diff --git a/src/ebird.clj b/src/ebird.clj
index 6bd68e2..e4b5060 100644
--- a/src/ebird.clj
+++ b/src/ebird.clj
@@ -36,9 +36,13 @@
 (defn get-recent 
   ([lat lng] (call-api "data/obs/geo/recent" {"lat" lat "lng" lng "dist" 50}))
   ([species] (get-recent species latitude longitude))
-  ([species lat lng] 
-   (call-api (str "data/obs/geo/recent/" (get-code species))
-             {"lat" lat "lng" lng "dist" 50})))
+  ([species lat lng]
+   (let [code (get-code species)]
+     (if code
+       (call-api (str "data/obs/geo/recent/" code)
+                 {"lat" lat "lng" lng "dist" 50})
+       []))))
+
 (defn summarise-recent [recent]
   (reduce 
     (fn [acc obs] {:bird-count (+ (or 1 (:how-many obs)) (:bird-count acc))