My understanding (and I helped advocate for some of this language) is that you can enter any NFC you want in eBird--including birds recorded while you sleep. However, those NFCs should be entered as incidental sightings, rather than using the NFC protocol. Only birds heard in real time/real life should be entered using the NFC protocol. On a similar note, I created a station identity in eBird for reporting birds recorded, but not heard in real time by me--so as not to inflate my local eBird listing totals (another story!). I'm currently also entering birds heard only through the microphone in real time--local eBird usage debate going on about that, but that's another story! As far as documentation goes, since NFC identification is challenging for most of us, including most eBird reviewers, many IDs may be questioned/questionable, and so documentation via recording is a valuable tool for verification of NFCs if you are interested in having your local eBird reviewer accept your NFC reports, especially of unusual species.
Rob FergusHunterdon County, NJhttp://birdchaser.blogspot.com Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 09:32:54 -0500 Subject: [nfc-l] Ebird and NFC protocol From: poecile.cinc...@gmail.com To: nf...@list.cornell.edu Hi all Now that the first night flights are only a few weeks away, I was reviewing the ebird NFC protocol, and was a bit puzzled by those 2 paragraphs : "Documentation: Many NFCs are difficult to identify, and some locally rare species may be more easily detected through NFCs than through traditional birding on the ground. Please document rare, unusual, or hard to identify NFCs through recordings whenever possible. We suggest that you upload recordings to Xeno-Canto.org or some other online repository, and include the link to the call in the species comment section, as well as a discussion of how the NFC was identified." "Remote listening: We are well aware that some observers use remote listening stations to record nocturnal flights and later review and catalog the calls heard. The detection using recording devices in fundamentally different; please do not enter these in eBird at this stage." Does it mean that you could only enter night flight calls that you have heard by yourself (not recorded), but that you would need to show a recording anyway if you managed to pick something rare? Any help is appreciated! Laurent in Michigan -- NFC-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC-L_SubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
