eBird: A request for "useful" details in comment fields

[colorad...@aol.com]

Hi all:

The various Colorado eBird reviewers appreciate comments in species entries.  However, the comments that are particularly useful are those that indicate how a rare species was identified -- and not just hitting the high points, which may not rule out most or all other species -- or how a flagged high count of birds of a species was obtained (e.g., guess, estimate, counted by 1s -- or 10s or 100s, tallied).  Including such details in flagged entries makes our work load lighter and can eliminate your having to respond with those requested details when we send a query to request them.

For minor rarities, quickly noting how you ruled out the likely ID contenders is sufficient -- Great Egret: large white heron, yellow bill, black legs. For true rarities, noting just one or two characters will probably not get the job done, and you will be queried.  Why not save us all some time, and put in a useful description at the time, or as soon as possible after getting home and dealing with it on your computer rather than your phone.  As I and other experienced observers do, if you cannot take the time to do this in the field, you might simply insert a note that the ID details (or pictures or both) are forthcoming.  Before writing those details in the comfort of your home, you might want to read this article:

http://coloradobirdrecords.org/Articles/writingbirddescriptions_leukering.pdf

Thanks to all of you that use eBird and, particular thanks to all of you that provide details on flagged sightings.  The eBird reviewers appreciate such muchly.

Enjoy,

Tony Leukering
Largo, FL