Re: [nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY
Every so often I get a little tweaked over the hype associated with eBird. Yes, it's a useful endeavor. Yes, it's actual science - but it's science with a large error level in the data, and the error isn't trivial to estimate. It has the sort of error level I associate with a badly-controlled Sociology experiment. Speaking as a professional scientist in the biological sciences, I'd like to see the quality of some of those journals - the "peer reviewed publication" in Nature below is just a News article - not peer reviewed and just fluff. That's either sloppy or disingenuous. The P.N.A.S. article might be worth a look at - that's the second best journal in that list. But "Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology". Since Monday Night Football is on in the background as I write this: Who are we kidding ? C'mon man. I made the Swiss Cheese comment: Ben C. and I were using eBird to look at Prothonotary records with a view to potential breeding populations north of NYC (there are some on the nw of NY State). Now I actually *know* at least some of the Prothonotary records in NYC. Many of these are simply not present in the database. Cornell doesn't mine this list or eBirdsNYC for those records, it relies on contributors which are a small subset of the birding population to report. NYSBirds and eBirdsNYC have the same thing - a small minority report sightings. However those lists don't purport to be a representative record of sightings. Other comments like: "robust verification" are largely meaningless if you have to say: "is it getting better every month". Robust verification would require actual checking of every reported sighting, not flagging the most error-prone observations using a very simple probability model. I wonder how many House Finch sightings are verified ? The actual counts ? So if we can skip over all the PR here - eBird *IS* currently not very useful for constructing an NYC checklist. It's currently a very incomplete record and fundamentally flawed as a result. I expect it will get better, and I certainly hope it will get better, but that doesn't mean that it already qualifies as "good". It only qualifies as "good" if you have very low standards indeed. Phil Jeffrey, D.Phil. On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 8:12 PM, Andrew Farnsworth wrote: > Hi all, > I want to comment on some points in the checklist thread about eBird > and lists - the eBird team can speak to issues about how to generate > lists and give much more detail than I, but I want to discuss comments > relevant to science and eBird and what is an is not science. To speak -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY
ana, R., Ballard, G. and Hooker, G. 2009. Data-intensive Science: A New Paradigm for Biodiversity Studies. BioScience, 59: 613-620. Sullivan, B.L., C.L. Wood, M.J. Iliff, R.E. Bonney, D. Fink, and S. Kelling. 2009. eBird: a citizen-based bird observation network in the biological sciences. Biological Conservation 142: 2282-2292. External researchers (not from the Lab) Berry, R.B., C.W. Benkman, A. Muela, Y. Seminario, and M. Curti. 2010. Isolation and decline of a population of the Orange-breasted Falcon. Condor 112(3): 479-489. Harris, Emma. 2010. Birds flock online: Supercomputer time will help ornithologists make ecological sense of millions of records of bird sightings. Nature. Published online 10 August 2010. (http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100810/full/news.2010.395.html). doi:10.1038/news.2010.395 McCormack, J.E., A.J. Zellmer, and L.L. Knowles. 2009. Does niche divergence accompany allopatric divergence in Aphelocoma jays as predicted under ecological speciation?: insights from tests with niche models. Evolution 2009. Available online. Stralberg, D., D. Jongsomjit, C. A. Howell, M. A. Snyder, J. D. Alexander, J. A. Wiens, and T. L. Root. 2009. Reshuffling of species with climate disruption: a no-analog future for California birds? PLoS ONE 4:e6825. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006825 Wiens, J.A., D. Stralberg, D. Jongsomjit, C.A. Howell, and M.A. Snyder. 2009. Niches, models, and climate change: Assessing the assumptions and uncertainties. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106:19729-19736. Geoffrey A. Levin and Melissa H. Cragin. 2003. The Role of Information Science in Gathering Biodiversity and Neuroscience Data. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 30:1 > > -- Forwarded message -- > From: Tom Fiore > Date: Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 11:50 PM > Subject: Re:[nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY > To: nysbirds-L@cornell.edu > > > Hi all, > That UK birder wanting a decent checklist for birds of New York City > started something, did he or she not... and thanks to Phil and many > others, for continuing the thread on this subject. > Since the post as titled to this list made reference to the > nycbirdreport.com now-static lists, which are available for a number > of well-known NYC birding localities, with the most attention having > been given to Central & Prospect Parks, & Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, > it is unclear what was meant by the sightings not being tagged. In any > case the vast majority of sightings in those listings are not > NYSARC-review species, and were observed by many as well as vetted by > a number of very experienced birders most familiar with the location > they were vetting for. in my "opinionated" opinion those lists and > that website have not been surpassed by any I've seen for fast and > accurate dispersal of basic information, for recently-seen 'local' > birds in NYC. And as Phil opined, the eBird.org web-based effort is, > thus far, more full of holes than swiss cheese - and that problem > isn't shrinking, for those who look at it as any sort of "scientific" > data set. As pure entertainment that may help some folks, it's fine. > It ain't science. Sorry, but that is just the way it is set up. If you > or I can report a bird (or birds) that may or may not have been in a > particular place at a particular time (and I don't even refer to > "rare" or uncommon species for any given locality) then it is just > that, a series of reports... as we can find all around the web. That > is not science, however. And to make it completely clear I am > referring to the Cornell-originated website with the suffix org, and > not to Phil's current version of the ebirdsnyc list, a yahoo-groups > list which is unrelated to the much "wider" Cornell / eBird efforts. > The moniker ebirdsnyc also predates the ebird,org by quite some many > years. > The checklists prepared for Queens, for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife > Refuge, & for Prospect Park, and Central Park (each in their most > recently-revised versions) are all in their own ways quite good at the > basic info that a checklist should provide & all have been extensively > vetted by multiple experienced birders for fairly high level of > accuracy and quality. Kudos to the many who helped to compile them & > particularly to those who edited them. There just may be some > additional checklists that will come to light for specific locations > within NYC. The two boroughs perhaps in need of at least a basic > checklist would be Staten Island (Richmond County) and The Bronx, both > rich birding and ornithological hot-beds over a period of many, many > years - a century & even more. The borough of Richmond has been > studied for a very long time and has proven a number of t
Re: [nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY
-intensive Science: A New Paradigm for Biodiversity Studies. BioScience, 59: 613-620. Sullivan, B.L., C.L. Wood, M.J. Iliff, R.E. Bonney, D. Fink, and S. Kelling. 2009. eBird: a citizen-based bird observation network in the biological sciences. Biological Conservation 142: 2282-2292. External researchers (not from the Lab) Berry, R.B., C.W. Benkman, A. Muela, Y. Seminario, and M. Curti. 2010. Isolation and decline of a population of the Orange-breasted Falcon. Condor 112(3): 479-489. Harris, Emma. 2010. Birds flock online: Supercomputer time will help ornithologists make ecological sense of millions of records of bird sightings. Nature. Published online 10 August 2010. (http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100810/full/news.2010.395.html). doi:10.1038/news.2010.395 McCormack, J.E., A.J. Zellmer, and L.L. Knowles. 2009. Does niche divergence accompany allopatric divergence in Aphelocoma jays as predicted under ecological speciation?: insights from tests with niche models. Evolution 2009. Available online. Stralberg, D., D. Jongsomjit, C. A. Howell, M. A. Snyder, J. D. Alexander, J. A. Wiens, and T. L. Root. 2009. Reshuffling of species with climate disruption: a no-analog future for California birds? PLoS ONE 4:e6825. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0006825 Wiens, J.A., D. Stralberg, D. Jongsomjit, C.A. Howell, and M.A. Snyder. 2009. Niches, models, and climate change: Assessing the assumptions and uncertainties. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106:19729-19736. Geoffrey A. Levin and Melissa H. Cragin. 2003. The Role of Information Science in Gathering Biodiversity and Neuroscience Data. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 30:1 -- Forwarded message -- From: Tom Fiore tom...@earthlink.net Date: Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 11:50 PM Subject: Re:[nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY To: nysbirds-L@cornell.edu Hi all, That UK birder wanting a decent checklist for birds of New York City started something, did he or she not... and thanks to Phil and many others, for continuing the thread on this subject. Since the post as titled to this list made reference to the nycbirdreport.com now-static lists, which are available for a number of well-known NYC birding localities, with the most attention having been given to Central Prospect Parks, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, it is unclear what was meant by the sightings not being tagged. In any case the vast majority of sightings in those listings are not NYSARC-review species, and were observed by many as well as vetted by a number of very experienced birders most familiar with the location they were vetting for. in my opinionated opinion those lists and that website have not been surpassed by any I've seen for fast and accurate dispersal of basic information, for recently-seen 'local' birds in NYC. And as Phil opined, the eBird.org web-based effort is, thus far, more full of holes than swiss cheese - and that problem isn't shrinking, for those who look at it as any sort of scientific data set. As pure entertainment that may help some folks, it's fine. It ain't science. Sorry, but that is just the way it is set up. If you or I can report a bird (or birds) that may or may not have been in a particular place at a particular time (and I don't even refer to rare or uncommon species for any given locality) then it is just that, a series of reports... as we can find all around the web. That is not science, however. And to make it completely clear I am referring to the Cornell-originated website with the suffix org, and not to Phil's current version of the ebirdsnyc list, a yahoo-groups list which is unrelated to the much wider Cornell / eBird efforts. The moniker ebirdsnyc also predates the ebird,org by quite some many years. The checklists prepared for Queens, for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, for Prospect Park, and Central Park (each in their most recently-revised versions) are all in their own ways quite good at the basic info that a checklist should provide all have been extensively vetted by multiple experienced birders for fairly high level of accuracy and quality. Kudos to the many who helped to compile them particularly to those who edited them. There just may be some additional checklists that will come to light for specific locations within NYC. The two boroughs perhaps in need of at least a basic checklist would be Staten Island (Richmond County) and The Bronx, both rich birding and ornithological hot-beds over a period of many, many years - a century even more. The borough of Richmond has been studied for a very long time and has proven a number of times to have the greatest diversity of sites for both breeding and wintering birds in NYC over a long period of time, even if the present-day status is changed due to massive development. It still retains many habitat remnants unique in NYC and some unique in the state. At a guess, and that is all
Re:[nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY
Hi all, That UK birder wanting a decent checklist for birds of New York City started something, did he or she not... and thanks to Phil and many others, for continuing the thread on this subject. Since the post as titled to this list made reference to the nycbirdreport.com now-static lists, which are available for a number of well-known NYC birding localities, with the most attention having been given to Central & Prospect Parks, & Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, it is unclear what was meant by the sightings not being tagged. In any case the vast majority of sightings in those listings are not NYSARC-review species, and were observed by many as well as vetted by a number of very experienced birders most familiar with the location they were vetting for. in my "opinionated" opinion those lists and that website have not been surpassed by any I've seen for fast and accurate dispersal of basic information, for recently-seen 'local' birds in NYC. And as Phil opined, the eBird.org web-based effort is, thus far, more full of holes than swiss cheese - and that problem isn't shrinking, for those who look at it as any sort of "scientific" data set. As pure entertainment that may help some folks, it's fine. It ain't science. Sorry, but that is just the way it is set up. If you or I can report a bird (or birds) that may or may not have been in a particular place at a particular time (and I don't even refer to "rare" or uncommon species for any given locality) then it is just that, a series of reports... as we can find all around the web. That is not science, however. And to make it completely clear I am referring to the Cornell- originated website with the suffix org, and not to Phil's current version of the ebirdsnyc list, a yahoo-groups list which is unrelated to the much "wider" Cornell / eBird efforts. The moniker ebirdsnyc also predates the ebird,org by quite some many years. The checklists prepared for Queens, for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, & for Prospect Park, and Central Park (each in their most recently-revised versions) are all in their own ways quite good at the basic info that a checklist should provide & all have been extensively vetted by multiple experienced birders for fairly high level of accuracy and quality. Kudos to the many who helped to compile them & particularly to those who edited them. There just may be some additional checklists that will come to light for specific locations within NYC. The two boroughs perhaps in need of at least a basic checklist would be Staten Island (Richmond County) and The Bronx, both rich birding and ornithological hot-beds over a period of many, many years - a century & even more. The borough of Richmond has been studied for a very long time and has proven a number of times to have the greatest diversity of sites for both breeding and wintering birds in NYC over a long period of time, even if the present-day status is changed due to massive development. It still retains many habitat remnants unique in NYC and some unique in the state. At a guess, and that is all it is, the borough of Queens may hold bragging rights to the most species of wild birds to be recorded in NYC, due in great part to the many observations made from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge since its creation as well as the extensive shore areas along with large tracts of intact forest in several larger wooded parks. In any case each borough has its own unique and special places for birds and much more in nature. In New York City, there is a vast potential for nature studies, especially so in all the "other" 4 boroughs but amazingly even in busy Manhattan. A nice resource for Brooklyn sightings is the birding blog maintained by Peter Dorosh of Brooklyn/ Kings County and often reported to by multiple birders of that borough ... just today the blog contains mention of a good sighting for there, Black Vulture, along with many other nice birds of the day. It gets updated very regularly about all year 'round. For Staten Island/Richmond County a good naturalist's resource has been the yahoo- group list with public archives, the SINaturaList available in the yahoo groups at that exact spelling and updated a lot, especially by some of that borough's more active birder-naturalists. There are also bunches of other blogs and such that offer more insights into nature in NYC, some that specialize in one area and others quite general in the topics covered. In a few years, perhaps every individual will simply blog on their own personal take from their "patch"! There might be as much insight in that effort as all of what the ebird.org project is attempting... perhaps depending on what one accepts as science... Among my favorite Central Park encounters of all time was from some years ago, as I passed the well-known bridge to and from The Ramble, at the height of spring
Re: [nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY
To access and peruse all the NYSARC records, listed by species and summarized, since its inception, go to: nybirds.org/NYSARC/RecordsSummary.htm Also, for more detail, a searchable archive of all issues of The Kingbird can be accessed through our Web site: nybirds.org Berna Lincoln NYS Ornithological Association -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re:[nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY
For those of you with an aversion to reading my wordy posts, see: http://philjeffrey.net/NYC_unofficial_list.html For the rest of you: Thanks to the many people that replied, mostly off-list. There is no official checklist. The best approximation is the one appearing in NYC Audubon's NYC birding book, and you can find that online at: http://www.nycaudubon.org/kids/birds/ and was mentioned in the very first reply to my question by Patrick Santinello. The online NYState checklist, of lesser use since there's no distinction between NYC and anywhere else, is at: http://nybirds.org/Publications/ChecklistNYS.htm but obviously it's a superset and I'm pretty sure Spruce Grouse doesn't occur in NYC (for example). The major problem with the Audubon list is the omission of rarities such as Broad-billed and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers or Rufous and Calliope Hummingbirds and the fact that it's difficult to me to know which rarities they've omitted without wading through NYSARC proceedings dating back through the Middle Ages. The Audubon list has this strange compulsion of alphabetizing within family groups, which may drive you a little crazy. Another list that has been cited is the static one at Mike Freeman's site http://www.nycbirdreport.com but sightings are not tagged so it's impossible to assess the error level. One or two mentioned eBirds (not my eBirdsNYC), but Cornell's eBirds database has more holes than swiss cheese and is not that useful for coverage. Lastly there's the Central Park Conservancy bird list, but of course CPK is not a great place to observe shorebirds, so there are large gaps in that too. Ergo, here's a slightly more ordered list, enabled via Ben Cacace, Marie Winn and the NYC Audubon list. http://philjeffrey.net/NYC_unofficial_list.html If your favorite rarity is not on it, email me. I'll see if I can find a way to data mine old NYSARC records. Thanks Phil Jeffrey On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Phil Jeffrey wrote: > A UK birder asked me, and I realize I have no idea if there is one, or > even where to start looking for it. > Any pointers welcome. > > Thanks > Phil Jeffrey > -- "If you lie to the compiler, it will get its revenge" - Henry Spencer -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re:[nysbirds-l] (semi-)official NYC checklist ? - SUMMARY
Hi all, That UK birder wanting a decent checklist for birds of New York City started something, did he or she not... and thanks to Phil and many others, for continuing the thread on this subject. Since the post as titled to this list made reference to the nycbirdreport.com now-static lists, which are available for a number of well-known NYC birding localities, with the most attention having been given to Central Prospect Parks, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, it is unclear what was meant by the sightings not being tagged. In any case the vast majority of sightings in those listings are not NYSARC-review species, and were observed by many as well as vetted by a number of very experienced birders most familiar with the location they were vetting for. in my opinionated opinion those lists and that website have not been surpassed by any I've seen for fast and accurate dispersal of basic information, for recently-seen 'local' birds in NYC. And as Phil opined, the eBird.org web-based effort is, thus far, more full of holes than swiss cheese - and that problem isn't shrinking, for those who look at it as any sort of scientific data set. As pure entertainment that may help some folks, it's fine. It ain't science. Sorry, but that is just the way it is set up. If you or I can report a bird (or birds) that may or may not have been in a particular place at a particular time (and I don't even refer to rare or uncommon species for any given locality) then it is just that, a series of reports... as we can find all around the web. That is not science, however. And to make it completely clear I am referring to the Cornell- originated website with the suffix org, and not to Phil's current version of the ebirdsnyc list, a yahoo-groups list which is unrelated to the much wider Cornell / eBird efforts. The moniker ebirdsnyc also predates the ebird,org by quite some many years. The checklists prepared for Queens, for the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, for Prospect Park, and Central Park (each in their most recently-revised versions) are all in their own ways quite good at the basic info that a checklist should provide all have been extensively vetted by multiple experienced birders for fairly high level of accuracy and quality. Kudos to the many who helped to compile them particularly to those who edited them. There just may be some additional checklists that will come to light for specific locations within NYC. The two boroughs perhaps in need of at least a basic checklist would be Staten Island (Richmond County) and The Bronx, both rich birding and ornithological hot-beds over a period of many, many years - a century even more. The borough of Richmond has been studied for a very long time and has proven a number of times to have the greatest diversity of sites for both breeding and wintering birds in NYC over a long period of time, even if the present-day status is changed due to massive development. It still retains many habitat remnants unique in NYC and some unique in the state. At a guess, and that is all it is, the borough of Queens may hold bragging rights to the most species of wild birds to be recorded in NYC, due in great part to the many observations made from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge since its creation as well as the extensive shore areas along with large tracts of intact forest in several larger wooded parks. In any case each borough has its own unique and special places for birds and much more in nature. In New York City, there is a vast potential for nature studies, especially so in all the other 4 boroughs but amazingly even in busy Manhattan. A nice resource for Brooklyn sightings is the birding blog maintained by Peter Dorosh of Brooklyn/ Kings County and often reported to by multiple birders of that borough ... just today the blog contains mention of a good sighting for there, Black Vulture, along with many other nice birds of the day. It gets updated very regularly about all year 'round. For Staten Island/Richmond County a good naturalist's resource has been the yahoo- group list with public archives, the SINaturaList available in the yahoo groups at that exact spelling and updated a lot, especially by some of that borough's more active birder-naturalists. There are also bunches of other blogs and such that offer more insights into nature in NYC, some that specialize in one area and others quite general in the topics covered. In a few years, perhaps every individual will simply blog on their own personal take from their patch! There might be as much insight in that effort as all of what the ebird.org project is attempting... perhaps depending on what one accepts as science... Among my favorite Central Park encounters of all time was from some years ago, as I passed the well-known bridge to and from The Ramble, at the height of spring bird migration. A
