The preferred way to submit sightings is by using eBird. Many members are now doing this and it saves the Editor and the Editorial Committee a tremendous amount of time. I started to use eBird in January and it's very easy to use, once you get started, and allows you to track your birding information in a variety of ways. I would encourage everyone to give it a try. It also makes it easy for the editorial staff to retrieve information.

Traditionally, members have sent in a "Worcester County Checklist and Reporting Form." The current paper form is outdated as the taxonomic order of the birds has undergone changes in recent years and this makes it difficult for the Editor to use. An updated "Worcester County Checklist and Reporting Form" can now be found on the Forbush Web Site. You simply need to download the form to your desktop and you can type your sightings right into the form and at the send of the year, send it as an attachment to Charles Caron. At the end of the year you can print out the forms for your records or save it on your computer. The preferred format is Microsoft Excel (.xls), but for those without access to this software, a pdf version is available also.

I received a tremendous amount of help and guidance in this revision from Fran McMenemy and Paul Meleski. Joan Zumpfe used her extraordinary skills as a proofreader to get things right. Rick Quimby made an important suggestion in the layout of the pages. Kim Allen provided technical support and suggestions on the design of the spreadsheet. Without the help of these people, I could not have completed this project.

Sending reports to Rick Quimby's Recent Central Mass Bird Sightings is another way to get information to The Chickadee.

For those without computer access, copies of the new Checklist can be obtained by contacting Charles Caron at caronenv@aol.com. Please submit your sightings in any way that you can as it is vital for making The Chickadee a publication we all can be proud of.