Global Shorebird Counting coverage by countries

Since we launched the Global Shorebird Counting Program we aimed to reach and involve as many birdwatchers from different countries as possible in accordance with our mission. Without a doubt, Global Shorebird Counting progressed well over the years and by now it became a very popular program especially in counties where contribution to eBird is strong anyway. Language issues might play important role in not being able to reach birders in certain countries such as Russia, Poland, Turkey but we could list other countries like Germany, Austria and many Asian countries with surprisingly low participation.

Let’s have a deeper look at the maps on our eBird account.

All time records show a great contribution rate from most of the Americas with only a few countries is missing from the completion. States of the USA are well covered and only in a few states (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota and West Virginia) we have never been able to get engaged with birdwatchers to participate. Similarly in Europe participation is very weak in countries where eBird is not widely used and language barriers might be an issue. It would be a great challenge to get important countries involved along the Wadden Sea or the Spanish and French important sites for waders. The World Shorebirds Day Ambassadorship Progam might help in reaching out more birders on country, state or regional level. We will send out information to locals through our ambassadors and hopefully we can see differences in the number of submitted checklists.

Global Shorebird Counting coverage in all countries between 2014-2017. Source: eBird World Shorebirds Day account

Global Shorebird Counting coverage in the United States of America between 2014-2017. Source: eBird World Shorebirds Day account

Below this chart forest looks a little too technical but gives you an idea how countries have performed for last four years. Charts show the number of submitted checklists (both complete and partial checklists) by countries between 2014–2017 (best viewed in slideshow mode). The fluctiations between years are rather

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For a little encouragement here is the list of countries that have never been involved in the Global Shorebird Counting. Can we change it:

Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Antigua & Barbuda Armenia Bahrain Bangladesh Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana British Virgin Is. Brunei Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Comoros Cook Islands Cote d’Ivoire Croatia Cyprus Democratic Republic of Congo Djibouti Dominica Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faroe Islands Fiji Finland French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gaza Strip Georgia Ghana Gibraltar Greenland Grenada Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Iceland Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Luxembourg Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Fed. St. Moldova Monaco N. Mariana Islands Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia Niger Nigeria North Korea Oman Pakistan Papua New Guinea Philippines Poland Republic of the Congo Reunion Rwanda Saint Helena Saint Kitts & Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome & Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Solomon Islands Somalia Sri Lanka St Pierre & Miquelon Sudan Suriname Swaziland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania (a few locations for the 2018 counts have already been registered) The Gambia Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda United Arab Emirates Uruguay USA, Iowa USA, Minnesota USA, Nebraska USA, Nevada USA, New Hampshire USA, North Dakota USA, West Virginia Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vietnam Wallis and Futuna West Bank Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

So, here is where we are now with the registration of 2018 counting locations at the very momentt.

Registered locations for the 2018 counts in southwest Europe.

Registered locations for the 2018 counts in eastern central Europe and the Balkans.

Registered locations for the 2018 counts in Great Britain.

Registered locations for the 2018 counts in North America.

Registered locations for the 2018 counts in Africa south of the Sahara.

Registered locations for the 2018 counts in India.

Registered locations for the 2018 counts in Australasia.