Understanding the distribution and dynamics of bird populations is among the most basic aspects of ornithology. Our foundation for most of this knowledge was gleaned by scientific collections. As ornithology matured, more novel techniques, including banding and satellite transmitters, have greatly increased our knowledge. But these new approaches are often costly and labor intensive. A new transformation is now underway, based on the recognition that there are tens of thousands of birders recording bird notes each day. Ebird attempts to harness these data-gathering literally millions of records from thousands of observers throughout the Western Hemisphere. Coupled with new mechanisms for dissemination and analysis of them, a birder’s observations now have the power to revolutionize the study of bird distribution, bird population dynamics and bird conservation. In a talk that is sure to be as energizing as it is education, Chris will discuss the role that birdwatchers can plan in tracking bird populations, and, ultimately better conserve them. Learn what you can do from your backyard, to trips to look for cranes and waterfowl.

Chris Wood is one of the leading authorities on bird identification and distribution in North America. He has written and consulted on a variety of books, popular and scientific literature on North American birds. Chris was the past photo quiz editor for Birding magazine as well as the editor for the online bird quizzes hosted by the American Birding Association, where he is currently a Board Member. He is also a senior leader for the birdwatching tour company WINGS, where he leads tours in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. Chris works full-time at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where he is the project leader for eBird - an online bird checklist project that gathers millions of bird observations to provide real-time information on bird abundance and distribution at a variety of spatial and temporal scales.