Adding to Scott Albaugh's post about Pike Island, the border needs a little
more explanation. Which state? While it is true the border between WV and
Ohio is the northern bank of the Ohio River, the survey was done before the
river was dammed and in some places is quite aways from the current bank.
For official records, records committee level sightings, use the USGS
topographic maps. For example at Rayland Marina/Warrenton Inlet the border
is roughly the middle of the river. For Pike Island (actual island is above
the dam and under water) the official border is roughly the forth pylon on
the dam. Because the spillway is on the Ohio side and water rarely flows
over it in any volume, there is little current on the Ohio side and the
vast majority of birds seen will be within Ohio's official borders. For
records level rarities where the location is in doubt, take at least two
and preferably three photos showing the opposite bank so its location can
be triangulated, if you are so inclined.
BBCs, OH and WV, use DeLorme and eBird uses Google Maps. Both of these use
the current bank in most places along the length of the river. Given the
difficulty in locating the true border, this is a prudent solution.
However, if you use eBird as your Ohio life list keeper, birds entered from
the Pike Island hotspot will be coded WV, including land birds on the list.
For data analysis, eBird ignores political subdivisions but must use them
to make data entry reasonably consistent.
And, of course, the birds don't give a damn about where we want to put them.
Scott Pendleton
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