Dear New York Birders, We have officially one month left to rally, search for Rusties, and to get our Spring Migration Blitz observations into eBird.
The Blitz launch has been a tremendous success and the eBird map is covered with Rusty Blackbird sightings throughout middle and eastern North America. So let us start by giving a tremendous thanks to the New York City and Long Island birders who have been actively participating in this effort. I don’t have the NY specific data but this past March eBird has received 3,613 total checklists containing Rusty Blackbird sightings. This is an impressive 50% increase from March 2013! One improvement that can be made, and one that is very important for the Blitz data, is the need for folks to use the “Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz” drop down option when filling out the protocol section of eBird reports. Only about 20% of the above total has been submitted as part of the Blitz. So if you are an eBirder, and you are birding Rusty habitat, please consider using this protocol. This is all it takes to be part of the Blitz! Remember, we want to know when Rusties are not present as well. A review of the data entry protocol can be seen here: http://rustyblackbird.org/outreach/migration-blitz/collecting-and-reporting-data/ Thanks again folks and keep up the good work. Lets have a strong finish for this last month of the blitz! Try to expand your search efforts, break away from the usual strongholds and visit multiple locations. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me, Mike Shanley or Melanie McCormack for any questions regarding this effort. Best, Derek Rogers - NYC/LI Coordinator ([email protected]) Mike Shanley - Staten Island Coordinator ([email protected]) Melanie McCormack - Upstate NY Coordinator ([email protected]) -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
