Introduction

About the interactive database and monitoring program
About the Web site
About funding and work on this project

How to use this site

Minimum browser requirements
Registration
New users
Login
Current users
New location entry
Viewing Observations
Bird Information for Chicago Wilderness
Feedback
Who to call for more information

Bird monitoring initiatives by citizen scientists have been active in the Chicago region for over a decade and a half. In the past, a lack of standardized protocols and the daunting task of entering reams of data into digitized files has meant that much if not all of the information amassed over the past years remained largely inaccessible and difficult to analyze. In a 1998 effort - spearheaded by Judy Pollock, Alan Anderson, Terry Schilling, Lee Ramsey, and Elizabeth Sanders of the Bird Conservation Network (BCN), with major participation from a group of dedicated birders, scientists, land managers and conservationists including Jerry Garden (Chicago Audubon Society), Jerry Sullivan (Cook County Forest Preserve District), Doug Stotz (Field Museum), Stephen Packard (Audubon - Chicago Region) and Dan Niven (Illinois Natural History Survey) - a standardized protocol for bird monitoring was implemented which transformed monitoring practices and resolved central difficulties. Instant publication and analysis of this data via the world wide web became a reality in 2001 when Cornell Lab of Ornithology's BirdSource teamed up with the BCN and the Field Museum to unveil a new web site. This site came about thanks to the efforts of Debby Moskovits and Doug Stotz (Field Museum), Terry Schilling, Lee Ramsey, Alan Anderson and Suzanne Checchia (BCN volunteers), Steve Kelling and Michael Brutvan (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and Judy Pollock, Rickie White and Steve Frankel (Audubon-Chicago Region).

The Field Museum's Environmental and Conservation Programs (ECP) department developed the initial web site, and these introductory pages reside on a server at The Field Museum. Programming for the initial site was written by Tim Krauskopf, Head of Information Services, The Field Museum. Chris Petersen did site design. Primary Investigator is Doug Stotz, Ph.D., Conservation Ecologist - Zoology, ECP, The Field Museum and Co-Investigator and project coordinator was Adam Kashuba, Office and Data Coordinator, ECP The Field Museum. Neil Young of the Field Museum programmed the first revision to the data access pages.

By arrangement with the Field Museum and the Bird Conservation Network, the data storage and analysis pages are now hosted by BirdSource, a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. The tasks of data verification and analyses are shared among ECP staff and the Bird Conservation Network.

Minimum Browser Requirements for the BirdSource site:

• Netscape Communicator/Navigator 4 and higher
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and higher

The BirdSource instruction page has extensive information about updating your browser.

Registration:

Before you log on to this site, you will first have to register. To do this, you need a "Bird Conservation Network Identifier". If you are not registered with the Bird Conservation Network as a monitor, or do not have this identifier, contact LeeRamsey@aol.com, who will assign you one. Once you get it, go to the "Create Your Citizen Science Online Profile" page at BirdSource. Notice that you are registering as a BirdSource user. Choose your user name (we suggest using your first and last names) and a password that you will remember. The password must be at least 5 characters long and contain at least one number. Fill out the rest of the form so that we know who you are and how to contact you, and continue to the next page. There you will enter your BCN Identifier that you received from Lee Ramsey, and you'll be ready to enter data.

Using the new site for the first time:

The BirdSource web site uses cookies to keep track of your login status, and will not function without them. Most browsers accept cookies by default. You will receive an error message if you log in and cookies are disabled. To learn how to enable cookies in your browser, please see their browser configuration directions. If you would like further directions or assistance, please go to the login page and press the "Help" button.

Once you have registered, you may enter data by clicking on the Data Entering/Editing link on the home page. You will then be sent to the data entry pages created for BCN by BirdSource.

Please read the instructions at the top of the first BirdSource data entry page carefully before attempting to enter data - you will save yourself a lot of time that way! You may also want to review the FAQ, which contains information related to all types of data entry questions including problems you may be having accessing the program with your browser and computer settings.

If you have used the old site, and this is your first time using the BirdSource site, please read "For monitors using the new BirdSource site for the first time" below.

Login:

Once you have registered and cookies are enabled on your browser, when you click on the Data Entering/Editing link on the home page, the BirdSource Data Input page will appear. You will be automatically logged in and your user name will appear. Notice that you can login as a different person from this screen as well. Use this feature if you are entering data for someone else. If you want to enter data you collected and then want to enter data for someone else, you MUST go back to the first Data Input ("Welcome") page, log out and then log in again with the other person's name and password. If you do not, all observations you enter will be cataloged under one User Name and ID. If you need to change your login information, edit your User Profile here.

Current monitors using the new BirdSource site for the first time:

First, make sure you're using an up-to-date browser.

There are several important differences between the new BirdSource site and the site you have been using in the past.

1. For point counts, each point is a separate site. At present, we are not able to group the points under your site name as we were in the past. Please use the naming conventions in the following example, including the spaces, so that we have a consistent frame of reference.
• Point Counts (use specific coordinates for each point): Air Station Prairie P1, Air Station Prairie P2, Air Station Prairie P3, etc.
• Transects (use coordinates for both starting and ending points of your transect): Air Station Prairie T1S, Air Station Prairie T1E, Air Station Prairie T2S, Air Station Prairie T2E, etc. If your transect describes a loop, with the end point near or at the start point, choose the point on the transect furthest away from the start, and enter it as a "middle" point, i.e. "Air Station Prairie T1M" instead of "Air Station Prairie T1E".
• Timed Observation (choose a point roughly in the center of your site): Air Station Prairie
2. We are no longer collecting breeding code data such as PR, CO, etc. If you see behavior indicating breeding by a rare or uncommon bird, use the comments section to send us that information, for example, "Sandhill Crane with chick" or "Veery carrying food".
3. If you make a mistake in entering bird data, you cannot change it in the record you have created once you have pressed "Enter Bird Observations". You must delete the entire record, or delete the species that you made a mistake on, and then create a new record - of the entire visit, or just one species, whichever you chose to delete.
4. Some things you post will become available to the public, so you may be concerned that your posting will cause disturbance to a nesting bird. People will have access to the name of the site and the fact that a sighting was made. They will not have access to the exact location of the point or the fact that nesting behavior was observed. In most cases, the vagueness of this information will be enough to ensure that the birds are not disturbed by numbers of other birders. However, there may be some cases where it would not be advisable to post even that level of information. If this is the case, do not post the data. Instead, call the land management agency and inform them of the species' presence. Call or e-mail the report in to the BCN office at (847) 965-1150, jpollock@audubon.org, and we will keep a paper copy of the sighting on file. If you have questions about what to do in a case like this, contact Doug Stotz at (312) 665-7438, stotz@fieldmuseum.org; or Judy Pollock (see above).

Enter New Location:

First check to see if your location is already in the database on the Chicago Wilderness output page. ONLY if it is NOT already in the database, please proceed to enter it. Enter a site name. Follow the BirdSource instructions (also found by clicking "Instructions" on the Data Input page) to name your site.

If you will only be entering timed observations for sites that are already on the list of Sites in the Database, you do not need to supply any site information. If you will be reporting any type of observations for a site that is not listed, please supply the following information at the time you register: a site name, the county in which the site is located, and latitude-longitude coordinates (4 digits) for the site (or a topographical map with the site marked). If you will be reporting point count or transect data for a site, please supply lat-lon coordinates (6 digits) for each point, or for the starting and ending points of the transect - or else mark the points or transect on a topographical map. In these cases you will also want to check with the county coordinator (see above) to see if the site has been or is being monitored. Currently, data can be entered only by users who are specifically registered for that site. All other data must be entered by the site's assigned monitor, or through the Audubon of the Chicago Region office.

A site name is an identifier you choose to identify your site. It should be readily identifiable to persons familiar with the area, and it should not be one that is easily confused with other listed sites (see site list). Lat-lon data may be determined through use of a web site such as www.topozone.com or with a GPS unit. BCN or Audubon Society staff can help with access to a GPS unit.

Show All Observations:

• To view observations in the database you do NOT need to LOGIN first.
  
  
• This list will show observations so far recorded. You may view all of them, or sort them by species, habitat, date or location.

Bird Information for Chicago Wilderness

• Once you click on the "list link", all of the birds in the database are displayed. They are displayed by common name, then genus and species. They are displayed in the same order as the printed out Species Count page. If you want to find a particular bird, use your Internet browser's "Search" or "Find in this page" function usually found in the EDIT menu. To view the descriptions and images of any species, click "ID".
  
  
• These images and text are provided by the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center of the US Geological Survey.

• COOK: Cook County Forest Preserve District (630) 257-2045
  
• DUPAGE: Forest Preserve District of DuPage County (630) 876-5929
  
• KANE: Kane County Forest Preserve District (847) 741-9798
  
• LAKE: Lake County Forest Preserve District (847) 948-7753 x212
  
• MCHENRY: McHenry County Conservation District (815) 678-4431
  
• WILL: Will County Forest Preserve District (708) 479-2255
  

Or for more information, call call the BCN office at 847-965-1150.

About filling out the forms:

• Doug Stotz (312) 665-7438, dstotz@fmnh.org
  
• Judy Pollock (847) 864-6393, bobolnk@ix.netcom.com