Two very cool things late this afternoon.



First, my son Adam and I went to LaDue to try some digiscoping with my new
spotting scope and his hand-held digital camera.  We spotted and
photographed an Osprey just after it finished eating a fish, a Great Egret
in the process of eating a fish, and a loon to see how the camera would do
at long distances.  The new scope is great but the pictures need some help.




The second cool thing was posting these pictures using Google's Picasso
site.  Adam set-up an account for me and uploaded the Osprey pictures.  Then
I tried my hand and found that you can select up to 6 pictures for
downloading at a time.  If this interests you (the Michigan list does this
all the time) then go to my site and check it out
http://picasaweb.google.com/mvalencic/Birds .  I guarantee it will not hurt
you!



Pick one of the pictures and click on it.  Give it a few seconds and it will
get larger (big files!).  Then scroll down the page and look at the map in
the lower left corner to see EXACTLY where we photographed the bird.



This is but one of the cool features of this site - the ability to put the
location on each picture.  After the picture is saved you simply scroll down
the page and select the option for adding the location.  Click on it and it
prompts you for the location - in this case I typed LaDue Reservoir, Auburn,
OH.  The map appeared out of cyber space with a little red indicator in the
middle of the lake.  At Adam's direction I put my cursor on the red
indicator and dragged (drug?) it to the spot where we saw the Osprey (the
red indicator has a little 'x' below it which you position right on the spot
you choose).  Let go of the red indicator and it is there for everyone to
see.  NO MORE DETAILED DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS - JUST POST YOUR PICTURES ON
YOUR PICASSO SITE AND ADD A LINK TO YOUR EMAIL.



Below the map is a link that will show you where all the birds in the album
were photographed.  Click on it and see where we were this evening!



Zoom out on the map to get an idea of where we are in Ohio.



Zoom in for specific street information (the Osprey was photographed from
Auburn Road where it crosses the back-water of LaDue.



Go to SATELLITE VIEW and see the actual location, trees, water and all!



You can create an album for each of your birding areas and fellow birders
will know exactly where you saw the Great Pot-bellied Flycatcher!



SO YOU DON'T HAVE PICTURES TO POST BUT WANT TO SHOW WHERE YOU WERE?  Use
Google Maps.  Open a Gmail account if you don't have one.  Then go to the
Google site and select MAPS.  Like before, type in your location (LaDue
Reservoir, Auburn, OH).  It gives you the map and an indicator.  Move the
indicator where you want it then SAVE the map with an appropriate name so
you will remember it later if you need it.  Now you have a link to attach to
future emails.



Regards,



Matt Valencic

Chagrin Falls, OH


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