[By Chuck Almdale]

Smart phones are popular. Period.

eBird is popular among birders around the world. Some of these birders read this blog. And it should go without saying that eBirders are willing if not eager to count the birds they see, as nearly every one of the millions of checklists entered into eBird so far include counts of all the birds seen.

Scientists like to see things counted, and often do it themselves when they can’t find others – preferably unpaid volunteers or indentured students – to do it for them.

So when a group of birders got together and decided to do a breeding bird census and atlas of all of California, they immediately saw a solution whose time has now, literally, arrived:

Birders + eBird + very minor training = a really big bird census with quality data.

So…if you carry a smartphone, and you’re a birder, and use eBird (or plan to do so), it’s very easy to do some citizen science and make a major contribution to the California Breeding Bird Atlas project.

Personal Note: Lillian and I censused some blocks for the Los Angeles Breeding Bird Atlas project in 1995-1999. Among our finds was a family of eight Burrowing Owls in the Antelope Valley near Holiday Lake which we regularly checked on for several months. It was a lot of fun and added a completely new dimension to birding beyond the every-tricky exercise of figuring out what bird you’re looking at. I recommend it to everyone.

The video below tells you (rather rapidly) all you need to know to get started.

The initial written instructions from the video:
1. Go to https://ebird.org/AtlasCalifornia
2. Scroll down to where it says “Login to Join Project” and click.
3. If you didn’t already sign into eBird, sign in now.
3a. If you’re new to eBird, go ahead and join.
4. Congratulations. You’ve successfully joined the project.
5. Open the eBird app on your phone. Right above “Start Checklist” it should say “Choose project.” Select that, then select “California Bird Atlas,” then toggle on “Remember Selections.”
6. Push “Continue” and start your list.
7. At the top push “Auto Selected” for your location, wait a few seconds for it to start working, then pinch in to zoom out, and find your block.
There’s more on the film. I suggest you watch it.
The complete “Quick Start Guide” including pictures of a phone screen are here: https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/about/start

In case the link below to the video fails: try this.
There’s additional info on the atlas website: https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/home
Such as: Breeding Codes: https://ebird.org/atlascalifornia/about/breeding-codes

Have fun while contributing to a valuable science project.