At 14:56 11/1/98 -0800, Robert Taylor wrote:
>
>Hi Tweets
>
>Question: Are there any birders that use Global Positioning Satellite
>devices for birding purposes??

I use a GPS for my thesis research project on cowbirds. I use the
GPS to determine the location of my study sites on the earth so that I can
map them on a Geographic Information System (GIS) computer database.

Recently, I have started using it for a second purpose. When I am
out in the field and I locate a bird nest, I take a GPS reading of the
location and note it in my field notebook. It isn't part of my research but
I thought it might come in handy later (particularly if it is a cavity
nester and the cavity could be relocated to check for other nesters).
Unfortunately, I didn't find very many nests after I started this (so the
database is very small). If the use of GPS becomes widespread, a large
database of nesting data could be obtained this way. It might make breeding
bird atlases or lat-long studies easier if there was a database, including
latitude and longitude, available. It would also be easy to map these nests
on a GIS.

I will confess, I have never used one to navigate through an area.
I use landmarks to navigate and get lost if I try to navigate using a
compass and map (or GPS). Sometimes I look at a map and I am amazed at how
close some of my sites are "as the raven flies"; it takes a long time to
drive between them!!

One word of warning for those of you depending on GPS to navigate:
they don't always work well. In northeastern Washington, I often have
trouble locking on four satellites (the minimum for my system), even in
relatively flat terrain, particularly during the early mornings. They can
be blocked by mountains very easily. Also, they may not work dense forests.
We can't get a satellite lock with our GPS if the canopy is even relatively
closed. I assume similar problems would arise in old-growth forests on the
west side. They can also be affected by thunderstorms. The system we have
can't determine elevation with any accuracy. There have been many times
that I have walked up hill for several meters and had the elevation reading
go down! The system I use can't be used in a vehicle; I have to stop and
get out to get a position reading. The system was state-of-the-art,
top-of-the-line six or seven years ago but they may improved since then; the
price has definitely improved.

GPS could be a good tool for finding birds and recording their
location. However, I think the price will have to come down substantially
and the accuracy will have to go up before their use becomes widespread.
And you will still need good directions and a good map to get there.


Deb Beutler
Department of Zoology
P.O. Box 644236
Washington State Univerisity
Pullman, Whitman Co., WA
dbeutler at wsunix.wsu.edu