Bird watching is a relatively new hobby for me, so visiting new areas presents wonderful opportunities to view species either non-existent or rare in my area. Using a wonderful online tool, eBird, I was able to create a comprehensive list of birds I am likely to see on my upcoming road trip.

Download my list: ebird_list

To create my list I utilized the Explore Data –> Bar Charts section of eBird’s database. I selected each state I would visit and the “Hostspots” subregion option. (Note: to search by hotspot, you cannot select multiple states at time.) For each state I plan to actively bird watch I checked all of the possible hotspots for these areas. For example, in Colorado I plan to visit Dinosaur NM, Rocky Mountain NP, and Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR. Each location may have multiple hotspots, so in general, I selected them all.

After selecting the hotspots, I click continue and a bar chart appears listing species and their frequency of being seen in those specific areas. I narrowed my search by clicking the button for Change Date and selected Breeding Season (Jun-Jul) to make sure I was seeing an accurate seasonal list.

Since I will not likely spend time looking for rarities, I copied the list into excel and deleted species with a low frequency during my visiting time. I also deleted species that I have already seen and photographed, or frequently see on the east coast. After completing several states I was left with a listing of approximately 150 species.

Using other features, such as Species Maps I was able to add notes regarding distribution, frequency and location notes for species I wanted to actively seek.