eBird Bird Observations Scraper

eBird Bird Observations Scraper

Scrape recent and notable bird observations from any eBird region, up to a million records per run. Each sighting includes species, location, date, and observer details. Requires a free eBird API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

eBird's public API gives you structured access to millions of bird sightings, but building a paginated client and handling region codes takes time. This actor reads recent or notable observations for any region code you provide, using your free API key, and returns every matching record in one flat dataset. No manual API calls, no pagination logic to write.

Who uses it	What they scrape eBird for
Ornithologists	Monitor species occurrence and migration timing across a study area.
Conservation NGOs	Track rare or threatened species sightings for habitat protection decisions.
Birding tour operators	Find recent rarities and target species to plan guided trips.
Data journalists	Analyze regional bird population trends for environmental reporting.

What it does

This Actor collects recent or notable bird observations from the eBird API by region code and returns each sighting as a flat row.

• 📊 Recent observations: all sightings submitted to eBird for a region, with species, count, location, and observer.
• 🦉 Notable observations: rare or unusual sightings flagged by eBird's review process, including rarities and first records.
• 🌎 Any eBird region: country codes like US or MX, subnational codes like US-NY or CA-ON, or smaller hotspots.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with eBird data

📈 Monitor migration timing.

An ornithologist runs the actor daily for a state code to track first arrival dates of migratory species across seasons.

🦜 Find rare birds for a trip.

A tour guide scrapes notable observations for a country the week before a trip to locate target rarities for clients.

🗺️ Build a regional checklist.

A conservation group collects a year of recent observations for a province to update the official bird checklist.

📰 Report on urban bird diversity.

A journalist scrapes a city hotspot weekly and compares species counts month over month for a local news feature.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No pagination code	The actor handles API pagination and rate limits so you get a complete dataset.
Structured output	Every observation arrives as a flat row with species, location, date, and observer fields.
Free API key	eBird API keys are free and the actor stores yours securely in Apify.
Flexible export	Download your dataset as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for analysis or mapping.

How it compares

This actor focuses on observation data from the eBird API, while the other eBird scraper on Apify also offers taxonomy and hotspot endpoints.

Feature	ParseForge	eBird Scraper
Recent observations by region	Yes	Yes
Notable (rare) observations	Yes	Not listed
Species taxonomy search	Not listed	Yes
Birding hotspots by region	Not listed	Yes
Runs without an API key	Not listed	Yes

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with an eBird region code and choose between recent or notable observations. The maxItems limit stops the run once enough records are collected. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "regionCode": "US-NY",
 "observationType": "recent"
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "regionCode": "US-NY",
 "observationType": "recent"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.021 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.10
1,000 results	$21.00
10,000 results	$210.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the eBird Bird Observations Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to eBird through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/ebird-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting an authentication error?

Check that your eBird API key is entered correctly in the API Key field. Keys are case-sensitive. If the key is new, wait a few minutes for activation. Get a fresh key at https://ebird.org/api/keygen if needed.

Why am I getting no results?

Verify your region code is valid by looking it up on https://ebird.org/region. Also check that the observation type (recent or notable) has data for that region. Some regions have few notable sightings.

The run stopped before reaching maxItems.

The actor stops when the eBird API returns no more observations for the selected region and type. This is normal for small regions or notable observations where the total available is less than your maxItems setting.

I see duplicate observations in my dataset.

The eBird API may return the same observation if it appears in multiple API responses. Deduplicate your dataset after the run using the observation ID field or by removing rows with identical species, location, and date.

The actor is running slowly.

The eBird API has rate limits. The actor paces requests to stay within those limits. Large maxItems values will take longer. Try reducing maxItems or running multiple smaller jobs.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an eBird API key?	Yes. The actor requires a free eBird API key, which you can get at https://ebird.org/api/keygen with a free eBird account. Paste it into the API Key field when you configure the run.
What is an eBird region code?	Region codes identify countries (US, MX, GB), subnational areas (US-NY, CA-ON), or hotspots. You can find valid codes by browsing regions on https://ebird.org/region.
What is the difference between recent and notable observations?	Recent observations include all sightings submitted for a region. Notable observations are rare or unusual sightings flagged by eBird's review process, such as vagrant species or first records.
How many observations can I scrape in one run?	You set the maximum with the maxItems field, up to 1,000,000 per run. The actor stops when it reaches that count or when no more observations are available.
Does this actor handle API rate limits?	Yes. The actor respects eBird's rate limits and handles pagination automatically so your run completes without manual intervention.
Can I scrape multiple regions in one run?	Each run targets one region code. To scrape multiple regions, run the actor once per region code, or use Apify's scheduler to run a sequence.
What data fields does each observation include?	Each row includes species common and scientific names, observation date, location name and coordinates, observer name, count, and whether the sighting was approved or not yet reviewed.
Can I filter by species?	The eBird API returns all species for the region and observation type you select. To filter for a specific species, you can post-process the dataset after the run.
Is this actor affiliated with eBird or Cornell?	No. This is an independent tool that uses the public eBird API. You need your own free API key and must comply with eBird's terms of use.
What export formats are supported?	You can export your dataset in CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform after the run completes.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.