A Vermillion Flycatcher seen in our neighborhood in Tucson.

This year I signed up to be a part of eBird; I am kicking myself for not doing so years ago. As a somewhat casual birder for the past several years (going on 14 now!), I would cobble together handwritten lists of birds whenever I traveled or went hiking, but I didn't see myself as a "counter." However, I had never imagined that a reliable, structured database with quick and frictionless data-entry existed for bird observations. Nor had I thought that personal birding statistics would be something to my liking. Boy - I was definitively wrong on both counts.

Here's my (fledgling) eBird profile: https://ebird.org/profile/MTM0Njk2MA/US-AZ

A male Phainopepla spotted in Sabino Canyon, Tucson.

It's been fascinating to view birding lists of some of the country's top birders, their photographs, and notes (there are also some highly impressive geoscientist-birders on the platform). Though you can look at global statistics across the world, eBird also provides the ability to boil the numbers down to the county level as well (I'm currently ranked 242 in overall species sightings (72) for Pima County this year; ha!). The ease with which I can keep my observations in-check alongside locally moderated checklists, and upload media and metadata for birding trips from my phone has been highly enjoyable and super convenient! Even if you have a cursory interest in birding or identifying birds, I’d strongly recommend that you sign up. If you want to get into birding (an enjoyable activity during this time of social distancing), here is an excellent place to start.