Date:         Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:13:57 -0700
Reply-To:     Charlie <cmmbirds@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Charlie <cmmbirds@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      EBird info
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Hi folks,

I hope some of you find this helpful.

Charlie Muise
Georgia IBA Coordinator
http://www.atlantaaudubon.org/iba/

Another way to ensure your EBird entries have maximum value!

Please use the hotspots!  If you are entering data for the first time, check to see if the location you birded is a hotspot.  If it is, you will both save time and have more valuable information if you enter your observations under the hotspot on the map.

If you have previously birded a location which is an EBird Hotspot, your data will be more valuable if they are merged with that hotspot.  Almost every location that many people bird is a hotspot (Altamaha, Kennesaw, Jekyll, etc).

If you entered your list without checking if the location is a Hotspot, then your data may not show up to an expert who is using EBird for research or conservation.  Fortunately, there is an easy way to fix this.  But only YOU, the lister, have the power to change that!

Please check your account on EBird under “my locations” for any sites that are marked as personal, and which correspond to Hotspots.  If you find any, please merge them so that your list shows up on searches of the hotspots.

To do this, check out this web site, or follow the directions below
http://tinyurl.com/mozzl4

Open your account in EBird
Click on “My EBird”
From the right column of menu items, choose “Manage My Locations”
The list will appear, showing every site from which you’ve ever entered a list.
The column “type” will have a “P” for personal site, or “S” for shared site.

If you see the same name more than once, or very similar names, please determine if those sites need to be merged (directions for merging below)

If you see a “P” next to a place that many people bird, determine if that place has been designated as a hotspot.  If it has, please merge your personal site with the hot spot.

To merge locations:
- Click the edit box of the site you wish to merge into another.
- When the map shows other sites nearby (Sometimes you have to zoom out on the map to see if there is a hotspot) overlay with your location.
- click on the site you want to merge into.
- click the “delete site after merging” box

For example:
You birded Altamaha WMA, and listed it as a personal site.  Perhaps you did this before you knew that Altamaha was a Hotspot.  Your data will be used by more scientists and conservationists (Including the IBA program) if you merge your personal site with the Hotspot.

To do this:
- click the edit box next to the Altamaha site which has a “p” for personal.
- click the box to merge sites.
- after the map changes to reveal the Altamaha Hotspot, click the hotspot, then click the box to delete your personal spot after they are merged together.

After this is done, any further lists you enter for Altamaha will automatically be put into the Hotspot.

If you are unsure if an area is a hotspot and would like to see all Georgia hotspots, the easiest way is to click on the "View and Explore Data" tab, then select "Bar Charts."  Once there, select Georgia in the Region frame and "Hotspots in Georgia" in the subregion frame.  Click Continue.  Ebird will then display all the hotspots in Georgia in an easy to read format.

                            **********
To search GABO-L archives or manage your subscription, go to
http://www.listserv.uga.edu/archives/gabo-l.html

To contact a listowner, send message to
GABO-L-request@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

To view GABO-L information/guidelines, go to
http://www.gos.org/gabo.html