San Diego, CA
Outdoors: This real-time online tool is for the birds
Just for a moment, I felt like the Wizard of Mt. Hoo.
A neighbor had casually asked me, “when can we expect the yellow-rumped warblers to be making their fall arrival in Southern California?”
With a confident tone, I said, “well, the first one was spotted on Mount Laguna on Aug. 8, but the main flock is not far behind, just up north in Big Bear and the Angeles National Forest.”
He looked at me with a mix of astonishment and disbelief.
I’m used to that. My three sons never believed half the things I told them, either.
But this was accurate and timely information that I had just gleaned from an amazing online resource that every wildbird lover should have.
It’s called eBird and this free program, available at ebird.org is a robust product managed by the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology, located on the edge of Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca, N.Y.
The success of eBird, however, is due to the collaborative efforts of hundreds of partner organizations and millions of citizen science contributors.
Readers may recall I have often mentioned eBird as a real-time resource to follow bird migrations and rare bird sightings as well as to keep records of your personal wildbird list.
But it’s far more than that, offering both the amateur and the professional birding community an unparalleled data collection that grows daily, thanks to the contributions of enthusiasts who have provided billions of observations since eBird’s creation in 2002.
Some of those observations come from remote and exotic places in the world, but most are from backyard birders who simply track the feathered visitors right outside their windows.
Last week, I had the opportunity to chat with Jenna Curtis, a member of the eBird staff who focuses on the intersection of science, conservation and public engagement. Her title is eBird Community Lead.
“My main goal is to help users so that eBird is a more effective platform,” Curtis said.
Those users’ range for the highest level of environmental scientists, to participants in high school science projects, or this happy birder on Mt. Hoo and millions like me.
Each of those sources provide a collective picture of bird data in what Curtis called, “the largest biodiversity project in the world.”
It’s citizen science on steroids.
And it has grown rapidly.
It took 19 years for 1 billion observations to be recorded. The next 1 billion were recorded in just four years, and Curtis predicts eBird will receive well over 3 billion observations by the end of this decade.
Curtis also works with some of the 2,000 volunteer bird experts who help validate observations submitted by participants.
Here’s how eBird works.
The first step is to create a free eBird account.
Account holders also have access to a free, online course called eBird Essentials that teaches birding skills and the basics of using eBird tools.
After creating an account, eBirders can log on at any time to submit a checklist that records location, time, date and a list of birds observed. Photos and sound recordings can also be uploaded when submitting the list.
Once reviewed and approved by the volunteer experts, your report becomes part of the massive eBird database that is not only valuable to backyard birders, but also for avian scientists monitoring bird populations, migrations and watching for red flags such as habitat changes, population declines or environmental threats.
“This is only possible through the millions of eBirders sharing experiences,” Curtis said. “I can’t stress enough how valuable this information is.”
Managing this amount of data is extremely difficult and requires massive amounts of computing power, but the information is becoming more accurate every day as the number of sightings increase.
Additionally, every checklist uploaded is kept so you have an ongoing record of your birding activity.
Another important feature offers members the ability to explore activity at birding hotspots around the world or in your neighborhood, search species by photos and sounds, and receive daily email alerts of bird sightings in geographic areas you define.
This is a great way to know about seasonal or rare birds as other eBirders report on sightings in your area of interest.
With the hundreds of thousands of checklists that are submitted and reviewed, the result is what Curtis calls a “high-resolution, extremely accurate data model.”
That’s why I was able to share with a neighbor information about when the first migrating yellow-rumped warbler of fall was recorded in San Diego County.
At a higher level, the data accumulated by eBird has been used by researchers to better understand bird distribution, gain deeper understanding of migration patterns, model population trends and predict bird populations over time.
This information has been critical in developing effective conservation and habitat management plans and broader conservation strategies.
The effectiveness of eBird also demonstrates how much wild birds are loved.
Curtis is just one of the millions who love wild birds, and she has recorded over 7,700 sightings on her checklists.
“What’s not to love? They are fun to watch; their behavior is amazing and no matter where you are in the world there are birds. That’s something very special and I want to share that with others,” Curtis said.
Upcoming events
The Friends of Palomar Mountain State Park are inviting the public to a free Harvest Festival from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Nov. 1 at the park.
Located on the western end of Palomar Mountain in San Diego’s North County, the 1,862-acre park is an alpine paradise, offering hiking trails, fishing, campgrounds and a scenic overlook from an active fire lookout tower.
This year’s festival is an expansion of the annual Apple Festival of past years, offering insights into the early history of the area, the pioneers who planted apple orchards, games, square dancing, food, music and crafts.
For additional information, visit friendsofpalomarsp.org.
The 20th annual Anza-Borrego Desert Photo Contest opens for submission of images from Nov. 1 to Dec. 10. The contest is open to photographers of all ages.
Categories include People Enjoying the Park; Animals, Plants, Landscapes and Nightscapes of Anza-Borrego, and a new youth category for high school age and younger.
For contest details, visit theabf.org/photocontest.
Cowan is a freelance columnist. Email ernie@packtrain.com or visit erniecowan.substack.com.
San Diego, CA
San Diego health officials monitor hantavirus situation as cruise ship passengers return to U.S.
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — American passengers from a cruise ship hit with a hantavirus outbreak are back in the United States.
San Diego County health officials say they are monitoring the situation and there is no need for panic.
“The risk to Californians is really low and especially here in San Diego. Since the year 2000, we’ve only had 4 cases of hantavirus and the majority of those were in travel related cases so not even acquired here locally,” Ankita Kadakia, deputy public health officer for the County of San Diego, said.
According to the CDC, hantavirus is spread through contact with infected rodents.
“The virus can be in their saliva, feces or droppings,” Kadakia said.
San Diego County does see cases of rodents infected with hantavirus, but the strain seen locally is not the same strain connected to the cruise ship outbreak.
“The vast majority of strains of hantavirus are mouse or animal to human transmission. Not human to human transmission. So the Andes strain, which is found in Argentina, there is evidence that there is human to human transmission,” Dr. Ahmed Salem, a pulmonologist at Sharp Memorial Hospital, said.
Salem treated hantavirus during the 2012 Yosemite National Park outbreak.
“One of the ways you die from hantavirus is you get a collapse of your cardiac system and your pulmonary system and you have to go on something called ECMO. It’s one of the most aggressive forms of life support that you can do. So I do remember that case, and unfortunately, that person passed away,” Salem said.
There is currently no cure or vaccine for hantavirus. Health officials stress that for those who were not on the cruise ship, the risk of contracting the virus remains low.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Here’s some instant reaction from the Padres’ wild 3-2 victory
It seemed like the same tired story.
Instead, it was the same thriller.
The Padres pushed their offensive lethargy as long as possible without paying for it Sunday, tying the game with two outs in the ninth inning on Nick Castellanos’ two-run homer and then celebrating after Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly in the 10th inning gave them a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals.
“Getting it done,” Machado said.
That’s it. That is all they are doing.
And at what is essentially the quarter mark of the season, the Padres are 24-16 and tied with the Dodgers atop the National League West.
The shocking component of their having the major leagues’ fifth-best record is that the Padres rank in the bottom three among MLB’s 30 teams in batting average and OPS.
They split with the Cardinals despite having 14 hits, their fewest in a four-game series in franchise history. Their 61 hits over their past 10 games are the fewest in a stretch that long since 2019, and they are 5-5 in those games.
“It sucks; we need to hit; Machado said. “I mean, you know, look, it’s obvious. We’re not hitting. It’s obvious, but we’re getting things done, man.”
Sunday was the Padres’ 12th victory this season in which the decisive run was scored in the seventh inning or later. That is exactly half their victories.
It was their fourth walk-off victory, their second in extra innings. It was the seventh time that a run scored in their final offensive half-inning decided a victory.
So it is no small thing to proffer that Sunday was possibly their most dramatic triumph. Because it was possibly their most unlikely one.
Not only were they a strike away from defeat, but they began the ninth inning having gotten two hits all day.
The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on their first two hits off Walker Buehler — a single by Alec Burleson and a home run by Jordan Walker with two outs. Buehler pitched six innings, allowing just one more hit before Ron Marinaccio worked two scoreless innings.
But the Padres were unable to make anything of their seven at-bats with runners in scoring position over the first eight innings. They had walked five times but had just Jackson Merrill’s third-inning single and Xander Bogaerts’ fourth-inning double to that point.
“Really good teams find ways to win games when they’re not doing their best,” Gavin Sheets said. “… We’re not clicking on all cylinders by any means. And I don’t think any of us would say that he’s on a roll right now, but we’re getting hits in a timely fashion and it’s someone different every night.”
Almost.
The Padres have game-winning RBIs from 10 different players. They have go-ahead RBIs from 13 of the 14 position players who have been on their roster this season. Sunday was Castellanos’s third game-tying RBI.
His home run, on the ninth pitch of his at-bat against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien, was something of a clinic by a veteran hitter who is in his first season as a role player.
Castellenos, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and remained in right field, came to the plate with Bogaerts at first base with two outs.
Bogaerts’ single leading off the inning had been followed by two strikeouts, and Castellanos fell behind 0-2 before working the count full and then sending a 99 mph sinker on the inner edge of the plate almost to the ribbon scoreboard fronting the second level of seats beyond left field.
“The first pitch started, and I was probably looking to do what I did,” he said. “And then I ended up getting 0-2 and chasing. After that, just took a deep breath and tried to shorten up as much as possible and just compete. Just find a way on base. And then found myself in a full account and was able to get the job done.”
It was the first home run allowed by O’Brien this season.
With closer Mason Miller not available after throwing 29 pitches over 1⅓ innings on Saturday, Jeremiah Estrada got the first two outs of the 10th. With runners on first and second, Adrian Morejón entered the game and got an inning-ending pop out on his first pitch.
Gordon Graceffo was on the mound for the Cardinals, and Ramón Laureano was the Padres’ automatic runner in the 10th. The Cardinals intentionally walked Merrill at the start before Fernando Tatis Jr. whittled a 1-2 count into a walk to load the bases.
The game was over one pitch later, when Machado sent a fastball to right-center field and Laureano slid across the plate well in front of right fielder Jordan Walker’s throw.
It was a somewhat subdued but still enthusiastic celebration along the first-base line, as teammates bounced around Machado.
“It’s hard to win a game like that,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “Their pitchers pitched great, and they’re bringing in one of the best closers in the game. And we just stuck with it. It just speaks to how those guys believe in themselves and how they believe in what we’ve got going on as a team.”
-
Movie Reviews3 minutes agoFilm Review: ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin’ Finds Paul Dano and Jude Law in a Compelling Throwback Political Drama – Awards Radar
-
World15 minutes ago
A South Korean startup captures workers’ techniques to develop AI brains for robots
-
News21 minutes agoInstructure Strikes Deal for Hackers for Return of Canvas Data
-
Politics27 minutes agoJudge Again Delays Guantánamo’s First Death-Penalty Terror Trial
-
Business33 minutes agoChina Increasingly Views Trump’s America as an Empire in Decline
-
Science39 minutes agoScientists Press Congress on Dismissal of National Science Foundation Board and Research Funding
-
Health45 minutes agoA Single Infusion Could Suppress H.I.V. for Years, Study Suggests
-
Culture57 minutes agoBook Review: ‘When the Forest Breathes,’ by Suzanne Simard
