e bird questions (1 Viewer)

I joined the e bird and with great enthusiasm started to add my data from last winter I have a few questions:
-I cannot add a hybrid Muscovy x Mallard although I can search for them in the map feature.
-There is a place to click and it lists the common birds in this area so you do not need to wade down a long list of names; however once I managed to use this feature and the other time it just gave me the whole long list. Is there any way around it?

In the upper right there is a plus sign to "add species". If you click on that and then begin to type "Mallard" it should give you a list of potential hybrids.

That is how it works for me, I am assuming that the eBird interface is the same in Belgrade.

Mike

Thank you! I will try it. I still wonder about the second question.

The "distance travelled" that must be entered for each list is slightly annoying. I am not sure what distance I walked each time I went to the same place; sometimes I spend more time standing in one spot and I think it would have a similar effect on number of recorded birds as walking 100 m further.
My friend entered the results for the same site somewhat further down the path and now on city map it seems like two completely different sites. The flock of Velvet Scoters (or White-winged as they call them in the list) actually used to float down the river until they reached the bridge and then they would fly back upstream and repeat the process. They weren't in one spot for more than a few seconds.

My suggestion is that you might have ticked in the box "Show rarities" on right hand side of the checklist, which will give you a longer list.

Zheljko said:

The "distance travelled" that must be entered for each list is slightly annoying. I am not sure what distance I walked each time I went to the same place; sometimes I spend more time standing in one spot and I think it would have a similar effect on number of recorded birds as walking 100 m further.

Click to expand...

I would guess distance travelled isn't so relevant in most cases, but when reading a list of seabirds on a boat journey (for example) it is qute useful to see if the list refers to a 1km transect or 30 km. Same for transects of desert in car, etc, etc.

I entered some more data and it tries to find other records for the same locality within a narrow time frame, so at this point I am mostly comparing myself today to myself last Friday
It seems that an American tourist has visited our area quite a long time ago and misidentified two very common birds that now stand as lone spots in the range map, far away from their actual range (Carrion Crow and European Shag; obviously it was a problem with field guides, as many have omitted Pygmy Cormorants in the past and any crows were listed as corone). Another seems to have misplaced a site marker and the third one just said "Belgrade" so some non-urban birds are plotted downtown. I wonder how this could be "repaired"? (other than calling everyone I know to join e-bird and drown these few ticks with new data)

Hi Zheljko,

Thanks for taking the time to submit your observations to eBird, so other birders and scientists can benefit from them! Please be aware that eBird recently added a new "Help" tab to its website with a comprehensive list of responses to FAQs. There is also the ability on that tab to post questions for eBird staff or other eBird users to respond to, and there has always been an ability to e-mail eBird staff with questions. In any event, I will try to address some of the issues you raise that have not been answered above.

1. Regarding entering data for distance traveled, that is important but a rough estimate is sufficient when you lack more precise information. The reason it is important is because it gives an indication of the density of bird populations. Seeing 20 Great Tits at one location would be unusual, but if you traveled 8 km, it might not be. You likely have a good idea of whether you traveled 100 m, a half kilometer, or 2 or 3 km, without having to make a precise measurement.

2. You mentioned that on your lists the name White-winged Scoter was used rather than Velvet Scoter. That is a difference between American and UK English terminology. You can change that in your preferences. There is an option for you to specify what language common names should be translated into, and if you want UK English terminology, just select the option for "English (UK)".

3. Regarding reports of birds that are clearly misidentified, these will ordinarily be caught by eBird filters that require an eBird reviewer to confirm unusual sightings before they appear in the database. However, eBird only recently expanded beyond the Western Hemisphere, and the process of fine-tuning filters and finding reviewers for the Eastern Hemisphere is a work in progress. Once the filters are fine-tuned, they should be rerun on the observations in your area and the errant sightings you reference should be eliminated.

Hope this helps,
Jim

Thank you, Jim, later during the afternoon I found the section with answers and read most of it
I like how the database is building up; my friend is also putting in his data and I hope more persons will follow. The number of gray rectangles for our area is decreasing.

There is a problem with Motacilla cinerea as it does not appear in final list (although I have listed it and wrote a commentary). I tried to look at the world map and it seems empty. I think there is some bug in the system for that species. In my area (which is lowland) it is present in winter on concrete/rock banks of streams and rivers.

Hi Zheljko,

If Motacilla cinerea is considered a rarity, either for the area or the time of the year, your sighting may need to be approved by a volunteer eBird reviewer before it shows up on the map. In some cases they will contact you by email to verify that you have indeed seen what you have reported. You have made the job of the reviewer easier by adding commentary to your sighting.

Since eBird is fairly new to your area the reviewer may have a large area to cover and it could take some time for them to get to all the records that the need to review.

I do see 2 of your sightings from October 10th and 14th of last year appear on the map.

Mike

Thank you, I can see M.cinerea now as well. The Greater Whitethroat also got the commentary that it was rare for my area and time of year, but it was fixed almost immediately (I guess the birds just arrived a few days early; we had a sudden passage peak after a snowy period and I guess all small passerines rushed northward at the same time after waiting together somewhere along the way).

I have started to input my data from 2012 and 2011 (unfortunately some of them have many Xs but that is better than nothing - it erases the gray rectangles in the chart). I hope my friends will choose to participate as well. Some of them have made wonderful pictures that we share on our FB group.