#feederwatch

  Get to know your bird organizations:

Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Cornell Lab provides quite a number of data-driven apps and repositories, with many of the contributions through citizen science (birders like you and me):

eBird (website and mobile app) This has become the de facto app and website for submitting bird sightings. It's also great for researching birding hotspots all around the world. The website offers a great deal more information and functionality than the app (such as uploading photos to accompany your sightings, and providing you with your own central sightings hub complete with maps), so using them in tandem is the best strategy. All rare sightings are reviewed for accuracy by qualified volunteers.  

Merlin (mobile app) This is the app that gets a lot of press due to its ease of entry to the world of birdwatching. Hit the 'record' button and it will listen for bird calls and suggest species. It does a decent job of that. You can also upload photos of birds to see if they match anything in the database. Note however, that it has developed a bit of a reputation for frustrating ornithologists due to false positives that novices might not catch, suggesting rare birds that wouldn't be anywhere nearby, and thus tainting the eBird data.  

All About Birds Cornell's bird guide; search by species and it will provide a great deal of information. There's a lot of clicking involved (there's an Overview tab, an ID info tab, a Life History tab, a Maps tab), instead of the info being presented on a single scrollable page, but I enjoy their 'Cool Facts' section.  

Macaulay Library This is Cornell's media library (photos, videos, audio). When a photo or audio clip is submitted through eBird, it will then show up here in the archives, along with any additional information that the photographer might have included (e.g., how many are in the photo, is it male or female, is it foraging). The library has been operating since 1929, and has over 60 million pieces of media. The information included in the library helps to power the Merlin app, providing more photographs and audio clips for comparison purposes.  

eBird Status and Trends data visualizer Using the eBird data to track bird population increases and declines, as well as possible geographic shifts. The visualizer provides heat maps superimposed on a globe, and you can hit the 'play' button to see how things shift throughout the year.  

Feeder Watch This is a backyard counting project (in conjunction with Birds Canada) that is roughly the same as eBird, but for bird feeders and backyards. Participants spend two consecutive days per week (or as much as they can) watching to see who shows up, and you can compare your data to your neighbours. The data goes back decades, and you can use a few different visualizations to see trends.  

Bird Academy As Cornell is a university, they offer online classes. They range from the simple (eBird essentials; Free), to the more complex (Ornithology: Complex Bird Biology; $240 USD; 100+ hours to complete).  

I did not want to participate, but I felt like Queen Red Eyebrow deserved an entry. Feel free to vote or share :)

I am going to give the last contest a shot. The category is "Boring is beautiful", and I thought the "Mourna Lisa" is a perfect fit. Vote, share, tell your bird-loving friends and wish me luck :) You can help make this beauty a winner! Thank you!