{"id":395,"date":"2020-04-11T00:39:41","date_gmt":"2020-04-11T00:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/?page_id=395"},"modified":"2021-03-15T19:15:03","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T19:15:03","slug":"faq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/faq\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FAQs from Volunteers:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been\ngetting lots of questions from our volunteers! If you\u2019ve got a question,\nchances are someone else has had that question, too. Check out the FAQs below.\nIf you didn\u2019t find the information you were looking for, send us an email at sefsqel@uw.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. When should I\nstart submitting checklists?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whenever you’re\nready! No day like today. We plan to collect data from April 1st through June\n30th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. How often\nshould I submit checklists?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ask that\nvolunteers conduct a ten-minute count one day a week, but you are welcome and\nencouraged to collect and submit more data if you’d like to!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. I have a\nfeeder in my yard. Can I still participate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, absolutely.\nWe will send out a survey later this spring to get more information about your\nsite, including whether or not there is a feeder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. I am a\nbeginner birder. Can I participate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure! No time\nlike the present. We love that you want to pick up a new hobby, and we are here\nto help! We\u2019ve posted resources for beginner birders here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most\nimportant thing for beginner birders to know is that volunteers should only\nreport species that they are confident they observed. While you are building up\nyour birding skills, you can report groups of birds to eBird (i.e. sparrow\nspecies, hummingbird species, etc.) instead of specific species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Can children\nparticipate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes! Of course!\nBirding is fun for the whole family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. I’m not sure\nthat I’ll be able to collect data in 2021. Is that going to be a problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is without a\ndoubt most valuable to our research group if you are able to collect data this\nyear *and* next year. However, we understand that some folks can’t guarantee\nthat they’ll be available, or already know that they’ll be moving and unable to\nmonitor their site next spring. That’s okay. If you already know that you won’t\nwant to be involved in data collection AT ALL after stay-at-home orders are\nlifted, this project may not be the best fit for you. However, we would\nstrongly encourage you to bird for your own enjoyment this spring and submit\neBird checklists whenever you want to. That data will still be used by\necologists around the world to answer emerging research questions, just maybe\nnot to study how social distancing is affecting birds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. I’m a teacher,\nand I’d like to have students in my class volunteer this spring while they are\nlearning remotely. However, I can’t guarantee they’ll be able to collect data\nnext year. Is that okay?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes! Given that this is a wonderful opportunity for students to learn more about ecology and community science while they are practicing social distancing, we are happy for students of all ages to sign up to collect data this spring. Please note that we will need all volunteers, including students, to respond to a survey that we will send out later this spring to identify who among our volunteers is a novice birder, master birder, student, etc. in order to account for differences in skill in our models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. What is the\nsurvey protocol?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHERE:<\/strong> You get to pick your site! We suggest\nchoosing your backyard or a local green space that you can easily walk to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: You are\nwelcome to observe multiple locations or spots in your yard. However, our\nprotocol requires volunteers to be stationary during surveys. So, if you\u2019d like\nto survey different sites, even around your yard, you will need to conduct\nmultiple stationary point counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHEN:<\/strong> At least once a week (though more often if\nyou\u2019d like), head to that site and conduct a 10-minute stationary point count.\nRecord all the birds you see or hear during those ten minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLATFORM:<\/strong> We are collecting data via eBird, a community science app. You can submit checklists on eBird using a web browser or the mobile app. Before you submit your checklist, add the phrase \u201csocial distancing survey\u201d to the COMMENT field. Please do not report species that you are not confident you observed.<\/strong>\u00a0If you are unsure of a species identification, please use broader groups such as \u201csparrow sp.\u201d or \u201chummingbird sp.\u201d when possible. If you can\u2019t narrow down the bird to a group, please use \u201cbird sp.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Should I include\nbirds that I hear<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, you should\ninclude all the birds you are able to ID by sight or sound during your\n10-minute count. As long as you are confident in your ID, record it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. What if I saw\nor heard a bird but couldn’t identify it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t worry about\nmissing a few birds here and there that you were unable to identify. That\nhappens to the best of us. Just do your best to identify the birds you observe\nduring the count and record all the birds you are confident you recognized.\nWe\u2019ve got folks who are brand new to birding and master birders participating\nin data collection, so we\u2019ll need to account for different skill sets and\nexperience in our models. If you can narrow down the bird you observed to a\ngroup, you can add an unidentified species to your checklist. For example, if\nyou know the bird was a sparrow but you\u2019re not sure which species, you can add\n\u201csparrow sp.\u201d And you can always describe the bird you saw but couldn\u2019t\nidentify in your comments. The most important thing is not to assume the species\nidentification of the birds you observe. It\u2019s okay to not know the ID, but\ndon\u2019t just guess. Only record sightings of species you are sure you identified\ncorrectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

eBird relies on a\nnetwork of volunteers who review checklists for any unusual sightings and\nensure data quality. We want to make sure we do our best to identify\nthe birds we observe, both to improve the quality of the data we\ncollect and to reduce the burden on regional reviewers whose job it is\nto correct our mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Do you want\nus to bird for exactly<\/em> ten minutes or at least<\/em> ten minutes?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We would like you\nto conduct a 10-minute point count. Studies have shown that the longer birders\nare out observing, the more likely it is that they will see birds! Ensuring\nthat all our volunteers put in the same amount of time helps us ensure that the\neffort that went into data collection is the same across the checklists we\nanalyze. If you\u2019d like to bird longer, go for it! Just submit one checklist\nafter a 10-minute count, then start a new checklist and keep collecting data!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Is it okay if\nI change the time of day I conduct my counts?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. If you would\nlike to shift the time of your survey to better align with peak bird activity\nor because of scheduling conflicts or personal preference, that is just fine.\nWe\u2019ll have to account for time of day in any models we run. We would prefer\nthat you pick a day of the week and time of day to shoot for (e.g. Sunday early\nmornings, Tuesday late afternoons), but we understand that everyone\u2019s schedules\nare rapidly changing during COVID-19 and we all need to be flexible. Just do\nthe best you can to be consistent, and our lab will take it from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. How will you\nknow which checklists in the eBird database are for this study?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will use the\ncomments on checklists to identify those for our study, so be sure to add the\nphrase “social distancing survey” to the comments section before you\npress the submit button! If you forget, you can always edit your checklists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14. Do I\nhave to use eBird?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, we are collecting data exclusively through eBird. With over\n700 volunteers, this is the only way we can ensure consistency in data\ncollection and track the hundreds of checklists submitted each week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15. Can I edit my eBird checklists?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, you can! eBird checklists can be edited in the app or on the\nweb. In the app, go to \u201cChecklists\u201d in the bottom menu, then click on the\nchecklist you want to edit. Next, click \u201cEdit\u201d in the lower righthand corner.\nNow you will be able to make changes to the species and counts you reported.\nOnce your checklist is good to go, click \u201cReview\u201d to adjust other fields, such\nas number of observers, and add to the comments section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here<\/a> for more\ninformation on editing checklists. A step-by-step guide for editing checklist\nlocations is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16. I\u2019m\nhaving trouble keeping track of how many birds I\u2019m observing. Do you have any\nadvice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers\nshould only report multiple individuals of the same species if they are sure\nthey observed more than one individual during their point count. Obviously,\nthis is easiest if we see or hear multiple birds at the same time. However,\nthis doesn\u2019t usually happen. In that case, we use our best judgment to\ndetermine the number of individuals observed. So, for example, if a bird calls\nfrom super far away and then another bird of the same species suddenly appears\nin your yard, it\u2019s logical to think that\u2019s most likely a different bird. You\ncan then record 2. If you hear the same call from the same spot over and over,\nassume that it is coming from the same bird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re\nnoticing that the birds in your yard fly back and forth from a feeder and it\u2019s\ndifficult to track how many there are, record the maximum number you saw at any\none time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can\nalso use sex for some species to keep track of the count. For example, male and\nfemale House Sparrows and House Finches look quite different. Birds are nesting\nright now, so you might hear pairs calling to each other, which can also be a\nhelpful clue that there are two individuals on site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

17. I find it tricky to record my sightings in eBird while I am\nbirding. Do you have any advice?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We agree\nthat it can be difficult to enter sightings in the app during a survey and keep\ntrack of birds at the same time. Sometimes when there are a lot of birds at a\nsite we\u2019re monitoring, we keep the app open to record our time and location and\nthen write down the birds we observe using pen and paper and edit the\nchecklists to include our observations after we submit them. It\u2019s not ideal,\nbut that way we feel more confident that the list we\u2019re submitting is complete.\nWe also recommend setting an alarm for the duration of the survey so you don\u2019t\nhave to look at your phone to keep track of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18. I missed a week. Is that okay?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We understand that you might not be able to get to your site every\nweek. Things happen. We just ask that all our volunteers do their best to be\nconsistent. We\u2019ll still use the data you collect in our research, even if\nyou\u2019re unable to conduct your weekly survey each week without fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19. My friends\nwho live outside of the Pacific Northwest are jealous that I’m part of such a\ncool project. Can they sign up too?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our team is\nfocused on collecting data in the PNW. However, we want to assure you that\necologists across the country use eBird checklists for myriad studies, and we\nmay pull data from checklists submitted outside of the PNW for our study, too,\nso we encourage all bird enthusiasts to submit checklists regardless of whether\nor not they’re a volunteer with this project specifically!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FAQs from Volunteers: We\u2019ve been getting lots of questions from our volunteers! If you\u2019ve got a question, chances are someone else has had that question, too. Check out the FAQs below. If you didn\u2019t find the information you were looking for, send us an email at sefsqel@uw.edu. 1. When should I start submitting checklists? Whenever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/395"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":489,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/395\/revisions\/489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/sefsqel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}