Thank you for your interest in Chimney Swift Conservation.  For more information about Chimney Swifts, please visit us online at www.ChimneySwifts.org  We look forward to hearing from you!

Paul D. Kyle and Georgean Z. Kyle
Project Directors
Email Us!

In addition to the email reports that you send to us here at the Driftwood Wildlife Association ("A Swift Night Out" and "Spring Sightings"), we are now encouraging observers to report all their swift sightings, including first sightings of the year and last sightings of the year to eBird (www.ebird.org). Ideally, we encourage you to register all swift reports from throughout the summer, to see how numbers change locally, when young fledge, and when the last bird departs.

Why report to eBird?

eBird will automatically store the sightings in a securely backed up permanent archive (up until this point our data were not stored in a database). The data will be organized and combined with thousands of swift observations from birdwatchers around the country, which will make for a much stronger dataset. These will be available for maps and graphs within eBird (visible under the "View and Explore Data" tab) and the raw data will also be available to anyone via the Avian Knowledge Network (www.avianknowledge.net).

How do I enter my sightings?

Simply visit www.ebird.org and sign up. Once your free registration is complete, then click on "submit observations". You will be asked to plot your location (or select a shared location) on a map. Then you will be asked to enter the date, time, duration, number of observers, and observation type. You should select "stationary count".

Then you will be presented with a bird checklist for your area (which should include Chimney Swift). First, select "yes" to the question "Do you want to report age/sex or add species comments". Then, simply type "Chimney Swift" in the search box and then enter your count. If you are willing to report the other bird species you identified during this time, then click the "yes" box when asked "Are you submitting a complete checklist of the birds you saw/heard"; if you are only reporting your swifts, then click "no".

Your next screen will allow you to report species comments. Next to your Chimney Swift entry, please include any information about the swift behavior that you observed (e.g., timing of entering roosts, courtship behavior, etc.).

Entering report from "A Swift Night Out"

The final entry page will allow you to report checklist comments. Please enter "ASNO" as the first line here. Enter a colon and then describe your site, especially discussing any Chimney Swift roost structures present (e.g., old warehouse with two large brick chimneys, abandoned well shaft, Chimney Swift Tower at a local state park, etc.). Also report weather conditions here.

Note:  If you have any questions or problems registering your reports, please contact eBird directly at ebird@cornell.edu.  The Driftwood Wildlife Association is not involved in the mechanics of the eBird site.

What is eBird?

A real-time, online checklist program, eBird has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, eBird provides rich data sources for basic information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.
eBird's goal is to maximize the utility and accessibility of the vast numbers of bird observations made each year by recreational and professional bird watchers. It is amassing one of the largest and fastest growing biodiversity data resources in existence. For example, in 2006, participants reported more than 4.3 million bird observations across North America.
The observations of each participant join those of others in an international network of eBird users. eBird then shares these observations with a global community of educators, land managers, ornithologists, and conservation biologists. These data are becoming the foundation for a better understanding of bird distribution across the western hemisphere and beyond.
As a final note, if you do other birdwatching during the course of the year, please consider reporting those sightings in eBird as well!