In this section, "borders" refer to the boundaries between geopolitical
units - namely counties, states/provinces, and countries.
When it comes to the position of the birder and the position of the bird,
listing rules can be inconsistent. For example, some state lists only count
birds that have demonstrably occurred *within* the state boundaries.
However, most yard lists count whatever bird can be seen *from* your yard.
At eBird, we strive to bring more consistency to lists.
Here are our best practices when you are birding near these boundaries:
- At eBird, complete checklists come first. Complete checklists are an
attempt to record *everything* you can see or hear from your location.
We do not want birds left off your list simply because they were across an
(often invisible) geopolitical boundary.
*If you do leave birds off for this reason, it is no longer a complete
checklist! *
*When traveling somewhere, begin a new checklist every time you cross a
border*
- This ensures the expected species list on eBird Mobile is up to date,
and any new birds you detect are placed in your current county, state, and
country instead of the previous one.
*Every bird seen or heard from your location "counts", regardless of where
the bird is.*
- A *complete* checklist should include birds on both sides of the
border. If you are standing on the Texas side of the US-Mexico border, and
you see a Lineated Woodpecker flying on the Mexico side, report it! In
eBird, this observation "counts" for where you are standing (i.e., your US
and Texas lists). If you don’t want it to count, or want to count it for
both countries, see "Tips for county listers
<https://support.ebird.org/a/solutions/articles/48001059718/edit?lang=en#anchorCountyListing>" below.
*Plot your location as accurately and precisely as possible. *
On Sun, Aug 23, 2026 at 6:13 PM William Flack via groups.io <sparvophile=
<yahoo.com...> wrote:
> Depending on how you define your county list, eBird also creates another
> problem: I'm standing in one county, but see the bird in another—let's say,
> to take Robin's location, that I'm on the south bank of the Platte, in
> Hamilton County, but I see a flock of pelicans flying far to the north,
> clearly over Merrick. Since my lists are based on my best estimate of the
> county in which the bird is located, I'd call that a Merrick bird, but
> couldn't add it to my Hamilton list.
>
> And, for that matter, there's the issue of birds flying across county
> lines. I was walking the Keith-Perkins line once when I saw a Rock Wren on
> one side of the road, then watched it fly across. I suspect that lots of
> Lincoln-area birders have had that occur on the stretch of
> Lancaster-Saunders line that runs through Jack Sinn WMA.
>
> And that's why I don't use eBird for my county lists.
>
> William Flack
> Kearney
>
>
>
>
