000 observations ~30,000 locations | Full Year Indigo Bunting Spring Migration

April 7 April 15

April 26 May 14 Indigo Bunting | Breeding

Detroit Chicago

St. Louis

Atlanta Indigo Bunting Western Wood-Peewee

Spring Arrival Dates

Indigo Bunting Western Wood-Peewee

Fall Departure Dates Eastern Wood-Peewee

Palm Warbler Northern Rough-winged Swallow Ruby-throated Hummingbird eBird — Increase in Standardized Observations

100%

90%

80% Standardized Observations 70%

60%

50%

40%

30% Casual Observations 20%

10%

0% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 eBird | Site Survey eBird | County Birding

Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation