Whew! I have a new way to see what birds were reported in an area near an eBird Hotspot. In doing so I was able to re-create some cool data I saw during the GBBC. OK, I got it!
But, it does not allow me to do what I want.
OK, here is what I want:
I want to get a total checklist of birds from one area over time. Case in point, how many birds have ever been recorded from Beaudette Park in Pontiac?
Note: all below references start with Explore Data in eBird.
On my first cut, I used the "All Time First Sightings" and selected Beaudette Park as a Hotspot. I fugured that any list of all birds must have had a first sighting - right? Yes, this is true.
It gave a total, but was a bit weird because the first recorded checklist was from 1974 and included, for example, Mute Swans in mid-summer as a first sighting. True, and it was the first record of the species at Beaudette, but these guys hang around all year! What it really told me that a life-long birder is entering life-long data into eBird, and this represents one of the earliest checklists there! . Really that is SO cool!!! Kudos to you Jim VanAllen!!! Whew, what a job you are taking on!!! And we will all really benefit from your efforts!!! If everyone entered historical data into eBird, it would start to approach all-time sightings. Yet so many of the wonderful first heroes of birding only kept their records in their field books - hopefully now housed in museums. For a real "first time arrival" (i.e., the earliest recorded arrival), the Cornell eBird folks would need great funding and an army of data loggers to do this task!
The next record of a Mute Swan was from 2000 which is more like when eBird became a birding tool. It will really be interesting to see how records accumulate as more life-long birders like Jim enter their data into eBird!
The total species recorded this slice was 107 - not too shabby for a small urban park!
The next slice I requested was going to "Arrivals and Departures" and chosing Arrivals. (Hey, if the bird was ever recorded there it had to arrive... right?) This made more sense. The results had the same number of species (107), but it showed (over the same period - 1974 to 2013) the earliest recorded "arrival" (i.e., the earliest date in any year when someone recorded the bird presence into eBird).
I refined it a bit and found that in 2013, so far 47 species are recorded there. Powerful tool!
Yet, I was still uneasy (see previous blog...). I can only query about the Beaudette Park Hotspot to get this data. What if there are personal eBird spots around there? Will the data be combined? The answer is "NO".
So I tried another slice of data. I picked "Point and Range Maps" under Explore Data.
This only works species by species and is another powerful tool. It is what I had seen during the GBBC and was quite fascinated with.
So, I picked a species fairly common at Beaudette Park, but not so common as to overwhelm the data: Hooded Merganser. I kept zooming in until I reached the max zoom with Beaudette centered. The Hotspot flag was there, but also four personal location flags for which "hoodies" had been recorded. YES! That is my answer and complemented the question I was raising before. It allowed me to see the names of the birders who had reported the bird in question on personal hotspots. And - significantly - all four are experienced birders, yet none of their observations had been included on the other "slices" of data I made for the Beaudette Park Hotspot!
So ... I now wonder how many species have really been recorded at Beaudette Park? Maybe it is the same, but I suspect it might be much higher if their personal sites would be merged with the Hotspot!
I know eBird could do a combined "patch" to see the combined total. But I think I can only do "patches" and "yards" for my own data. One solution is to allow eBird users to create "patches" or data slices by "drawing" a circle/box/whatever around an area within the Arrivals and Departure tool. I seem to remember this was proposed on eBird Tech Talk awhile back. I also know it will be an intensive (and expensive) software thing to do. But that is what I want. I want all the birds recorded at this park.
Having said that, I realize that this does not address the question I proposed originally in my last blog. It will not help at all at giving a list of all birds at e.g., Stoney Creek Metro Park Nature Center if people are only recording birds as "Stoney Creek Metro Park - Macomb County". And - see comments in previous blog - I am comfortable at how it works. But, just maybe, if people have the opportunity to draw a circle around an area to combine the data from a trip, they will be more interested in being more specific.
Bottom line:
I think in my last blog, I first had proposed a solution to the wrong question about using Hotspots . Yes, never a solution first - first a question! I think I have a better idea of what I need, and here proposed the right question. "Ring around an area?"
In the process, I reaffirmed the difficulty of getting people to be more specific. It will always be easier to record birds from a larger area than a specific spot included in the area. I am quite guilty of this myself as well.
Yet, I also learned SO much! Many birders are indeed being more specific! Now an additional question has arisen again about how to combine them for a list of all birds for an avifauna of a special place!!!
Fascinating, this birding and eBird stuff are ...
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michigan. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Oh, e-, please tell me (At what level do I record birds for eBird?)
I am up to date for my eBird records for this year! Well, at least I think so ... I do have lots of 3x5 cards on my desk and may find more reports.
Tonight I faced a familiar dilemma while entering data for a local place.At what level do I want to enter data?
When I first started entering eBird data, I tried to be as specific as possible. For large areas with diverse habitats, I knew there was a huge difference between Nature Centers with bird feeders and the ducks on the lakes in the same park. Hey, even as a new birder, I could figure this out ... :)
I initially thought about how the data might be used, and as a person who previously ran biological surveys (albeit in the marine environment), I tried to go with the more specific.I made lots of personal sites.
As I learned more about the workings of eBird, I saw many more "Hotspots" start emerging. I wanted my data to be included. I was pleased that a few of my suggestions as Hotspots were accepted for eBird (Thanks eBird - I do not suggest hotspots lightly...). And so it (i.e., the family of Hotspots) grows. ;)
Anyway, I started recording data more into Hotspots than the more specific personal locations I had previously used. Heck, I am not doing surveys, and get my birds into the right area. I am positive that on the national level of eBird, it matters little. I learned how to merge my past location data (yes, I still need to do more merges) into Hotspots.
It matters not at all from a "listing" point of view. My birds are recorded. I can see my records anytime I want! And, it does not matter from a county review, or the "top one hundred", or basically any eBird slice of data. I feel great that I am making a valuable contribution to national (and now international) bird distributions! Cool!!! Most of my records are birds I see on my deck each morning over coffee, and even those records are valuable. After a couple years of recording data, I now really get to see when birds appear and leave my deck. It has been fun recently to see the winter/spring border of arrivals here and comparing them with past records - and I can see my reports over time without going back to my journals!!! Cool!
YET .. something is missing!
By "taking the easy route" for most sites, I have lost data (no - not really, most of the data are still in my journals - which BTW probably no one will ever see... not that it matters on a grand scale...)
Tonight I entered all my deck birds for the last two weeks (up to date!), then went on to record birds Judy and I saw at Belle Isle (BI), Wayne County, Michigan last week and other places. I discovered a Hotspot that I think was not there when I first started recordng BI birds. I had a personal site called Belle Isle Nature Center. I found an eBird Hotspot at the same place called Belle Isle Nature Zoo (actually a more correct name because the Nature Center (NC) there is really an extension of the Detroit Zoo - they have Steve - a horny special deer - and his gals in an outside enclosure ... except when Steve is too frisky...). I merged my site with the Hotspot.
OK. But I had given up thru lazieness separating my bird data between the Nature Zoo and the remainder of Belle Isle (main Hotspot). It is so much easier to record Belle Isle for everything! It bugged me because of the huge difference between we see there at the feeders and what we see on the rest of the island. The difference is especially huge in winter!
Again I doubt it means little to national eBird data. Yet I know a great birder, Allen Chartier, has been studying birds on Belle Isle for several years and has extremely refined data. Allens's recent BI checklist on eBird can be seen at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13402242
And I also think about the the fact the Nature Zoo folks probably would love to have data to justify their existance (and probably also the cost of bird seed) and the eBird records would be invaluable for this.
Far beyond the present example, I have always been bothered that the local Metro Parks show up in eBird asHotspots; for example, Stoney Creek Metro Park - Oakland County or Stoney Creek Metro Park - Macomb County. I guess at Stoney Creek, I can see the smaller chunk of Oakland County as one Hotspot. Fine. You are either looking at the lake itself or walking the trails at West Branch, and the areas are very close and you can guess at where the bird (aquatic vs. forest) was seen.
The problem remains with the much larger Macomb County part of Stoney Creek that includes the Nature Center with feeders. I do not know if anyone is doing surveys there, but if I worked at the Nature Center, I would certainly love to have records of birds seen in my immediate area of responsibility!
Similarly, Kensington Metro Park. Most of the park is in Oakland County. The smaller piece in Livingston County is basically watching birds from the boardwalk or taking a hike around the smaller lake. OK. Fine. Yet, the Nature Center is in Oakland County - an area with quite diverse habitats! The Nature Center with its trails (where people can place seeds in their hands and have birds feed - WOW!) is a very special place indeed!
Oh! Dilemma!
Why should I care? Heck, the same thing exists at Streamwood Estates (where I live). We have a wonderful fairly long stretch along the Clinton River, but especially in winter, a walk along the river yields few birds except near areas where neighbors have feeders. Makes sense to me... I would much rather hang out near a fast food place in winter! I record my deck (feeder) birds separately from my river walks. And my site (combined = eBird "yard") is not anywhere as large as the afore-mentioned parks. Well, I guess this area is my survey site and it matters.
But the question I propose (Hey did you think this was just a "ramble" without a question?) is:
At what level of detail do we want to record eBird sightings? For the referenced cases, I guess I would like to think someone cares about the difference between nature center feeders and what birds are sighted "in the wilds". One solution is to have hotspots for NC areas, then label the remainder of the larger (eg., park/county) area as - for example, "Belle Isle except Nature Zoo"; "Stoney Creek Macomb County except Nature Center", and so on. Using eBird, it is easy to create a "patch" or "yard" that includes multiple sites, so if you wanted to see all Belle Isle Birds, or all Stoney Creek Metro Park birds, you just select and include them as part of the yard or patch!
I also think of Pte Mouillee (again with diverse habitats in a major area) as a candidate for more specificity (and I do see more hotspots there now than before...).
What do y'all think?
Thanks for reading my "ramble"!!! And - do please use eBird! It makes it easy to record your sightings and see your "life list" and offers an amazing variety of ways to "cut your data".
- "Dr. Bob"
Tonight I faced a familiar dilemma while entering data for a local place.At what level do I want to enter data?
When I first started entering eBird data, I tried to be as specific as possible. For large areas with diverse habitats, I knew there was a huge difference between Nature Centers with bird feeders and the ducks on the lakes in the same park. Hey, even as a new birder, I could figure this out ... :)
I initially thought about how the data might be used, and as a person who previously ran biological surveys (albeit in the marine environment), I tried to go with the more specific.I made lots of personal sites.
As I learned more about the workings of eBird, I saw many more "Hotspots" start emerging. I wanted my data to be included. I was pleased that a few of my suggestions as Hotspots were accepted for eBird (Thanks eBird - I do not suggest hotspots lightly...). And so it (i.e., the family of Hotspots) grows. ;)
Anyway, I started recording data more into Hotspots than the more specific personal locations I had previously used. Heck, I am not doing surveys, and get my birds into the right area. I am positive that on the national level of eBird, it matters little. I learned how to merge my past location data (yes, I still need to do more merges) into Hotspots.
It matters not at all from a "listing" point of view. My birds are recorded. I can see my records anytime I want! And, it does not matter from a county review, or the "top one hundred", or basically any eBird slice of data. I feel great that I am making a valuable contribution to national (and now international) bird distributions! Cool!!! Most of my records are birds I see on my deck each morning over coffee, and even those records are valuable. After a couple years of recording data, I now really get to see when birds appear and leave my deck. It has been fun recently to see the winter/spring border of arrivals here and comparing them with past records - and I can see my reports over time without going back to my journals!!! Cool!
YET .. something is missing!
By "taking the easy route" for most sites, I have lost data (no - not really, most of the data are still in my journals - which BTW probably no one will ever see... not that it matters on a grand scale...)
Tonight I entered all my deck birds for the last two weeks (up to date!), then went on to record birds Judy and I saw at Belle Isle (BI), Wayne County, Michigan last week and other places. I discovered a Hotspot that I think was not there when I first started recordng BI birds. I had a personal site called Belle Isle Nature Center. I found an eBird Hotspot at the same place called Belle Isle Nature Zoo (actually a more correct name because the Nature Center (NC) there is really an extension of the Detroit Zoo - they have Steve - a horny special deer - and his gals in an outside enclosure ... except when Steve is too frisky...). I merged my site with the Hotspot.
OK. But I had given up thru lazieness separating my bird data between the Nature Zoo and the remainder of Belle Isle (main Hotspot). It is so much easier to record Belle Isle for everything! It bugged me because of the huge difference between we see there at the feeders and what we see on the rest of the island. The difference is especially huge in winter!
Again I doubt it means little to national eBird data. Yet I know a great birder, Allen Chartier, has been studying birds on Belle Isle for several years and has extremely refined data. Allens's recent BI checklist on eBird can be seen at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13402242
And I also think about the the fact the Nature Zoo folks probably would love to have data to justify their existance (and probably also the cost of bird seed) and the eBird records would be invaluable for this.
Far beyond the present example, I have always been bothered that the local Metro Parks show up in eBird as
The problem remains with the much larger Macomb County part of Stoney Creek that includes the Nature Center with feeders. I do not know if anyone is doing surveys there, but if I worked at the Nature Center, I would certainly love to have records of birds seen in my immediate area of responsibility!
Similarly, Kensington Metro Park. Most of the park is in Oakland County. The smaller piece in Livingston County is basically watching birds from the boardwalk or taking a hike around the smaller lake. OK. Fine. Yet, the Nature Center is in Oakland County - an area with quite diverse habitats! The Nature Center with its trails (where people can place seeds in their hands and have birds feed - WOW!) is a very special place indeed!
Oh! Dilemma!
Why should I care? Heck, the same thing exists at Streamwood Estates (where I live). We have a wonderful fairly long stretch along the Clinton River, but especially in winter, a walk along the river yields few birds except near areas where neighbors have feeders. Makes sense to me... I would much rather hang out near a fast food place in winter! I record my deck (feeder) birds separately from my river walks. And my site (combined = eBird "yard") is not anywhere as large as the afore-mentioned parks. Well, I guess this area is my survey site and it matters.
But the question I propose (Hey did you think this was just a "ramble" without a question?) is:
At what level of detail do we want to record eBird sightings? For the referenced cases, I guess I would like to think someone cares about the difference between nature center feeders and what birds are sighted "in the wilds". One solution is to have hotspots for NC areas, then label the remainder of the larger (eg., park/county) area as - for example, "Belle Isle except Nature Zoo"; "Stoney Creek Macomb County except Nature Center", and so on. Using eBird, it is easy to create a "patch" or "yard" that includes multiple sites, so if you wanted to see all Belle Isle Birds, or all Stoney Creek Metro Park birds, you just select and include them as part of the yard or patch!
I also think of Pte Mouillee (again with diverse habitats in a major area) as a candidate for more specificity (and I do see more hotspots there now than before...).
What do y'all think?
Thanks for reading my "ramble"!!! And - do please use eBird! It makes it easy to record your sightings and see your "life list" and offers an amazing variety of ways to "cut your data".
- "Dr. Bob"
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Robert H. Long Nature Park - Commerce Twp. - MI
2009-07-24 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
Judy and I returned to Robert Long Park for another try at seeing the Red-Headed Woodpecker and Black-Crowned Night Heron we missed last time. Again we saw neither. But again, we had a wonderful time and added a new bird or two.
Here is the species list:
Canada Geese (lots!)
Great Egret (several). We were able to come fairly close to one who was feeding. Great photo ops!
Great Blue Herons (several)
Barn Swallows (nesting in the bridge and pavilion - some babies, but the babies have mostly left)
American Robins
Northern Flicker (one juvenile)
Red-Winged Blackbirds (common)
Ring-Billed gulls (lots)
Killdeer (several)
Mute Swans (several). It was interesting to get some pics with its wings sread out. You can really see that it was probably a swan that inspired artists' conceptions of angel wings!
American Goldfinch (uncommon)
Mallards (lots - lots of juveniles)
Mourning Doves (uncommon)
Double-Crested Cormorants(five adults sitting on stumps)
Pied-Billed Grebe
Judy and I returned to Robert Long Park for another try at seeing the Red-Headed Woodpecker and Black-Crowned Night Heron we missed last time. Again we saw neither. But again, we had a wonderful time and added a new bird or two.Here is the species list:
Canada Geese (lots!)
Great Egret (several). We were able to come fairly close to one who was feeding. Great photo ops!
Great Blue Herons (several)
Barn Swallows (nesting in the bridge and pavilion - some babies, but the babies have mostly left)
American Robins
Northern Flicker (one juvenile)
Red-Winged Blackbirds (common)
Ring-Billed gulls (lots)
Killdeer (several)
Mute Swans (several). It was interesting to get some pics with its wings sread out. You can really see that it was probably a swan that inspired artists' conceptions of angel wings!
American Goldfinch (uncommon)
Mallards (lots - lots of juveniles)
Mourning Doves (uncommon)
Double-Crested Cormorants(five adults sitting on stumps)
Pied-Billed Grebe
Cedar Waxwings (two)
Wood Duck? (young male)
Tree Swallows (a few - localized)
Phoebe or Wood-Peewee (pics too fuzzy to ID - I'll call it a "peephe" until I delete it)
Juvenile Brown-Headed Cowbird (I thought it was a House Finch with a weird beak))
House Wren (very vocal!)
Lesser Yellowlegs (a sandpiper guy)
I thought we finally heard the "Drink your tea" bird, but it only had one final note, and not the repeated last note I seem to find for the towhee usually associated with this mnemonic. (I'll have to keep searching...)
And, we saw a muskrat, several turtles, dragonflies (many species), butterflies (one monarch, and white ones).
This is a great place with several habitats, although the aquatic birds are most abundant.
It was interesting to see a couple of birders in business casual taking a lunch break here. What a great way to take lunch!
Another birder we met (who seems to frequent the spot) said he had not seen the Red-headed Woodpecker for a week or more, but told us where he normally saw it.
We plan to return periodically to see what shows up! What fun!
Cheers!
"Dr. Bob"
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