Hi all, I want to comment on some points in the checklist thread about eBird and lists - the eBird team can speak to issues about how to generate lists and give much more detail than I, but I want to discuss comments relevant to science and eBird and what is an is not science. To speak to the statement that eBird "ain't" science and "what one accepts as science" and is just entertainment and such, I'd like to highlight a link (http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100810/full/news.2010.395.html) and a series of recent peer-reviewed publications at the end of this message. Researchers, at the Lab of Ornithology AND from other institutions, are starting to use eBird and AKN data in their manuscripts - manuscripts that are getting press, acceptance, and peer-review.
I'd also like to follow up on another point about data quality. There's a robust verification process that uses automated checklist filters and local experts to vet data and query observers on unusual, rare, or anomalous sightings - is it perfect (i.e. flagging all unusual records in every location that such records appear?), no, but is it getting better every month (i.e. increasing speed of review, new tools to review, new eBird alert tools to tell people when something rare has been reported), yes. If you're keen to read the details, see this link: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/ebird-data-quality. Additionally, this vetting process from local experts and the email correspondence for details and confirmation is linked directly to the NYSARC committee for review species. Finally, I'd like to address the whole "more holes than swiss cheese" statement. Species lists, maps, summary accounts - they are all imperfect to some degree. They are largely static - that does not make them useless by any stretch of the imagination, but it does mean that they may be rather out of date as soon as they are produced. eBird offers the possibility of something very different - maps made with data almost as they are observed/recorded/generated, from crowds, with verification processes in place, and taking advantage of an ever-growing network of connected birders. Although the greater New York City area and Kingbird Region 10 area, where I live, has perhaps been slow to adopt eBird and eBird entry practices, the growth in report submission and improved data quality is real and large. The "swiss cheese" problem is, in fact, being addressed, as I mentioned above. If you seek a list of birds that occur in New York City, try querying eBird to make one for you - query the database back to 1900, ask for the five counties in the greater metro area, ask for all months of the year, and see what you get. I suspect you will find that the result is closer to a comprehensive list than you think. Is every species recorded in NYC EVER on that list, perhaps not . . . but, can you be comfortable with the knowledge that this list is growing, under frequent review, generated by experts' and citizen scientists' submissions alike, and that the likelihood of every species ever recorded in the area appearing the eBird database is increasing? Best, Andrew References (I can probably send these privately offlist if anyone is interested) Internal, Lab of Ornithology researchers Fink, D. and Hochachka, W. M. 2011. Mining information from citizen science data: The use of new analytical techniques for exploratory analysis of broad-scale observational data. (to appear in CITIZEN SCIENCE: PUBLIC COLLABORATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH edited by Dickinson, J. and Bonney, R. Cornell Univeristy press) Hochachka, W.M., Fink, D. and Zuckerberg, B. 2011. Use of citizen science monitoring for pattern discovery and biological inference (to appear in Design and Analysis of Long-term Ecological Monitoring Studies edited by Gitzen, R.A., Millspaugh, J.J., Cooper, A.B., and Licht, D.S. Cambridge University Press) Kelling, S. 2011. Using Bioinformatics In Citizen Science. (to appear in CITIZEN SCIENCE: PUBLIC COLLABORATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH edited by Dickinson, J. and Bonney, R. Cornell University press) Fink, D., Hochachka, W. M., Zuckerberg, B., Winkler, D. W., Shaby, B., Munson, M. Arthur, Hooker, G. J., Riedewald, M., Sheldon, D., Kelling, S. 2010. Spatiotemporal Exploratory models for Large-scale Survey Data. Ecological Applications (in press). Swarthout, S.B., K.V. Rosenberg K.V., T.C. Wil, M.I. Moreno. 2008. A collaborative web-based recording program for housing records of migratory birds during non-breeding periods in Central and South America. Ornitologia Neotropical 19:531-539 Munson, M.A., Caruana, R. Fink, D., Hochachka, W.M. Iliff, M., Rosenberg, K., Sheldon, D., Sullivan, B., Wood, C., Kelling, S. 2010. A Method for Measuring the Relative Information Content of Data from Different Monitoring Protocols. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. (Accepted manuscript; in revision) Kelling, S., Hochachka, W.M. Fink, D. Riedewald, M. Caruana, R., Ballard, G. and Hooker, G. 2009. Data-intensive Science: A New Paradigm for Biodiversity Studies. BioScience, 59: 613-620. Sullivan, B.L., C.L. Wood, M.J. Iliff, R.E. Bonney, D. Fink, and S. Kelling. 2009. eBird: a citizen-based bird observation network in the biological sciences. Biological Conservation 142: 2282-2292. External researchers (not from the Lab) Berry, R.B., C.W. Benkman, A. Muela, Y. Seminario, and M. Curti. 2010. Isolation and decline of a population of the Orange-breasted Falcon. Condor 112(3): 479-489. Harris, Emma. 2010. Birds flock online: Supercomputer time will help ornithologists make ecological sense of millions of records of bird sightings. Nature. Published online 10 August 2010. (http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100810/full/news.2010.395.html). doi:10.1038/news.2010.395 McCormack, J.E., A.J. Zellmer, and L.L. Knowles. 2009. Does niche divergence accompany allopatric divergence in Aphelocoma jays as predicted under ecological speciation?: insights from tests with niche models. Evolution 2009. Available online. Stralberg, D., D. Jongsomjit, C. A. Howell, M. A. Snyder, J. D. Alexander, J. A. Wiens, and T. L. Root. 2009. Reshuffling of species with climate disruption: a no-analog future for California birds? PLoS ONE 4:e6825. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006825 Wiens, J.A., D. Stralberg, D. Jongsomjit, C.A. Howell, and M.A. Snyder. 2009. Niches, models, and climate change: Assessing the assumptions and uncertainties. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106:19729-19736. Geoffrey A. Levin and Melissa H. Cragin. 2003. The Role of Information Science in Gathering Biodiversity and Neuroscience Data. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 30:1 > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Tom Fiore <tom...@earthlink.net> > Date: Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 11:50 PM > Subject: Re:[nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY > To: nysbirds-L@cornell.edu > > > Hi all, > That UK birder wanting a decent checklist for birds of New York City > started something, did he or she not... and thanks to Phil and many > others, for continuing the thread on this subject. > Since the post as titled to this list made reference to the > nycbirdreport.com now-static lists, which are available for a number > of well-known NYC birding localities, with the most attention having > been given to Central & Prospect Parks, & Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, > it is unclear what was meant by the sightings not being tagged. In any > case the vast majority of sightings in those listings are not > NYSARC-review species, and were observed by many as well as vetted by > a number of very experienced birders most familiar with the location > they were vetting for. in my "opinionated" opinion those lists and > that website have not been surpassed by any I've seen for fast and > accurate dispersal of basic information, for recently-seen 'local' > birds in NYC. And as Phil opined, the eBird.org web-based effort is, > thus far, more full of holes than swiss cheese - and that problem > isn't shrinking, for those who look at it as any sort of "scientific" > data set. As pure entertainment that may help some folks, it's fine. > It ain't science. Sorry, but that is just the way it is set up. If you > or I can report a bird (or birds) that may or may not have been in a > particular place at a particular time (and I don't even refer to > "rare" or uncommon species for any given locality) then it is just > that, a series of reports... as we can find all around the web. That > is not science, however. And to make it completely clear I am > referring to the Cornell-originated website with the suffix org, and > not to Phil's current version of the ebirdsnyc list, a yahoo-groups > list which is unrelated to the much "wider" Cornell / eBird efforts. > The moniker ebirdsnyc also predates the ebird,org by quite some many > years. > The checklists prepared for Queens, for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife > Refuge, & for Prospect Park, and Central Park (each in their most > recently-revised versions) are all in their own ways quite good at the > basic info that a checklist should provide & all have been extensively > vetted by multiple experienced birders for fairly high level of > accuracy and quality. Kudos to the many who helped to compile them & > particularly to those who edited them. There just may be some > additional checklists that will come to light for specific locations > within NYC. The two boroughs perhaps in need of at least a basic > checklist would be Staten Island (Richmond County) and The Bronx, both > rich birding and ornithological hot-beds over a period of many, many > years - a century & even more. The borough of Richmond has been > studied for a very long time and has proven a number of times to have > the greatest diversity of sites for both breeding and wintering birds > in NYC over a long period of time, even if the present-day status is > changed due to massive development. It still retains many habitat > remnants unique in NYC and some unique in the state. At a guess, and > that is all it is, the borough of Queens may hold bragging rights to > the most species of wild birds to be recorded in NYC, due in great > part to the many observations made from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife > Refuge since its creation as well as the extensive shore areas along > with large tracts of intact forest in several larger wooded parks. In > any case each borough has its own unique and special places for birds > and much more in nature. In New York City, there is a vast potential > for nature studies, especially so in all the "other" 4 boroughs but > amazingly even in busy Manhattan. A nice resource for Brooklyn > sightings is the birding blog maintained by Peter Dorosh of > Brooklyn/Kings County and often reported to by multiple birders of > that borough ... just today the blog contains mention of a good > sighting for there, Black Vulture, along with many other nice birds of > the day. It gets updated very regularly about all year 'round. For > Staten Island/Richmond County a good naturalist's resource has been > the yahoo-group list with public archives, the SINaturaList available > in the yahoo groups at that exact spelling and updated a lot, > especially by some of that borough's more active birder-naturalists. > There are also bunches of other blogs and such that offer more > insights into nature in NYC, some that specialize in one area and > others quite general in the topics covered. In a few years, perhaps > every individual will simply blog on their own personal take from > their "patch"! There might be as much insight in that effort as all > of what the ebird.org project is attempting... perhaps depending on > what one accepts as science... > Among my favorite Central Park encounters of all time was from some > years ago, as I passed the well-known bridge to and from The Ramble, > at the height of spring bird migration. A man of some years was using > binoculars and seemed to be looking nearly at his own feet, just > inside the Ramble proper. I stopped to look down as well, but was > mystified as to what he was actually watching - so I asked. The > answer: "I study bryophytes". And that was all... and so he did, and > does. I got a small insight into diversity that day. Human, botanical, > urban, & more. > Tom Fiore, > Manhattan > - - - - - - - - - > On Oct 29, 2010, at 12:12 PM, Phil Jeffrey wrote: > For those of you with an aversion to reading my wordy posts, see: > http://philjeffrey.net/NYC_unofficial_list.html > > For the rest of you: > Thanks to the many people that replied, mostly off-list. > There is no official checklist. The best approximation is the one > appearing in NYC Audubon's NYC birding book, and you can find that > online at: http://www.nycaudubon.org/kids/birds/ > and was mentioned in the very first reply to my question by Patrick > Santinello. > > The online NYState checklist, of lesser use since there's no > distinction between NYC and anywhere else, is at: > http://nybirds.org/Publications/ChecklistNYS.htm > but obviously it's a superset and I'm pretty sure Spruce Grouse > doesn't occur in NYC (for example). > > The major problem with the Audubon list is the omission of rarities > such as Broad-billed and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers or Rufous and > Calliope Hummingbirds and the fact that it's difficult to me to know > which rarities they've omitted without wading through NYSARC > proceedings dating back through the Middle Ages. The Audubon list has > this strange compulsion of alphabetizing within family groups, which > may drive you a little crazy. > > Another list that has been cited is the static one at Mike Freeman's > site http://www.nycbirdreport.com but sightings are not tagged so it's > impossible to assess the error level. > > One or two mentioned eBirds (not my eBirdsNYC), but Cornell's eBirds > database has more holes than swiss cheese and is not that useful for > coverage. > > Lastly there's the Central Park Conservancy bird list, but of course > CPK is not a great place to observe shorebirds, so there are large > gaps in that too. > > Ergo, here's a slightly more ordered list, enabled via Ben Cacace, > Marie Winn and the NYC Audubon list. > http://philjeffrey.net/NYC_unofficial_list.html > > If your favorite rarity is not on it, email me. I'll see if I can > find a way to data mine old NYSARC records. > > Thanks > Phil Jeffrey > > On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Phil Jeffrey <phil.jeff...@gmail.com> wrote: > > A UK birder asked me, and I realize I have no idea if there is one, or > > even where to start looking for it. > > Any pointers welcome. > > Thanks > > Phil Jeffrey > > -- > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
