Jack & OBOLers,
I also turn to patch birding quite frequently (I wrote a blog post about
patch birding--if you missed it you can check it out here:
http://blog.aba.org/2015/09/open-mic-the-joys-of-patch-birding.html). In
eBird, charts are broken into weekly data sets, so I focus on going to my
patches every week so I can fill the chart out. I really enjoy doing
something that contributes data that others can use as well, plus I like
the excitement of potentially adding a new "week" record every time I
visit. I did patch birding long before I used eBird, but eBird has a lot
of nifty tools that helps me track and see the results of my patch
birding. Check out the Alton Baker hotspot for an example of a chart that
has data every week of the year:
http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?cmd=decisionPage&getLocations=hotspots&hotspots=L472173&yr=all&m=
Another eBird trick that has helped me get out and focus on birding is the
monthly eBird challenge. Every month eBird posts a challenge that
encourages an aspect of data collection that creates more useful data for
the eBird project. Although this sounds boring, I find it a very helpful
way to give me a new focus and challenge, plus there's always the chance
that I might win a pair of binoculars. My all-time favorite challenge was
last September, when you had to watch for "flyovers" while birding and tag
it. A flyover is a bird that's not using the habitat at all, just flying
through. By tagging it scientists can do better analysis of birds using
the habitat versus just flying through. I'd never really paid close
attention to how much flyover migration is happening before this
challenge--I looked up a lot more than normal, and found birds I normally
wouldn't, for example silent Vaux's Swifts high overhead. February's
challenge can be read about here:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/zeiss201602/
My third, truly nerdy approach to February (and other slow months) birding
is to keep a rolling month list. I have a spreadsheet I track all the bird
species I've ever seen in each month in Oregon. I take a look at the start
of the month for missing birds and I sometimes go birding to try to add
something I'm missing. For example, I am missing Common Yellowthroat for
January (I've never seen one in January in Oregon), so yesterday I went to
check for the one that was overwintering near Stewart Pond. I did not find
it, so I'll have to try again another year. Listing is not the the primary
reason I go birding, but I find it to be a fun side-benefit and it makes my
nerdy self happy.
Good February birding,
Vjera Thompson
Eugene, OR
vireogirl@xxxxxxxxx
or nemesisquail@xxxxxxxxx
