Birds of Alberta is an iNaturalist project focusing specifically on birds. It is best suited to casual observations—that is, birds you happen to encounter when not actively birding. These observations help to describe the diversity of bird species in the province and how they are distributed.
To participate, just take a photo or sound recording of any bird you encounter using the iNaturalist app, add the species name if you know it, and press the “Submit” button. Your observation will automatically be added to the project. You can view the tallied results anytime on the project website.
If you are actively birding—that is, keeping track of all the birds you see or hear on an outing—then it is best to use eBird to record your observations. This is because eBird is designed to collect “count” data, which iNaturalist is not. Count data from completed checklists can be statistically analyzed to estimate species abundance and trends, and not just distribution. Therefore, this approach is more valuable for science and conservation applications.
Birds of Alberta
