Most excellent info, Doug. Thanks for taking the time to answer this. RRR
From: dhitchcox@mac.com
Subject: Re: [Maine-birds] ? Comm redpolls rare in Waterville?
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2015 15:09:54 -0500
To: maine-birds@googlegroups.com
Robin, et al:
There are a few things to keep in mind when using eBird and seeing some species being flagged as 'rare':
1) Filter area - Some filters cover a very large area and things that may be locally common are rare elsewhere in the area (often the size of two or more counties). A great example of this is looking at Pine Warblers in Central Maine: their numbers really thin out as you go north in Piscataquis and Penobscot County (these two are lumped as one filter) but we know they are abundant in the southern portion of this area. It is better to keep this filter 'tight' and flag high counts to catch possible errors rather than set the filter too high and allow errors undetected. I explained the breakup for these filters on the Maine eBird portal in December 2013: http://ebird.org/content/me/news/maines-filters/
2) Seasonal variation - Winter is a great time to think about seasonal variation, especially comparing these past two years: last year we hardly saw any of the irruptive finches (crossbills, redpolls, siskins, etc) so many of those filters were lowered. In comparison, Snowy Owls were (and still are) all over the place so filters were changed accordingly. Year by year, month by month, and (since 2012) day by day, you may notice slight tweaks to filters.
3) Great Backyard Bird Count - This is more of a PSA for the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC): there is going to be a spike in the number of observers using eBird from February 13 - 16 now that the GBBC is tied into eBird. This will mean more beginner birders using eBird for the first time so we usually tighten filters on some birds that are tougher to identify. For example, you may notice filters being tighter on species like Purple Finch (vs House Finch), Northern Goshawks (vs other accipiters), plus some sparrows.
What you can do:
1) If you notice a filter is way off, let us know. You can indicate this in your notes on the checklist or get in touch with a reviewer (Bill Sheehan, Louis Bevier, or myself) directly.
2) Submit good notes. Think of it as a pop quiz: Can you describe a Common Redpoll? Lauren Harter wrote a great article on reporting rarities but these skills hold true for any perceived degree of 'rare': http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/973980-reporting-rarities--elements-of-a-bird-description
3) Please be patient. From the eBird help page: Reviewing records takes time. We have 500+ volunteer reviewers who devote many hours of personal time to this cause. These reviewers have families, jobs, and also enjoy going birding themselves. They participate because they share our belief in the purpose and goals of eBird. Please treat them kindly and respectfully. They do their best to act with dignity and they offer their expertise freely, often handling challenging situations with skill. The rest of the 'Understanding the eBird review and data quality process' article is available at: http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1055676-understanding-the-ebird-review-and-data-quality-process
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From: dhitchcox@mac.com
Subject: Re: [Maine-birds] ? Comm redpolls rare in Waterville?
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2015 15:09:54 -0500
To: maine-birds@googlegroups.com
Robin, et al:
There are a few things to keep in mind when using eBird and seeing some species being flagged as 'rare':
1) Filter area - Some filters cover a very large area and things that may be locally common are rare elsewhere in the area (often the size of two or more counties). A great example of this is looking at Pine Warblers in Central Maine: their numbers really thin out as you go north in Piscataquis and Penobscot County (these two are lumped as one filter) but we know they are abundant in the southern portion of this area. It is better to keep this filter 'tight' and flag high counts to catch possible errors rather than set the filter too high and allow errors undetected. I explained the breakup for these filters on the Maine eBird portal in December 2013: http://ebird.org/content/me/news/maines-filters/
2) Seasonal variation - Winter is a great time to think about seasonal variation, especially comparing these past two years: last year we hardly saw any of the irruptive finches (crossbills, redpolls, siskins, etc) so many of those filters were lowered. In comparison, Snowy Owls were (and still are) all over the place so filters were changed accordingly. Year by year, month by month, and (since 2012) day by day, you may notice slight tweaks to filters.
3) Great Backyard Bird Count - This is more of a PSA for the upcoming Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC): there is going to be a spike in the number of observers using eBird from February 13 - 16 now that the GBBC is tied into eBird. This will mean more beginner birders using eBird for the first time so we usually tighten filters on some birds that are tougher to identify. For example, you may notice filters being tighter on species like Purple Finch (vs House Finch), Northern Goshawks (vs other accipiters), plus some sparrows.
What you can do:
1) If you notice a filter is way off, let us know. You can indicate this in your notes on the checklist or get in touch with a reviewer (Bill Sheehan, Louis Bevier, or myself) directly.
2) Submit good notes. Think of it as a pop quiz: Can you describe a Common Redpoll? Lauren Harter wrote a great article on reporting rarities but these skills hold true for any perceived degree of 'rare': http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/973980-reporting-rarities--elements-of-a-bird-description
3) Please be patient. From the eBird help page: Reviewing records takes time. We have 500+ volunteer reviewers who devote many hours of personal time to this cause. These reviewers have families, jobs, and also enjoy going birding themselves. They participate because they share our belief in the purpose and goals of eBird. Please treat them kindly and respectfully. They do their best to act with dignity and they offer their expertise freely, often handling challenging situations with skill. The rest of the 'Understanding the eBird review and data quality process' article is available at: http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1055676-understanding-the-ebird-review-and-data-quality-process
I do want to thank everyone who uses eBird and contributes their sightings to this remarkable database. It is awesome to see that there have already been 145 species and 2500+ checklists reported in Maine this year. Thank you!
Doug Hitchcox
Staff Naturalist
Maine Audubon
207-781-2330 x237
On Feb 4, 2015, at 2:01 PM, Robin R Robinson <rrrobinson2010@hotmail.com> wrote:
Can anyone explain to me why the eBird rare bird report just listed a Common redpoll as rare in Waterville this week? Thanks in advance, RRR
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