Help > The eBird and Project FeederWatch Datasets

eBird | Project FeederWatch

Introduction

The Avian Knowledge Network (AKN) consolidates data from many institutions that have a plethora of bird monitoring projects. You can now access two of the many datasets from the AKN from within Science Pipes, using a large library of components specifically created to work with AKN data. The datasets are eBird and Project FeederWatch.

eBird

eBird, a project developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, provides a simple way for birders to keep track of the birds they see anywhere in North America.  You can retrieve information on your bird observations, from your backyard to your neighborhood to your favorite bird-watching locations, at any time for your personal use.  You can also access the entire historical database to find out what other eBirders are reporting from across North America. In addition, the cumulative eBird database is used by birdwatchers, scientists, and conservationists who want to know more about the distributions and movement patterns of birds across the continent.

• more information about eBird at the Avian Knowledge Network
• the eBird website

eBird in Science Pipes

The eBird dataset in Science Pipes is updated periodically (quarterly) from the Avian Knowledge Network. You can get the details by looking at the information provided by the "dataset description" port of the eBird dataset. This pipe does nothing but display that information. The dataset description is repeated here for your convenience:

This dataset was downloaded from the Avian Knowledge Network (http://www.avianknowledge.net/content/download/packages/observation_data/project/ebird_all/) on Jan. 18, 2010. It contains an extract of all eBird data in the AKN system as of Jan. 15, 2010. Invalid records have been excised from this dataset. The format of the data is BMDE v1.38 (http://www.avianknowledge.net/content/contribute/the-bird-monitoring-data-exchange).

Other notes:

• Please see the article about the AKN components for more details about using those components with eBird data.
• If you wish to use the AKN Observer Filter with eBird data, you will need to look at the list of eBird observer IDs to get the exact formatting of the ID correct.
• Eventually we expect to integrate live eBird data into Science Pipes so that you can build pipes that dynamically look at the eBird database like this pipe that charts the number of submissions to eBird.
• You can see all the pipes tagged with "eBird" here.
• Be aware of a known issue as of March 25, 2010 that causes problems when you use more than three AKN eBird Data components in a single pipe.

Project FeederWatch

Project FeederWatch is a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. FeederWatchers periodically count the highest numbers of each species they see at their feeders from November through early April. FeederWatch helps scientists track broadscale movements of winter bird populations and long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. Project FeederWatch is operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in partnership with Bird Studies Canada.

• more information about Project FeederWatch at the Avian Knowledge Network
• the Project FeederWatch website

Project FeederWatch in Science Pipes

The PFW dataset is updated annually from the Avian Knowledge Network. You can get the details by looking at the information provided by the "dataset description" port of the Project FeederWatch dataset. This pipe does nothing but display that information. The Project FeederWatch dataset provides a dataset description repeated below for your convenience:

This dataset was downloaded from the Avian Knowledge Network (http://www.avianknowledge.net/content/download/packages/observation_data/project/pfw/) on Feb. 25, 2010. It contains an extract of all PFW data in the AKN system as of Feb. 25, 2010. Invalid records have been excised from this dataset. The format of the data is BMDE v1.38 (http://www.avianknowledge.net/content/contribute/the-bird-monitoring-data-exchange).

All the datasets in the Avian Knowledge Network differ in the amount of detail they provide. Because of this, not all AKN components can be used with all AKN datasets. Please note the following issues for the Project FeederWatch dataset:

• The PFW dataset does not yet have county information integrated into it. Therefore you cannot use the AKN County Filter with the PFW data.
• The PFW data collection protocol does not call for recording the exact length of the observation. Therefore you cannot use the AKN Duration Filter with the PFW data.
• For similar reasons, the "average birds per hour" port from the AKN Histogram Calculator with never output but zeros; the other ports from the histogram calculator show useful summaries.
• The Project FeederWatch privacy policies prevent publishing of observer names through the Avian Knowledge Network. Therefore, the AKN Observer Filter cannot be used to filter the data for a specific observer.

Other notes:

• Please see the article about the AKN components for more details about using those components with PFW data.
• You can see all the pipes tagged with "PFW" here.