On May 9, I participated in Global Big Day, a birdwatching event coordinated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Lab of O encourages all birdwatchers to participate in Big Day by recording their sightings in eBird, the Lab of O’s citizen science project that collects data from users’ birdwatching checklists in order to learn about bird populations, distribution, and migration. Although I’ve been using the Lab of O’s bird-ID app Merlin for years, this was my first Big Day and the first time I’d used eBird. While it doesn’t have anything explicitly to do with Paganism, birding is one good way of tuning into nature and developing relationships with the land and beings of a particular place. Through activities like birding and gardening, I’ve come to love the place where I live and be more aware of the changes and goings-on of each season.
Notably, this May 9, it snowed. I don’t think I’d ever experienced snow in May before! The snow stuck in the morning but melted by midafternoon; however, it continued to snow on and off throughout the day.
I created an eBird account some time ago but found it difficult to use. On Big Day, I gave it another try and discovered that it wasn’t so complicated after all. I wonder if it was glitchy before, or if it’s been updated to be more straightforward. Every birder in my friend group has had a similar experience with eBird, so I don’t think it’s just that I learned to understand it better. I found that configuring my account is easiest in the web browser version and recording my bird sightings is easiest in the mobile app. I used to track my bird sightings in Trello, but I’ll use eBird from now on. I like that it allows me to play a role in bird conservation. I also like that it has a social aspect (let me know if you want to be eBird friends)!
I didn’t see many bird species on Big Day. I suspect the weather played a role: in my experience, birds are much more likely to be out and about when it’s sunny and warm. All birding data is useful to the Lab of O, though, so I diligently recorded what I did see. eBird is not simply a species checklist: it requests that you make birding your primary activity for a timeframe of your choice. While you can record incidental sightings, your data is more useful if you set out with the intention of birdwatching. On Big Day I sat at my living room window, which looks out over a park, and observed birds three separate times for approximately half an hour each. Here is what I saw:
- American goldfinch
- American robin
- Blue jay
- Common grackle
- European starling
- Gull sp.
- Northern cardinal
- Red-winged blackbird
- Swallow sp.
- Turkey vulture
All these birds are common where I live. I’ve also seen plenty of others in the two years I’ve lived here: my Trello list contains 34 species. Since Big Day, I’ve used eBird several more times and recorded a total of 18 species. I’d love to eventually have a complete eBird record of all the birds I’ve seen here.
If you’re interested in birds and bird conservation, I recommend giving eBird a try. There are helpful FAQs and how-to guides on the eBird website.
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