MCAS Announces GLOBAL BIG DAY Field Trips on May 13th

GLOBAL BIG DAY [Courtesy The Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

Global Big Day, sponsored by eBird and The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is an annual celebration of the birds around you. On May 13th, no matter where you are, you can help celebrate Global Big Day & World Migratory Bird Day by birding in your community and using eBird to list and share the birds you find. You might be thinking, “But I don’t know how to use eBird.” Not to worry as this is a great opportunity to find out how eBird works and be supported by people who use it all the time.

Morro Coast Audubon Society’s Field Trip Committee invites you to celebrate Global Big Day by joining us on one of five special field trips, held simultaneously, with leaders offering in-the-field training for bird identification and for posting to eBird. The eBird app is free and you can install it on your home computer and/or your mobile device.

You are required to have an eBird/Cornell account to participate in one of the field trips. Create Your Account and save your Username and Password as you will need these later to access eBird. If you have time, take a look at eBird Essentials and the eBird short tutorial.

If you have been reluctant to try eBird because you think you have to be a “techie,” that simply is not true. Now is your chance to get some expert help and start your eBird adventures. I bet you get hooked and enjoy keeping track of the birds you see when out birding or even those in your backyard. If you don’t get hooked, you will still have a way to view all the bird lists we share from our Field Trips.

If you are not able to join us on one of these special field trips, we encourage you to still go birding on May 13th and show that SLO County Birders are engaged and supportive of bird conservation and research done through eBird and Cornell. Registration information and locations of the five trips will eventually be posted on the MCAS Events Calendar, the MCAS website, and the MCAS Facebook page.