Sooney and I just returned from SoCal and were introduced to a wonderful birding environment, the San Joaquin Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary. While there, we spotted a Swinhoe’s White-eye for the first time and, according to the linked article from the Audubon Society, it may just show up here in Ashland some day.
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What made this sighting possible was our use of technology. We support the ornithological research done at Cornell University, and they developed an online site called eBird to both collect and share sightings from all over the world. We’ve been contributing sightings (called checklists) and photos for years. Our contributions are stored in a massive database for others to use in their studies. What follows is a brief tutorial how we used others‘ contributions to enrich our visit.
To be clear, we chose the Wildlife Sanctuary due to its proximity to where we lodged. We didn’t know what to expect but, binoculars and camera ready, we anticipated yet another outing together. Upon arrival, with the eBird App installed onto our phones, we logged into our free account with Cornell. What unfolded was the surprise that a new bird (to us) was somewhere in the Marsh.
Here’re steps that may help readers navigate the eBird app to broaden their birding experience.
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- Download and launch the eBird App.
- You’ll be prompted to install “packs” of data featuring local birds. Before birding a new place, consider installing the local bird pack.
- Click the “Explore” icon from the 5 displayed at the bottom of the screen.
- eBird uses GPS to determine where you are (“Explore Nearby”)
- Click inside the frame “Search hotspots in this area”
- Displayed are locations nearby where birders have submitted checklists. Not all hotspots are alike, however.
- Click on one of them and information about that spot (e.g. a compendium of checklists) is displayed. What’s cool is the ability to scroll sideways through other local hotspots. The good sites are marked with red checks.
- Sightings are displayed and organized by: a) all time, b) likely (should you wish to visit tomorrow, and c) in the last week.
- Additional information are directions to the location and Details (this opens a new screen with the likely species listed)
So, what to do if a desired species hasn’t been seen at that hotspot. That brings up another powerful feature of the “Explore” icon.
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- Click the “back” button in the upper-left until to get to the search frame with a green up-down arrow.
- Click the arrow and “hotspots” changes to “species.”
- Click in the search frame and a) enter a desired species, or b) scroll through those recently seen. If there are multiple locations where a specific species has been seen, all will be listed.
And that is how we located the Swinhoe’s White-eye. We checked out the hotspot for the Wildlife Sanctuary we planned to bird. Displayed was a list of birds recently spotted. Imagine our excitement at the prospect of seeing a “Life” bird! We drove to the Sanctuary and, once there, used the GPS Directions to walk the paths to where the actual sighting was submitted to eBird a day earlier. And there it was!
For a deep dive into eBird, here’s the link to the (free) 3-hour eBird Essentials course offered by Cornell. Birder, bird watcher, or bird lover, it doesn’t matter—this course is for you.