[obol] Re: timely notification: OBOL vs eBird
- From: Steve Jaggers <sjjag@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Craig Tumer <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, paultsullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxx, obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2019 10:00:07 -0800 (PST)
Excellent! I had not used the function Craig presents below, it is exactly the
solution this in-experienced ebird user was needing.
And appreciation of how useful Obol is as a forum for such an exchange of
information!
Well done all.
Steve Jaggers
On January 3, 2019 at 9:36 AM Craig Tumer <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Paul et al.,
Reports of rarities need to be vetted by eBird reviewers before they show
up in the areas where you looked for WRSA sightings, as described below. That
can take quite some time. If the reports haven't been confirmed by a reviewer
they would not show up in the areas where you searched.
The easiest way to see recent rarity reports submitted to eBird is to go
to the "Alerts" section, which can be reached from the "Explore" page. Once
at the "Alerts" page, enter the county, state, or country you're interested
in, and eBird will generate a list of rare birds reported for that location
within the last week, regardless of whether the reports have been confirmed
by the eBird reviewer. It's really quite simple once you know where to look.
Fewer people are reporting sightings to OBOL than in the past, and posts
of l ong-staying rarities to OBOL die off pretty quickly after the first few
days of sightings.
Craig Tumer
Portland
------ Original Message --------
Subject: [obol] timely notification: OBOL vs eBird
From: "Paul Sullivan" < paultsullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxx
mailto:paultsullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxx ;>
Date: Thu, January 03, 2019 8:57 am
To: < obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
mailto:obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ;>
On a Wednesday last September a White-rumped Sandpiper was reported at the
north end of Necanicum estuary, at a place called Little Beach near Gearhart.
I went there on Thursday and got to see the bird, along with several other
birders. There were photos in OBOL and eBird reports.
On Friday someone hopeful for a weekend chase asked on OBOL if the bird was
still being seen. There were no OBOL reports on Friday.
Thinking there might be people who posted to eBird and not OBOL on Friday, and
wanting to be helpful, I went to eBird to look for reports of the bird. I went
to Explore Data and tried 4 avenues:
1. Species: I searched on White—rumped Sandpiper and got a map of the WORLD
with every White-rumped Sandpiper ever reported. Zooming in on NW Oregon I
found a pin drop out on the beach from last year.
2. Location; I searched on Clatsop county Oregon. That led me to the same pin
drop from last year.
3. Hot spot: I searched on hot spots and found that Little Beach in Gearhart is
not even listed as a hotspot. Why? A lot of good birds have been found there.
4. Recent checklists: Finally I went to recent checklists in Clatsop county.
I found a pile of checklists reporting Yellow-rumped warblers from Saddle Mt.
etc, etc.
Finally down in the pile I found a couple checklist from people who had seen
the White-rumped Sandpiper and even got good photos, but who hadn’t reported to
OBOL. Just what I was looking for. However, the reports were from late
Thursday. At that point I gave up the eChase. No new information.
I presume that my first three approaches didn’t find the sandpiper was because
the eBird reviewer hadn’t vetted the Wed – Thur reports. That’s just the
structure of eBird.
So eBird has the latest rare bird sightings, but they are buried in a blizzard
of checklists of ordinary birds. It’s not simple to search.
If I were subscribed to eBird alerts for White-rumped Sandpiper or for Clatsop
county, I might have got the information more quickly, but I don’t choose to be
signed up for reports from a wealth of places or about a wealth of species.
OBOL seems quicker and simpler to me.
Paul Sullivan
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