eBird milestone and the summer lull

eBird reached a terrific milestone in May as it surpassed 3 million bird observations for the month! Check out the information at this link that I copied below: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/May_2011_Milestone

“With your help, eBird reached a new milestone this May, gathering 3,067,344 bird observations over the course of the month! Achieving our highest monthly total isn’t just a fun anecdote though, it also means more data for science and conservation, and more data to share with birders around the world. As more birders begin to use eBird, our ability to deliver real-time information to the birding community improves, and the tools that we’ve developed work better. As data volume increases, it helps shape the direction of future eBird development. Most importantly, continued growth improves our ability to protect birds and biodiversity by getting your data into the hands of conservationists and scientists around the world. Thanks to eBirders everywhere for making May 2011 our biggest month ever–and keep birding this summer!”

They included an image showing their bird observations since May 2007 with tremendous increases each year. What stood out to me was the classic summer lull. I outlined it in the eBird image below.

Many birders crave spring migration more than any other “event” during the year, as warblers, vireos, flycatchers, etc., return. After the exhausting month ends, birds quiet down to breed, the temperature goes up, and most birders rest and enjoy a summer vacation until September. Apart from some very cold or snowy months in the winter, the summer months are the least-birded of the year. Please make an effort to get outside and find breeding birds and early-returning migrants, as some birds will be on the way south only a month from now. If you do it goes without saying eBird could really use your sightings, especially since the new beta version has the capability of recording breeding codes.