[TN-Bird] EBird: 3 new pond hotspots in Blount County

From: Carole Gobert <cpgobert@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Tennessee Bird List <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2014 11:31:59 -0400

The many checklists being entered recently into eBird of the
3 American Avocets found on a small pond (Stilt Pond) in Blount County prompted
someone to contact me and ask that this pond be made a hotspot.  I have done 
that and have also created two
other nearby pond hotspots:  Lowes Ferry
Rd--Stilt Pond, Phelps Dairy Farm Pond and Hitch Pond.  All three ponds are 
birded fairly heavily in
the winter season as they attract a good variety of waterfowl.  Those of you 
familiar with the area can skip
the next paragraph.

 

Driving roughly northwest on Ralph Phelps Road, just before
you reach its end you’ll pass through Phelps Dairy Farm.  Drive slowly; there 
could be cows crossing
the road.  On your left is a large pond
commonly referred to as Phelps Dairy Pond. 
Turn right at the stop sign onto Lowes Ferry Road and 2/10 of a mile on
your right is a smaller pond (Stilt Pond). 
If you keep going, you’ll soon start to see another large pond on the
right but farther back off the road; this is Hitch Pond.  After passing Hitch 
Pond, take the next road
on the right  (the sign says ______ Farms
but I can’t remember just what), go about a tenth of a mile down hill and pull
over on the shoulder.  This is the safest
location for viewing Hitch Pond. 

 

The three American Avocets are being seen on Stilt
Pond.  This pond got its name from
another famous visitor ten years ago. 
Jim Humans found a Black-necked Stilt on this small pond on October 9,
2004.  The stilt stayed around for about
2 weeks and was seen by many birders, but only three reported it to eBird.  
Ebird was pretty new in 2004 and not many
people were using it.  If you are one of
the many eBirders who saw the stilt in 2004, it’s not too late to send in a
checklist with your sighting.

 

None of these ponds has been an eBird hotspot though they
are all hotspots in the true sense of the word. 
They are all on private land but can be viewed from public roads.  

 

I encourage you to use these hotspots in entering your
checklists.  When you use the mapping
tool, the current hotspots appear as red markers and you need to click on the
marker to see the hotspot
name.  

 

If you have already entered checklists for any of these
ponds, you can merge your personal location with the hotspot and I hope that
most of you will choose to do this.  The
great advantage to having hotspots is to allow easy exploration of the data for
the site.  You will still be able to
create bar charts, etc. showing just your own observations there but you (and
others) will also be able to see the larger picture.

 

Here are the instructions for merging:  From the "My eBird" tab under the
"My Observations" column on the right, choose "Manage my
Locations."  Using the search box on the left, find your location and
click to open it.  Your location will appear on the map screen as a large
green radio button.  Select "Merge" and zoom out until you see a
smaller red radio button for the hotspot.  Viewing the map as a satellite
image will allow you to zoom out farther which may be necessary if the two 
locations
are very close together.  Once you see the red button, click on it and its
name will appear.  You will now be asked if you want to merge your
checklist/s with the hotspot.  Leave the "Delete after merging"
option checked and click on the merge bar on the left.  When asked if
you’re sure say “yes” and all your checklists for that site will appear in the
hotspot. 

 

If you do not feel comfortable doing the merge yourself, I
can do it for you.  Simply click on the
Suggest as a Hotspot bar at the top of your location and I’ll take if from
there.

 

It is also possible to move checklists individually into the
hotspot by opening the checklists, clicking on “edit location” at the top right
and using the mapping feature. This works fine if you only have one or two
checklists but with a larger number the merge option would be much quicker.

 

Any question, please contact me.

 

Carole Gobert

eBird Hotspot Administrator for Tennessee
[TN-Bird] EBird: 3 new pond hotspots in Blount County

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