So we’ve all heard of flash mobs, those crazy public events where a bunch of people connecting with each other on the Internet all show up at a shopping mall or a train station and start ballroom dancing or do yoga or whatever. While these events are generally purposeless, they do reveal the power of the Internet and social media to connect people in wonderfully spontaneous ways. It occurred to us that this same idea might help us connect bird enthusiasts across the state and get a real-time picture of what our natural landscape looks like at any given moment. And so we started what we call Flashbirding.

The basic idea is that we send out a message to people through our social media (our blog, Facebook, and Twitter) asking them to tell us what birds they’re seeing (on Twitter we use the hashtag #flashbird, so don't be surprised if you see that). People report back, we collect the responses and report them back a few hours later. The result has been several fascinating snapshots of what birds people are seeing throughout the state. A side benefit is that we’re encouraging people to step out of their everyday lives and tune into the natural world, if only for a single wonderful moment.

So far, flashbirding has taken two different forms. The one we’ve done most often is asking people to let us know about their first bird of the day. We send out the alert at sunrise in the hope that people checking into their social media accounts before breakfast will get the word before they leave the house. Then, hopefully, by the time they get to work or wherever, they’ve seen a bird and can log back in and tell us what it was. These have been great so far.

Just this week, we tried something even more spontaneous. We sent out a message at noon asking people to either look out their windows, or better, walk outside and spend 10 minutes looking at birds. The resulting list was fantastic.

We've seen some great birds through this, but we've also seen our share of the more common Rock Doves, Crows, and House Sparrows. And that's just fine. Not everybody is going to step outside and see a Bald Eagle. All birds are amazing, even the common ones.

So what does this all mean? Does it matter if it means anything if several hundred people from around the state connect through their love of California’s birds?

That said, this is very interesting, and if feels to us that we’re onto something here. Perhaps this is a new way to track bird populations, to inspire what we call citizen science. The possibilities seem endless. While we’re hashing that out, let’s just have some fun. Connect with us through our blog, Facebook and Twitter and keep an eye out for the next flashbirding opportunity. You never know what will happen.