HERON

What is this site?

HERON is a complement to eBird that allows you to perform multiple types of “nearby” searches: notable sightings, recent species sightings, and hotspot. This site is differentiated from other tools based on its main goals:

Make it extremely simple for anyone to perform these popular searches
Enable you to use any browser (on desktop, phone, or tablet) without needing to install an additional mobile app
Provide the results in a tabular, sortable format with convenient links to eBird checklists, hotspots, species pages, and directions.

Beyond the basics, here are some examples of other available features that might be useful:

There are three different ways to set your search location: by zip code, by coordinates, or automatically using your device location. It's your choice!
The Recent species search interface shows you only species that have actually been seen recently based on the location, days, and distance selected.
You can search for up to 10 specific species in one shot.
It saves your Recent species search history so you can easily repeat the same multiple-species search later.
For all searches, I provide the distance to the location.

Why did you create this site?

I was ramping up on some new technologies (Django/Python), and it's much easier to learn by building something real and personally useful.

Now that it's functional, I'm inviting others from the birding community to try it out. Let’s give it some more mileage, and I'll let you decide whether this one is worth keeping or not based on your usage, feedback, and support. Also, maybe it's just one enhancement away from additional functionality you've been wishing for. Depending on your response, I can either scale it up or just shut it down!

Can't you get the same information directly from the eBird website, "Alerts" emails, or "Mobile Explore"?

Yes, but these other interfaces may provide the information in a different format, on a different frequency, or as "dots on a map." In some cases, other offerings have a complex array of options or are tough to navigate. Sometimes it's simpler to just open a browser and see the results in a list, especially for sorting!

For example, you can search for recent sightings of a species on the eBird "Range Map" and narrow it down to a month or two. But then you need to click on each red dot to see the specifics, and there's no way to sort by date.

There may also be some birders out there who don't use eBird or the eBird mobile app, and this site provides an easily accessible way to perform some of the same searches. Since the results links take you to eBird, this might be a great gateway to get more people started on eBird.

What data sources does your site use?

The primary source is the eBird API (Terms of Use).

For geocoding and lookups (e.g. ZIP code to latitude/longitude), the site uses Nominatim/OpenStreetMap (Usage Policy).

Why can't I search further than X days or Y miles?

Some restrictions are due to limits on the eBird API for the queries I use. For example, the Recent queries are limited to 30 days and 50 km (~31 miles). Note that the limits are different for each type of query, which is why the Notable queries allow you to search 250 km (~155 miles).

Why can I only search for recent observations of 10 bird species at a time?

Other restrictions are in place to avoid putting too heavy a burden on the APIs, which are generously made available to us. See the Usage Policy links above.

Does this work outside the of United States?

Yes, you should be able to use either the Geolocation button or type in your latitude & longitude to search using international locations. Note that the "ZIP" button is for US postal codes only.

Where did you get the bird photos?

I'm the photographer, and the photos are also posted on Macaulay Library (Copyright John Liber 2022):

How can I contribute sightings to eBird?

Here's a link to the eBird getting started page:
https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48001158707-get-started-with-ebird

I have feedback or ideas for improving the site. How can I reach you?

I'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].