NOT SO! Nobody will enter their bird lists into both eBird and Birdpost consistently.

So since Birdpost isn’t capable of producing DATA that is of value to researchers, it cannot avoid harming eBird, which is a REAL citizen-science project that helps bird conservation.

The only way that Birdpost could avoid harming eBird and other REAL citizen-science projects is if they reinvent themselves and address the issue of their data quality + interoperability. They are way too open for misidentifications, fabrications, “wishful thinking” sightings and other spurious data making its way into their database.

No valid research will come of Birdpost’s data as it currently exists.

QED.

Much of the Birdpost application seems to be a repackaging of some of eBird’s new features like Google Mapping, Notable Birds Gadget, etc.

They obviously used existing eBird features as the kernel, added a few social networking ‘bells and whistles’ (which birders won’t care about) and voila.

And unlike eBird, Birdpost is of zero value to bird researchers and conservationists, since Birdpost data is very poorly screened for misidentifications, spurious reports and “nut job” birders compared to eBird and other real citizen-science projects.

Birdpost is posing as “citizen science” when it is nothing of the sort! No reputable ornithologist would go near it as a data source / research tool!

I urge birders to use eBird instead – after all, it not only lets you record, track, map, search, alerts, etc. – but it also helps conserve the birds we care about.

Birdpost is a for-profit ripoff of an existing nonprofit product.

For Shame!