Hello Jim



I agree. And in public places a GPS is also appropriate and most efficient and could save many of us hours of time in some circumstances.



Here's how (in this thread there's a deliberate space between the . and com)



1)If you wish, on your computer, simply go to the park or public place location within: maps.google. com



2)Zoom in and drag around the screen until you find the location to where you saw the species.



3)once you have found your "close to" or precise spot, Right Click with your mouse (as in Windows) and choose "What's Here"



4) a small popup occurs showing the GPS coordinates



5)now, go ahead and click the coordinates itself. a new popup occurs likely on the left of your screen



6)you'll see two strings of numbers:



7)highlight then copy and paste the lower string of numbers into your Tweeters email for your bird location, you are done.



Now the rest of us simply 'copy and paste' those coordinates at maps.google. com and we all know precisely where the species was seen.



Option Two while out in the Field:



There are a handful of free GPS apps for iPhone and Android. A great one I use is simply called: GPS Coordinates (for android) it's a red and white icon.



Once its installed Tap the app (that's all) it displays the GPS coordinates. It's a bunch of numbers with periods and commas and dashes. That's not important to decipher (unless determined).



Note the Copy button on the same exact screen.
Tap the COPY button.
Go to your eBird app locate your entry for the species you wish to share (such as an entry for Lapland Longspur, Song sparrow etc). Note the comments section. Push on your screen and Choose Paste. Done. Takes a few seconds for the entire process.



Now anyone that sees the eBird report simply has to copy and paste those coordinates at: maps.google.calm on their computer or their phone.. this also takes a few seconds.



The viewers now know exactly where the original birder was literally standing vs 'seen on the dike' as an example



If you'd like to go one step further try this additional step;



Open the Google Maps app when you're at the public location such as Hayton Preserve in Skagit. Paste in the same coordinates for that Lapland Longspur and start walking. Google Maps will lead you right to the exact (within a few feet accurate) location of where the bird was seen by the OP.



No more worries about following directions such NW SW NE types of directions. Or if you prefer include both as the GPS coordinates and the compass like directions as the GPS coordinates don't take up many spaces within a text field.



This is merely the same exact principle when you use Google Maps in your vehicle to get somewhere.



I sure hope this helps everyone. I was turned onto to this almost a decade ago by a few birders in Orange County and have found it saved myself and many others hours of time when users share this type of data. Quite handy especially at a large park or an unknown area for some of us which one has not experienced prior or has limited knowledge.



Cheers



Anthony G.
Camano Island





From: Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Jim Danzenbaker
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 10:46 AM
To: tweeters tweeters
Subject: [Tweeters] a suggestion



Hi Tweeters,



I first of all want to thank everyone in this online birding community for your willingness to share information about birds whether it be sightings, technology to help us with our birding hobby, locations to visit, and guides that can help us when we travel domestically or abroad.



I do have a favor to ask. When you are reporting a bird or talking about a location that you've visited, please include the name of the city and the county to go along with the name of the location. Many of us on tweeters are not fluent in every location in Washington State. Including more location information would help us tremendously in determining where you saw the birds that you are reporting.



I have spoken about this to several people in the past and a response that I received was ... just google it. That's all well and good but if there are 50 people out there googling the same information, in my humble opinion it would be better to initially include the information.



Thanks for your time.



Now lets go out and bird!




Jim

--

Jim Danzenbaker
Battle Ground, Clark Cty, WA
360-702-9395
jdanzenbaker at gmail.com

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