Several weeks ago while birding with a group at Row River Nature Park in Cottage Grove, Pam Reber of the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council suggested that I enter my bird list for the day on eBird. I had never heard of eBird, but I went home a found it on the Internet, eBird.org, and dutifully with a couple of tips from Pam entered my list of birds for the day. That event has radically ratcheted up my birding experience beyond anything I could have imagined. Daily I enter my bird sightings into eBird and it builds a Life List for me keeping track of the numbers and locations. I can look at the at all kinds of statistics of species by county and state, arrivals, and departures, and even look at the list of the top 100 birders by county or state. It has proven to be a tremendous motivator for me by giving me a means to measure my progress. Now, first thing each morning besides checking my e-mail, and Facebook, I look at my standings in eBird, then grab the wife and dog, binoculars and camera, and dash out the door to identify and count more birds.
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