ebird

The eBird MCP Server provides a programmatic interface to access a wide range of eBird data through the MCP (Model Context Protocol). It exposes tools for retrieving recent and notable observations, nearby observations and hotspots, and taxonomy information. Clients can query these tools by calling the corresponding endpoints exposed by the ebird-mcp-server, supplying required parameters such as region codes, coordinates, or species codes. This enables AI assistants and other MCP clients to incorporate up-to-date birding data into conversations and workflows without direct API handling.

Available tools include: ebird_get_recent_observations, ebird_get_recent_observations_for_species, ebird_get_notable_observations, ebird_get_nearby_observations, ebird_get_nearby_notable_observations, ebird_get_hotspots, ebird_get_nearby_hotspots, ebird_get_taxonomy, and ebird_get_taxonomy_forms. Each tool accepts parameters like regionCode, lat/lng, distance, back (time window), maxResults, and detail levels (simple or full). For species-specific queries, you provide speciesCode. Use these tools to build rich, context-aware birding queries for your assistant workflows.

To use from an MCP client, reference the ebird-api MCP server in your client configuration and supply the required parameters for your query. Ensure your environment is configured with a valid eBird API key, and restart the client after saving changes.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js v14 or later
• npm (comes with Node.js)
• An eBird API key (obtain from the eBird API Key Request page)

Installation steps (recommended):

1. Install the ebird-mcp-server package globally (or use npx as shown in the configuration):

# Option A: Global install (recommended for Claude Desktop setup)
npm install -g ebird-mcp-server

2. Start the MCP server using the provided configuration (via Claude Desktop config or running directly):

# If using npx via the CLI as configured:
npx ebird-mcp-server --api-key YOUR_EBIRD_API_KEY

3. If you prefer a local install without npx/global install:

# Clone repository or download files, then install locally
npm install
node index.js --api-key YOUR_EBIRD_API_KEY

4. Verify the server is running and accessible through your MCP client by issuing a test query, e.g., get recent observations in a region:

# Example test (adjust to your client tooling):
# Query ebird_get_recent_observations with regionCode=US

5. For Claude Desktop integration, create or edit the Claude config as shown in the Quick Setup section and restart Claude Desktop after saving changes.

Environment and configuration tips:

• Keep your eBird API key secure. If you prefer not to embed the key in the command, you can set EBIRD_API_KEY in your environment and rely on the --api-key flag as a fallback.
• If you encounter rate limits or connectivity issues, check your network access to eBird and consider increasing the back or maxResults parameters to manage response sizes.
• Ensure the MCP server is restarted after any config change. When running via Claude Desktop, saving the config file typically triggers a reload on restart.
• The server supports both region-based and location-based queries; you can mix and match parameters like regionCode, lat, lng, and dist to tailor results for your use case.