As Yvonne Bombardier kindly mentioned privately yesterday and others may
have noted as well as I was merrily going about commencing the Great Backyard
Bird Count (GBBC) before being scuttled by distraction, aka: "the dive noise,"
the GBBC period doesn't begin until TODAY, Friday, Feb 17. Well, at the time
I *thought* yesterday was 'today', Friday, Feb 17. I was wondering how this
week went by so fast, so I guess that means I get a 'bonus day' in a month
that's already too short.

I think the problem was in having gotten lost and absorbed in my new
computer toy, "google earth" and losing all track of time. I don't know if this
topic has appeared on tweeters yet, probably has, but if not, THIS is a pretty
amazing thing. You can zoom in from space and find your favorite birding
haunts with a bird's eye perspective; find your own house even. You can 'fly'
all over the state of Washington or anywhere in the world, view the lay of the
land, adjust the tilt and angle to see and examine the real topographic
features, and just plain get a fantastic overview of your favorite birding areas,
your own house even, and lots more. It's very user friendly and it's a FREE
download at: _http://earth.google.com/_ (http://earth.google.com/)

Images vary in resolution due to satellite limitations in some areas, fairly
excellent in common populated areas and familiar landmarks such as Mt. St.
Helens as you fly right into the crater. On one of my 'flying sorties' I was
apparently too low when I 'crashed' into Mt. Rainier; ooh, total white out.
Areas where I found resolution very poor were out in the mid tropical Pacific
where I spent this past summer and fall on and around Palmyra and Johnston
Atolls south and southwest of Hawaii. I think resolution is highest in areas
of most common general interest and less so in very remote areas.

Another that tweaked my interest was Antarctica. Resolution there wasn't
great, but okay for what I was looking for; the Ross Sea and Ross Ice Shelf,
and specifically the "Bay of Whales," the absolute southern most navigable
waters in the world where I've had the good fortune to actually visit on two
occasions onboard a Russian whaling vessel while conducting minke whale research
way back 20 and 25 years ago.

So, if THIS download is FREE, I have to wonder what you get for the $400 pro
version. Maybe that's the tv show "24's" CTU version :-)) No doubt the
Defense Department has an even greater enhanced version we can only covet, the
$400-billion version, which might even locate and identify individual inbound
or settled rarities, project destination, show locations, trees, and find
the exact branch where it's perched, ...and view the bird! Just think, maybe
it would have been possible to 'tick' that Olympia Redwing last winter without
having to ever leave the comforts of your own home :-))

To download and enjoy google earth, it is recommended that your computer be
no more than two years old, the newer the better. If you've got that, then
go have fun. But be warned, until the novelty wears off, this toy can be very
very addicting!

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Richard Rowlett
Bellevue (Eastgate), WA, USA

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what
nobody has thought" --Albert Szent-Gyorgi (1893-1986).
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