Author: Associate Director Sarah Walsh
This spring, just in time for the arrival of our feathered friends, Saratoga PLAN added all 13 preserves to eBird’s Hotspot list. eBird is a citizen science smart application that catalogs bird observations and contributes bird observation data to the larger scientific community. Observations are pooled with others in the eBird community so scientists can learn more about birds, how their populations are changing and how we can make improvements to help bird species in need.
A Hotspot is a public birding location suggested by birders and verified by Team eBird. This shared location is broadcasted to other birders who flock to Hotspot locations to add their observations or see birds others have observed at that same spot.
A portion of Saratoga PLAN’s preserves were already Hotspots, thanks to birders using the app on our trails. By adding the remaining suite of preserves, we hope to encourage birding at all our preserves. Observations from citizen scientists can tell us more about our preserves, what birds live there or what birds are coming back after a habitat improvement project. On a larger scale, observations in the Saratoga region inform scientists about species movement north in the face of climate change and can indicate changes in the landscape based on certain species changes over time. Your local observation will have global impact, contributing to a collective understanding of bird distribution and abundance.
Using eBird is easy. Simply download the free app from the app store to your device, click explore to find your nearest Hotspot, or PLAN preserve, and start submitting the birds you see using the app. Observations of all submitted bird lists can also be seen through the explore section of the app, revealing species you may see on your trip. This can help you see that Wood Duck you have been dying to add to your list or simply give you an idea of what birds you might see when you go.
If you aren’t an avid birder, you can download the Merlin app from your app store. This free app can help you identify birds by asking a few simple questions, including three colors you saw, relative size of the bird and your location. The app also uses song recordings or a photo of the bird to identify it for you, all using location-based information (including Hotspot data) to let you know the species you are likely to see. With all this support birding at your favorite preserve, or anywhere, is easy!
We hope you will join the world’s largest birding community while also providing PLAN with important information about our preserves.
We will be holding a Grassland Bird Walk on Saturday June 14th, at PLAN’s Round Lake Preserve, where you can put your eBird skills to the test. Click here to learn more and sign-up!
Screenshot of eBird showing PLAN’s Round Lake Preserve and observation data summary.
Screenshot of eBird observations at PLAN’s Round Lake Preserve.
