For the last several weeks there, eBird has been testing a cool new view in the Regional and Hotspot Explorer pages. Dubbed the Illustrated Checklist, I think this new feature will quickly become the default page people use to check out new hotspots to explore. At its most basic, the Illustrated Checklists lists every species that has been recorded in … Read More
Global Big Day is May 13
Are you taking part in Global Big Day? The Nemesis Birders are scattered around and will be looking for birds along Lake Ontario, coastal Rhode Island and possibly Alaska! Below is the GBD press release. Let us know where you will be in the comments below! A “big day” is a big deal for people who love to watch birds. … Read More
The Easiest Way to Map Your eBird History #myebirdhistory
I was recently introduced to a mapping website that works well with eBird data by a Facebook post by Ted Floyd. Hamstermap.com lets you upload simple latitude/longitude data and display it on a map for quick visualization of all sorts of great things, in this case your personal eBird data. I’ll show you some of the maps I created, and … Read More
Get ready for eBird Profiles!
eBird is slowly and steadily becoming the go-to bird observation collection tool for birders around the world, and has reached this point by regularly releasing new tools to see what others are reporting, compete with your fellow birders on any geographical level, and learn all about ranges and distributions of birds on a global scale. While it has been game-changing to … Read More
BREAKING: Leica releases new Noctivid binocular line
Leica has been teasing something new for a while, and has just announced a new flagship binocular. The press release is calling it “simply the brightest, sharpest, highest contrast and purest color images available in a binocular today”. Based on the specs (see below) and Leica’s reputation, I would wager that this is not just PR bluster, and that these new binoculars … Read More
Ten People to Follow at #NAOC2016
Not everyone can make it to the 2016 edition of the North American Ornithological Conference in Washington D.C. this week. However, the twittersphere has been doing a great job keeping the rest of us up to date on what is going on. Below are some of the most active accounts that I follow to keep up with interesting NAOC news. Let me know … Read More
Here is how Pokemon Go is birding.
So Nintendo emerged from its decade long slump and finally released a hit, although this time it wasn’t on its own console, but on iPhone and Android smartphones. Pokemon GO basically forces users to move around (literally) to collect classic Pokemon characters through their smart phone screens in the real world. It brings out the hoarding habits of the 14-year-old … Read More
The Ultimate Guide to Migration Online
It’s definitely time for migration and birds are already on the move throughout the country! Where should you look for predictions, background info, or anything else related to migration? What follows is an ever-changing list of readily available migration related resources. Originally compiled by Tim Schreckengost several years ago, we will be updating the list going forward as new sources … Read More