I like to have things named. Last week I was in another state and saw an interesting bird on the alerts with coordinates. At the house I was staying, I accessed Google Maps and plugged the coordinates in, then asked for directions so I could print out a reference map. Google wanted me to take "Unnamed Road." Their directions led me to someone's barnyard. Never got to the location on the map. So even if the location pops right up (it did), that doesn't mean you can get there.
Diane Yorgason-Quinn
Gig Harbor, WA
Avosetta at hotmail.com
From: khcsea at hotmail.com
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: RE: [Tweeters] Location Reporting Suggestion
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2016 16:46:59 -0700
I know very little about either birding or navigating, but can report that if you enter GPS coordinates into Google Maps, the location pops right up.I wanted to see the heron rookery by Soos Creek Trail in Kent/Covington that Rex Tagasuki had mentioned in a post, found my way to the general area by looking up the trail itself online, and ended up parking not quite in the place he recommended because I was unfamiliar with the area and just stopped when I saw a sign for the trail. I started walking, unsure I was even going in the right direction, and on a lark (heh heh) tried copying/pasting the coordinates Rex had included in his email into Google Maps on my phone. I didn't really expect it to work, but the location appeared instantly. I guess that makes sense, and maybe it's something everyone else knows, but I had always paid no attention to the 'so many degrees north, so many degrees west' directions as not relevant to me. Now that I know how simple it is, I would definitely use them again. (And the herons were cool, too.)
KarenSeattle
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Location Reporting Suggestion
From: plkoyama at comcast.net
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2016 14:48:46 -0700
To: amw.5737 at gmail.com
CC: tweeters at u.washington.edu
I used my Garmin once at Semiahmoo and would have ended up on the water halfway to BHam if I'd followed the coordinates!!Penny Koyama, Bothell
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 17, 2016, at 10:09 AM, AnnMarie Wood <amw.5737 at gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Wally,
Locations can be tough!
GPS coordinates sound like a good idea but, frankly, I've never figured out how to use them, with or without my Garmin or IPhone.
If someone provides the basics like the city with an intersection, address, or name of a nearby business I can usually get there.
Good Luck,Ann Marie WoodMountlake Yerrace, WA
On Thursday, March 17, 2016, Wally Davis <wallydavis3 at gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Tweeters, I have not been with you very long and have very much enjoyed the reports. On several occasions I have decided to follow up and try to find a bird based on a Tweeter report. In each case I have had to go back to the original poster for more information because I am not familiar with the area and don?t understand local landmarks or local rather than formal (i.e. map) names are used (shades of scientific names). My guess is that everyone on the Tweeters list carries at least one GPS with them when they go birding. GPS receivers are built into almost all phones and tablets and are present in many cameras which record position as metadata when a picture is taken (assuming the GPS is turned on). I would like to suggest that posts, particularly posts with birds which many may try to find, include a GPS position(s). Cheers,Wally DavisSnohomish
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