Date: 7/27/26 7:17 am From: John Garrett via groups.io <curvirostra9...> Subject: Re: [CALBIRDS] artificial intelligence and photos of birds
Kurt wrote:
>
> I have submitted a few back of the camera photos to ebird to support my
> id, not win a photography contest and I was contacted by an ebird reviewer
> that ebird frowns on back of the camera photos. Odd, eBird doesn’t frown
> on supportive drawings, but frown on back of the camera photos that
> clearly and absolutely confirm an identification. So I think ebird has
> some culpability hear.
>
Just to clarify: the reason back-of-camera photos are discouraged isn't that they won't win photography contests. While they're generally less problematic than AI-"enhanced" images, they're still a poorer record of the bird than the original photo the observer already has.
More importantly, the Macaulay Library has many purposes beyond documenting an individual rarity. It is a long-term scientific archive used by researchers, Merlin, and birders around the world. For nearly all of those uses, the original image is substantially more valuable than a photo of a camera screen. Back-of-camera photos are perfectly fine for e.g., Discord or other platforms for quickly alerting other birders.
It's also worth noting that, while the vast majority of observers are undoubtedly honest, back-of-camera photos lack the original metadata (EXIF). In certain cases (such as where a record's authenticity is questioned), that metadata can be important and helps deter fabricated records.
