GIS and Birdwatching

Birdwatching can be a great way to leisurely learn and participate in the practical use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Within this particular type of IT, spatial information is data that is pinned to a coordinate plane location that allows users to visualize patterns in a digital mapping interface. Specialists like Ornithologists use spatial information to track bird populations, develop insight on characteristics like their number, health, habitat, resources, and migration. Most of this bird atlas data is usually crowdsourced by amateur researchers and recreationists. 

Ebird, a sighting tracker app, developed by The Cornell Bird Lab and the Audubon Society, allows anyone to keep a list of encounters on their smartphones. This type of technology allows users to tag an identified species to a GPS location, which in GIS is known as georeferencing. A user can also upload all their individual sightings as well as get to view other users’ sightings. The analytical tools paired with the cartography tools on this app create the ability to layer this data over a chosen base-map to create a unique infographic. 

Public participation is essential to further research and conservation in bird-sighting spaces. Identifying a specific bird can bring many avid bird- lovers joy but also contributes to a better overall understanding of our avian friends.

Source: ebird.org