ebird - hiding records from output

[Scott E. Severs]

Folks,

When submitting via computer you can hide the output by checking a box on the right menu "Hide from eBird Output." This is not a feature for mobile versions. In this case wait to submit your record when you return home.

I suggest that birders use this feature when happening upon a nesting sensitive or low population species, or any species and their habitat that could be impacted by repeated visits. Unfortunately eBird does a terrible job of hiding sensitive species from output, leaving it in the hands of users for the most part.

Finally, no birder is immune from being cited for "take" under the MBTA, even with the best of intentions. Do the birds, their habitats, and the folks trying to protect them a favor and let them nest in peace. Thanks Duane for your efforts.

Scott E. Severs
Longmont, CO

[Sean Walters]

Scott and All,

First off, DO NOT strictly rely on the "Hide from eBird Output" option on the checklist menu. The help feature of eBird has repeated examples where users have clicked the hide option only to find their checklist visible on the "explore a region" feature. While that may be fixed now, the absolute safest option is to make a note of the species and wait a little while to enter it. 

Secondly, the way eBird is currently setup is actually quite good when it comes to sensitive species reporting. While there are species that are "sensitive" everywhere in their range, plenty of species are not. Some are sensitive only at specific locations. For the most part, I would not consider an owl that is seen in a rural area away from its nest to be at risk. I think most would agree that a bird at a nest is at risk of disturbance. I think that eBird could make the issue a little better, but it would be a long way from implementation. 

Sean Walters

Fort Collins, CO

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