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December 2008

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From:
AARON BOONE <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
AARON BOONE <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 7 Dec 2008 21:54:16 -0500
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Hello Everyone,

In keeping with Vic Fazio's recent post about some of the great stuff available with Project eBird, I'd like to add something about their relatively new launch of a data import tool.

I frequently find myself in a position where internet access is not terribly reliable.  After a bit of birding, I may not be able to quickly get online to enter records into eBird.  With the new data import tool, all I need to do is set up an Excel file (in one of two possible formats) and add to it as I see fit.  Once I have several checklists in one file and the time to get online, I can simply choose the data import feature and upload everything in one shot.  It's incredibly convenient and avoids frustrations associated with spotty internet access while trying to do things like data entry.  Also, I personally find that entering numbers into an Excel spreadsheet goes much quicker than entering numbers through typical data entry forms on a web page.  

A link with detailed instructions about this new feature can be found at:

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/about/using-the-ebird-data-import-tool

If anyone has any questions about the date entry import tool, I'd be glad to try fielding some of these.

Good birding!

Aaron Boone
Columbus, Ohio

----- Original Message -----
From: Victor Fazio <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, December 5, 2008 10:19 pm
Subject: [Ohio-birds] Tracking Snowy Owls and White-winged Crossbills in Project eBird
To: [log in to unmask]

> The Ohio effort with Project eBird continues to grow and 
> I thank all of you who are participating in this checklist 
> program. November ended with a little more than 1200 
> checklist submissions and December is off to a good 
> start. As a gauge of growth, the 80+ thousand data entries
> for the spring season 08 compares with a little more than 
> 50 thousand the year before.
> 
> But it is not necessary to be an active participant to take
> advantage of this resource. While this is ultimately a 
> tool for conservation (building local databases
> property by property), birders can also track bird 
> movements to their advantage. From time to time you
> may wish to step back and see the forest for the trees.
> 
> As an exercise to introduce those unfamilar with eBird
> or have not been by the website http://ebird.org/ in the 
> last 6 months to review the many cool
>  new features,
>  I
> thought to put together these instructions demonstrating
> how one may quickly examine eBird for trends ...  
> 
> If you care to please visit http://ebird.org/ now ...
> (or save for a dreary, bitter day)
> 
> ... from the Welcome Page ... scroll down past the
> eBird Photo pool (new feature ... if you like take a 
> moment to check out the cool Eurasian Wigeon X
> American hybrid) ... to the 
> 
> Most Checklists Submitted for Current Month ...
> 
> There find Ohio ... barely leading Texas at the moment
> in the standings and select OHIO
> 
> Up comes the 2008 bar chart of sightings to date
> ... ignore the 326 species total (it includes 15 non species taxa).
> 
> These sightings are a composite of filtered listings with several
> hundred individually vetted by myself (I'll spare you the details
> but if asked I will provide details of what takes 20hrs/month). 
> I only mention this as a remarkable amount of correspondence 
> reflects the opinion this database has no
>  such constraints.
>  
> 
> First up SNOWY OWL ... scroll down to select Snowy Owl
> 
> If on the way a favorite species catches your eye ... by all means
> take your time .. in doing so you just might find yourself marveling
> at how well the bar chart mirrors published bar charts for the 
> state ... not bad for a bunch of amateurs ;-)
> 
> Selecting Snowy Owl will bring up the Frequency chart for that
> species and a bunch of other stats you can ignore at the moment.
> If you do not have broad band ... this can take a couple of minutes
> -sorry.
> 
> Once the clock has wound down, hopefully the MAP tab is 
> showing at right. Select MAP.
> 
> A map should appear ... if not refer to the instructions regarding
> flash player at the bottom of the page ... again sorry but old
> systems (my 9 yr old Win98 machine included) may well have 
> trouble loading the player.
> 
> The map should depict 8 of the 9 reports I have seen thus 
> far this fall season.
>  If you wish a
>  closer view of one of these
> ... at the county level .. find the CHANGE LOCATION tab 
> above the map and to the right. Select Change Location. 
> Under the United States menu find Ohio and highlight that
> entry (it may take a few seconds for the full menu to appear).
> 
> With Ohio selected, select the radio button for Counties in Ohio.
> Select Continue at the bottom of the page. In this example
> try Lucas County. Repeat the above instructions regarding Map
> selection.
> 
> Unfortunately, eBird 2.0 cannot zoom in further on these 
> records ... that feature is reserved for flagged records (more
> on that later). 
> 
> Now let's take a look at White-winged Crossbill. You could 
> start all over again but hardly necessary ... above the map
> to the left find the CHANGE SPECIES tab. 
> 
> Type in White-winged Crossbill ... and select the menu
> offering. Deselect the Snowy Owl ... and click CONTINUE.
> 
> You are now looking
>  this year's reports in Lucas County
> by Greg Links, Matt Anderson, and Aaron Boone ...
> if you don't recall Aaron's report it is because it was WAY BACK
> in MAY ... just a little ahead of the curve. But we're interested
> in the recent flight so next up the CHANGE DATE tab
> select ENTIRE YEAR ... yeah that May record will still be
> there but unfortunately eBird 2.0. allows for only a seasonal
> breakdown which does not help us here.
> 
> NOTE: here you can change the year entry should you wish
> a historical perspective later. NOTE: except that so little
> historical data has been entered that this will be of limited 
> interest for now.
> 
> Select Continue ... and follow-up with a CHANGE LOCATION
> tab selection. You should find Ohio highlighted with counties
> also selected ... change the radio button selection to 
> ENTIRE REGION ... and CONTINUE.
> 
> The larger the database the system is calling up, the slower.
> 
> With
>  the Frequency chart up again, select the MAP tab
> for what should be a presentation of 14 locations (13
> in the past 10 days).
> 
> And there you are ... negotiated your way through the core
> data of eBird. There's more of course but hopefully this 
> provides some impetus for taking a closer look at eBird
> at your leisure. And who knows, after seeing all the gaps
> in coverage across the state, and across the bar charts,
> perhaps you will entertain entering a checklist or two
> ... from time to time.
> 
> Now I did mention something about flagged records
> and pinpointing these. There are two avenues whereby
> a rare record can be found precisely ... and I mean down 
> to the lightpole or bush providing the author of the 
> record made that specific effort. 
> 
> From the Welcome Page ... scroll down at the bottom right
> to access Jack Siler's eBird rarity map. Select OH.
> This Google Maps program allows one to zoom down
>  to
> the precise location of a bird ... or at least the birding site
> depending on how precise the observer chose to be. The
> other limitation is that Jack picks up only those species
> flagged by the system owing to what the checklist
> filters determine are species normally absent. A Snowy Owl
> in Cleveland is not going to get flagged ... where one would be
> in Columbus or Cincinnati.
> 
> There is also the iGoogle Gadget alert system. This will
> alert you (the instant an eBird report is made) to those 
> entries within eBird where a user had to click the "rare species"
> link for a given region in Ohio and update your google webpage
> with the most recent 7 days of reports. These reports
> also have maps attached, a notation as to whether I have
> vetted the report, and other
>  information. Again, to the degree
> the observer has chosen to locate the bird, one will be able
> to zoom into that location. And given the high grade
> satellite imagery in Google, it is entirely possible to locate 
> the very light lightpole upon a Snowy might sit. 
> 
> I wish to be clear that this is no substitute for the various
> birding forums on the Internet. It does not substitute for
> directions which often offer up valuable insight as to how
> best to approach a location, where to park etc. Nor does it
> substitute for documentations. But I do consider it a 
> valuable tool for birders and avian conservationists.
> 
> One last item about conservation. Among the many
> attributes of eBird, one stands out as unique. This is a
> database of sightings tied directly to a geographic
> position with unearthly precision. That may seem
> obvious to many, yet I find the implications of that
> frequently overlooked or misunderstood.
>  Please
> consider that land management practices 
> ultimately boil down to what we do with individual
> properties. Ohio faces some tough challenges from
> development. Ask yourself this when you get the
> call about a threat to your local park system, will
> the data be there to back up local land managers 
> in their efforts to secure the future of that site. 
> Linking the Important Bird Areas program of Audubon
> to eBird is good example. But without greater
> participation, my fear is this ...
> 
> that there will come a time when we will need to
> tilt at windmills, but in our ignorance find that is
> all we are doing.
> 
> Vic Fazio
> State Reviewer - Ohio, Project ebird
> Regional Editor: OH-WV-PA, North American Birds
> Lawton, OK
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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