Reporting Birds

Introduction
Where to Send Reports
Report Format
Note About Accuracy
Membership
Reporter's Instruction Manual

Introduction
This page contains general information about reporting birds to the NYC Bird Report. Although intended primarily for someone who plans to report birds, this information may be of interest to anyone who reads the NYC Bird Report.

Ultimately, all reports of bird sightings submitted to the NYC Bird Report (NYCBR) are submitted in a standard format via E-mail. This manner of submission allows for the automatic and immediate update of the NYCBR website. However, this does not mean that one must learn the standard format or even send an E-mail message to report sightings. Participating reporters (See Membership) can report sightings by whatever means to an NYCBR editor, who in turn can submit a report in the prescribed manner.

Where to Send Reports
Observations made at a participating birding site can be sent to the birding site's editor, who will submit the observations in the manner described below. Important: If the editor does not know the observers, he will not submit the report.

Registered reporters can submit reports directly into the NYCBR system using the E-mail address given to them upon registering. To become a registered reporter for a birding site, contact the editor for that birding site.

Report Format
Reports are submitted to the NYCBR as plain-text E-mail messages. HTML messages are not accepted. The subject of the E-mail messsage must be "report" and the body of the E-mail message must be written as follows: The first three lines indicate the site, date, and observers for the report. Each of the remaining lines lists a bird species. Here is what a regular report might look like before it is submitted to the NYCBR system:

Each line containing a bird species must be in the following form:

<species> <confidence> (<information>)

<species> is the only required element, and it must match the common name of a bird in the NYCBR Master Bird List. All other elements in the line are optional.

<confidence> must be in the range 50% to 100%. If omitted, this value is assumed to be 100%.

<information>, if included, must be enclosed in parentheses. Up to 100 characters of information giving details of the sighting, or sightings, of the bird may be submitted.

Information should be written in sentence form. That is, first letter capitalized and ending with a suitable punctuation mark. Examples:

    (South end of Conservatory Garden. 6am.)
    (One at feeders. One at Willow Rock. Same individual?)
    (Reservoir. 2M, 2F.)
    (Flyover.)
    (Seven!)

Information should not include the names of any observers.

(For more information see Command Reference)

Note About Accuracy
Sightings submitted directly to the NYCBR website are initially assumed to be valid. That is, the system will give the reporters the benefit of the doubt and accept the sightings. However, this does not mean that all sightings initially accepted by the system will stand. The editor has the authority to reject any sighting belonging to his birding site, even after it has been posted on the website.

In most cases, birders should be 100 percent confident of an observation to report it. In rare cases, it may be useful to report sightings with less than 100 percent confidence. These tentative sightings will appear only in Today and Yesterday lists and will not be treated as part of the official record of birds reported to the NYCBR. The purpose of a tentative sighting is merely to alert other birders to the possibility of a particular species being in the area.

Membership
The NYCBR is not a club. Membership simply makes automated reporting possible and is the only way to prevent wholesale vandalism of the website. Membership allows the NYCBR system to recognize report submitters and prevents people who, for example, have never set foot in New York City from submitting reports of birds endemic to New Zealand.

Who should register? Membership associates a birder with a formally participating birding site (e.g. Central Park), so only birders who regularly bird a birding site should bother to register with that site. In fairness to the readers of the NYCBR, inexperienced birders are discouraged from registering.

Birders may be members of multiple birding sites. To become a member reporter for a participating birding site, contact that birding site's editor.

Reporter's Instruction Manual
The Reporter's Instruction Manual contains important information for registered reporters. To view it, click here: Reporter's Instruction Manual.