The Bird Monitoring Data Exchange (BMDE) is a standard way of formatting data that is used by all datasets downloaded from NatureCounts. It is a common set of fields (like the columns in a spreadsheet) that capture the details of an observation. It was developed for birds, but can also be used to describe observations of other taxa, such as butterflies and amphibians.

Using the same data standard for all data in NatureCounts ensures that data from various sources can be easily compared and examined using the same workflows or analyses. It also means that, once you are familiar with the BMDE, you can quickly understand and work with any dataset from NatureCounts.

This tutorial will introduce you to the BMDE and how it is applied to the various types of data in NatureCounts. It will help you whether you are formatting data for import into NatureCounts, or analyzing BMDE-formatted data. You may choose to work through this resource in its entirety, or simply skip to the sections that are relevant to you.

Get started: Background & Definitions