Last week a new east Tennessee eBird hotspot was created in response to the
suggestions of two birders who were among the many to travel there in search of
a recently spotted Mourning Warbler. The new hotspot is located along the
Maryville-Alcoa Greenway and is designated as a sublocation of that 9-mile
trail: Maryville-Alcoa Greenway--Pearson Springs Park.
The hotspot has now been used by 10 individuals to submit 20 checklsts but
there are others, including a few who had submitted theirs to the Maryville
Greenway before the hotspot existed. The Maryville Greenway covers quite a lot
of ground; its marker is placed on the lake just down from the library, several
miles from Pearson Springs Park. So if you birded Pearson Springs Park it would
be more accurate to place your list in the new hotspot. This is quite easily
accomplished by opening your checklist, selecting “Edit Location” near its top
and choosing “Nearby Location on a Map”. This will open a map with a bunch of
red teardrop hotspot markers; click on a marker to show its name. Once you've
found the correct marker, simply choose “Continue” and your checklist is moved.
I used to bird the Maryville Greenway quite often and I became curious as to
how close I had come to Pearson Springs Park. When I looked I discovered to my
complete surprise that in 2010 and 2011, I had three times walked the .75 mile
stretch from Sandy Springs Park to Montgomery Lane, taking me smack dab through
Pearson Springs Park for more than half the distance. I recall that I was
simply using Sandy Springs Park as a place to leave my car before setting out.
I had created a personal location and had placed the marker very close to where
the Pearson Springs Park hotspot maker is now. Rather than moving each of the
three lists separately, I went to My Locations list on My Ebird and merged my
personal location with the hotspot.
I encourage you to use the new hotspot when entering your checklists for this
section of the Maryville Greenway . And like I just did, it's a good idea to
occasionally look at your personal locations on a map and see if a hotspot has
sprung up near one that you might wish to add your checklists to. I'm planning
on doing that soon.
If you need clarification, I will be glad to assist anyone to move or merge a
location if you email me off-list.
Carole Gobert, Knoxville
eBird Hotspot Administrator for east Tennessee
cpgobert@xxxxxxxxxxx
