Dear Atlasers,

If you checked your favourite pentads (or provinces) on the SABAP2 website today, you may have noticed some changes. We’re currently adding a large amount of eBird data into the SABAP2/ABAP system, which is a big step forward in our collaboration with eBird. eBird reached out to us to discuss how their data could support our atlas, and after working together for the past 18 months, we now have a partnership and process in place. Special thanks go to Ian Davies, Cullen Hanks, and Jasdev Imani from eBird, as well as Alain Jacot and Raph Nussbaumer from Vogelwarte, and Ulf Ottoson from ABAP for their hard work in making this happen.

We have done a lot of careful checking of the data before beginning this process, but we are aware that issues may remain and we have labelled the eBird data carefully so any issues can be addressed as needed (and so you can see which are the eBird data and account for these when checking up on your atlassing efforts!). This process will continue and we'll solve any issues that are encountered. We'll share an official announcement and additional information on the website for all observers soon. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out.

You can now use the eBird app to collect data for the ABAP project!

What is eBird?

eBird is a global citizen science platform where users can share and explore bird sightings for every species everywhere in the world. Learn more about eBird here.

ABAP and eBird have created a partnership that allows the eBird data to be imported into the African Bird Atlas Project, helping to grow our coverage, and opening the project to more observers and users by adding an additional platform to capture data in the field.

How to use eBird?

Create a free eBird account and download the eBird Mobile app. Read the “Get started” page for more information.

Here are two key differences between eBird and ABAP that you should be aware of:

• Single calendar date: While an ABAP card contains sightings spread over 5 consecutive days, the eBird approach seeks a fine temporal resolution, so checklists cannot span multiple days: they must be from a single calendar date. It is strongly recommended to record species over short durations (e.g., 1hr): stop your checklist whenever you stop birding, and create a new one when you start again.
• Number estimation: eBird collects counts of numbers for each species on each checklist (not the order in which birds were seen/heard). If you don’t count species, you can just put “X” that the bird was present and not counted. It is encouraged to always try to estimate bird numbers (an approximation is always better than presence-only data!). Learn more about how you can estimate numbers.

Similar to the full vs ad hoc protocols in ABAP, on eBird you must specify whether you have recorded all the species you were able to identify or not (complete/incomplete list).

What eBird data are included in ABAP?

To ensure your eBird checklist fits with the ABAP protocol (minimum of 2 hours of birding within a given pentad within a period of 5 consecutive days), make sure it follows these two basic requirements:

• Where: Your checklist should stay within a single pentad (9x9km). If you cross into a new pentad, start a new checklist! - check the BirdLasser app to view pentad borders.
• When: The sum of the durations of all your complete eBird checklists submitted in a single pentad must exceed 2 hours over a rolling period of 5 days. A checklist is complete when you have reported all species you were able to identify.

If you’ve fulfilled these two requirements, species reported on Incidental and incomplete checklists during the same period and pentad will also count on your card. The optimal scenario is thus to submit several complete checklists whenever you’re actively birding (main purpose) while still submitting any new species seen while not actively birding (e.g., during meals or in the car!) as incidental checklists.

How is data transferred to ABAP?

Each month, eBird data are automatically included in ABAP where they fit the data requirements. You don’t have to do anything, simply submit your eBird checklists and we do the rest! Thanks to the open access data provided by eBird, we download eBird data for Africa and convert eBird checklists into valid ABAP cards. Each card is the combination of all the checklists you submitted within a pentad over five consecutive days.

How to maximise the value of your sightings for eBird and ABAP

• Keep checklists short. For both eBird and ABAP, we strongly encourage you to split your checklists into short distances (1-5km max) and duration (1-2hr max), rather than having a single long checklist. This provides much finer-scale and richer data.
• Enable GPS tracking. The eBird app automatically tracks your movement, providing useful data for analysis and modelling, so make sure your GPS is on!
• Go birding in unexplored pentads. Ahead of your visit, study the coverage map (link) of the country and decide which pentad you’ll focus on (2hrs over 5 consecutive days) - there are still many pentads with no or little data waiting for you!
• Visit all possible habitats in a pentad. Check the pentad on Google map (satellite view) before you head out and target all possible habitats to maximise your species list!