Whatbird.com

Some of you newer folks may not be aware of a Site which can help you manage your observations.  The Site is known as Ebird and is located at : http://ebird.org/content/ebird/.

The Site is Membership is free and is administrated by Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  There are a number of selectable "buttons" which explain the Site better than I can.

It is valuable for entering your observations and then being able to display the info in several different ways.  You can build long-term histories for the birds that you see at each of your birding sites.  You can also see the observations which others have done for a selectable area.

It is worth checking out.

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/birdman/

I use the observation data on their site all the time, but ornithologists grimace because the sightings are not confirmed.

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"Watch the birdie."
Latest: Sage Thrasher, Ferruginous Hawk (Dark Morph).

That is sad.  About like politicians complaining that the non-professional citizenry without a degree in government are allowed to vote.

p.s.  I guess the contributions of Audubon and other non-professionals were non-productive. 

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/birdman/

luv2bird:

I use the observation data on their site all the time, but ornithologists grimace because the sightings are not confirmed.

that is partially right.. common , or expected birds are not confirmed, but rare, or unusual sightings are confirmed by requests from them for photos. I have had several reported, and confirmed. Ebird is a great site to use if you are going into an area new to you, as many sightings are mapped and recorded. However, the data base is still small, so not all sightings are reported to them.They could use input from us Whatbirder's for sure.  It offers lots of way to track, and keep track of  birds in certain areas, by region, state, or country. I love it.

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/early_summers_birds/
IM: oldguyrich

I said I use eBird, and I love it too. I paraphrased a county recorder because he's asked to review eBird rare bird reports. His area of expertise is identifying sea birds, specifically questions arose from Monterey and the Channel Islands pelagic tours. On eBird he's had posts of rare bird alerts but he said after careful consideration, collaboration with colleagues and review of photos the sightings could not be confirmed. I was simply relaying a message so please don't shoot the messenger. I was joking about how the "bird snob" a.k.a. ornithologist who spoke at my Audubon meeting downplayed the benefits of eBird for the everyday birder who reports common species. Sorry for the confusion.

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"Watch the birdie."
Latest: Sage Thrasher, Ferruginous Hawk (Dark Morph).

Naw, I knew it wasn't from you.  It just hit me wrong, thinking that there was some folks out there that are belittling the contributions of the "backyard birders".  

However, upon further reflection, I figured out that what really most likely happened is that someone from Ebird questioned a sighting.  Happens from time to time.  I've had a few emails from different specie experts questioning a sighting.  Most of the time they are satisfied with the observation details that I can provide without having a picture.  A few times, I realize that I missed capturing the "one" extra detail that I needed.  So, that helps me to get better and then we all win.  As an outcome of one correspondance, I ended up getting invited to be part of the Christmas Bird Count for my area and was able to take them to some sites that they were not aware of.

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http://whatbird.com/forums/photos/birdman/