Project eBird offers several incentives for birders
to interact with the database.
A recent tool in beta (provisional) release is a "gadget"
one adds to your iGoogle homepage. Don't have a
iGoogle homepage ... a simple click on the link provided
within the URL listed below creates the gadget automatically.
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/Google_Gadget.html
The result is a listing of the "rarities" flagged by eBird
filters for a given state. The default example is New York,
but once you have the gadget on an iGoogle page, you
can switch to Ohio where it will remain until you change it
again.
This is a provisional iteration of the tool ... meaning
there are a few caveats.
The "rarities" are based on checklist filters that themselves
are in beta. And although I have constructed 18 filters for
the state of Ohio (4 more planned), these are not fully
implemented by Project eBird. This will occasionally
manifest as a "rarity" slipping through in the form of
something only of local interest e.g. Yellow-bellied
Sapsucker in Dec. Also as the checklists were created
last year guided by biological parameters and not with
birders strictly in mind, some 'rarities' of interest to
birders presenlt may not be flagged ... I will be
revisiting all of the filters over the course of the winter.
Also, confirmation of a rarity requires my review which is
sporadic at best. Typically, I review records 3-5 times
a week ... pretty much any day I may be online. This does
not preclude a rarity appearing within the gadget, and
ultimately, it is up to the reader to judge the veracity of
a record in terms of whether one chases after it.
Also, as a rarity alert, the gadget is not about to replace
listservs or phone trees which get the word out very quickly.
Where the gadget shines is in its ability to pinpoint the
location of a rarity down to a few meters depending upon
how precise the observer chose to be. A click on the
Google map for that obsrvation brings up a level of
detail to aid in finding the bird that remains lacking in
most posts online. Although written directions will always
be helpful, I have found this mapping tool far easier to
interpret.
TRY IT NOW
Follow the instructions at the above URL to load the
gadget to an iGoogle page. Change to Ohio. You will
find a 29 Dec 07 entry for a Ross's Goose in Cuyahoga
county. You learn that the observer is David Lewis.
Although the site is listed as a "personal location",
clicking on the map will reveal the exact location,
complete with a printable road map. You can follow
this to The Links Golf Course off John
Rd. a mile west of Colombia Rd. in Olmsted Falls,
Cuyahoga County.
Of course, how well the gadget performs will ultimately
be a matter how precise observers choose to be in
mapping their observation.
And on the national stage ...
The iGoogle gadget is being explored by others suck as
Jack Siler with regard to bringing national rarities to light.
Please checkout his own provisional effort at
http://birdingonthe.net/gmaps/eBirdMap.html
where not only one can find rarities across the country
quickly, but they are color coded by degree of rarity
(I believe following the ABA designations).
cheers
Vic Fazio
Shaker Heights, OH
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