Frequently Asked Questions

We strongly encourage our volunteers to use the eBird mobile app. However, if you’d prefer to submit your observations using the eBird website, you may do so. Check out this tutorial to learn more, and don’t forget to tag your checklists by adding #ProjectPhoenix to the comments!

Don't sweat it – this happens to the best of us. If you are unsure of a species identification, please use a broader taxonomic group such as “sparrow species” or “hummingbird species” to describe your observation. If you can’t narrow down the bird to a broader group, just use “bird species.”

Please do not report species that you are not confident you observed. Instead, if you are unsure of a species identification, please use a broader taxonomic group such as “sparrow species” or “hummingbird species” to describe your observation. If you can’t narrow down the bird to a broader group, just use “bird species.”

Take heart: eBird benefits from a network of volunteers who review checklists for any unusual sightings and help us ensure data quality.

We’ve all been there. We find it useful to focus on the maximum number of individuals of each species we see and/or hear simultaneously during our surveys. This strategy also helps minimize the possibility that we double count individuals.

For some species, sex may be a useful characteristic to consider when tallying individuals. For example, male and female House Sparrows look quite different. Try keeping a count of the total number of males and females you observe at any one time.

It’s also helpful to consider how far away birds are when detected by sound. For example, if you hear a song in the distance, and then you hear the same song again in your immediate vicinity, it’s logical to think two different individuals produced those songs. However, if you hear the same call from the same spot over and over, it’s safe to assume those calls are coming from just one bird.

Try this: When you are ready to begin your survey, start a new eBird checklist and use the built-in stopwatch function to keep time. However, rather than searching for species to add to your checklist, keep a tally using pen and paper. When the stopwatch hits 10 minutes, click the “Stop” button and then add your bird observations to the checklist before you click “Submit”.

Great question! Empty checklists are actually super useful. Every survey is a snapshot of bird activity at a particular time and place. If you don’t observe any birds during your 10-minute survey, that tells us that bird activity may be lower in that moment. The power of Project Phoenix is strength in numbers – by comparing bird activity captured by hundreds of community scientists like you, we can start to piece together how smoke and other air pollutants impact bird behavior and species distributions. So, by all means, please do submit a checklist for every survey – even if you didn’t observe any birds!

No worries! You can go back and edit your checklists after you submit them.

You bet! eBird checklists can be edited in the app or on the web. Click here for more information on how to edit checklists.

Check out eBird Essentials, an online course offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology! This course is available for free to everyone with an eBird account. The course is also available in Spanish.