Date: 11/21/24 5:58 am From: Pam Hunt <biodiva...> Subject: [NHBirds] eBird and the November County Challenge
Greetings all,
In the last few weeks I've gotten several queries, both direct and via third parties, about records not showing up in eBird outputs because they have yet to be reviewed and approved. Obviously, with competitive juices flowing strong in many people, this has generated some concern.
Thus this email. Hopefully it'll put everyone on the same page and people will stop stressing out about it.
1) Have no fear, I'm checking the eBird review queue prior to each update and including what I believe to be valid records in the species totals. They'll get official review eventually and show up on maps and lists like everything else.
2) As most people know, eBird review is done by volunteers, and because in NH it is tied to the seasonal summaries in NH Bird Records there is generally a single person (the season editor) doing review for the entire state for 2-4 months. These volunteers have lives and jobs outside of eBird review, and as a result there are sometimes back-logs, all the more so when people are madly scouring their counties for rarities during November.
So stop obsessing over individual records and go out and find birds - Merrimack County has an open border policy and welcomes birders of all stripes (and streaks, bars, and spots).
