Paul replied to me offline making clear that "Chester River" was as 
viewed from the ramp (Dan Small's post (via Maren Gimpel) from yesterday 
also vaguely referred to Chester River, so I was wondering if it was a 
new location for the bird).  Certainly agree eBird is a great 
birdfinding tool, but not sure that this is a "perfect example" of why 
to use it.    I use eBird almost constantly to find bird sightings, but 
it doesn't reveal locations of sightings not entered into it yet (as was 
the case with Paul's sighting this morning), and it isn't designed for 
the purpose of showing exact locations of every bird sighted (though 
sometimes these are indicated).  For example, the Buckingham public 
landing is an eBird hotspot, and a bird viewed from that location should 
be entered in the hotspot, so people can pull up a bar chart of the 
birds likely at that location, but sightings entered into the hotspot 
won't reveal the exact location.  There's also the problem that birders 
entering specific locations can't be assumed to be perfect in finding 
the location on a map (I know I'm not).

In any event, thanks to Dan Small for originally finding the bird and 
Sam Dyke who helped a group of us (me plus Mike Walsh, Warren Strobel, 
et al.) today get focused in the right field (the horse pasture right 
next to the boat ramp) at the right time to see the bird this afternoon.

Jim Moore
Rockville, MD

On 1/16/2012 7:03 PM, James Tyler Bell wrote:
> This is a perfect example of why people should use eBird, even if they don't submit their own data. There's a nice cluster of locators in the various fields, the boat ramp and the bend in the river, where the Barnacle Goose has been frequenting. If you don't use eBird, here's your chance! Go to http://ebird.org/ebird/eBirdReports?cmd=Start select Range and Point Maps type in Barna (it'll autofill species) Select Barnacle Goose then use the little magnifying glass icon at the bottom of the zoom guide and make a box around MD then do it again to zoom into the Chestertown area and Voila! you'll see a nice cluster of red balloons showing you where you should be looking ;)
> Tyler Bell
>
> 
> California, Maryland
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>   From: Jim Moore<>
> To: 
> Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 10:11 AM
> Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Barnacle Goose - Monday - yes
>
> Thanks for the report.  But "Chester River" is rather vague.  To be
> clear I assume you mean as viewed from Buckingham Rd. boat ramp?
>
> Jim Moore
> Rockville, MD
>
> On 1/16/2012 9:14 AM, Paul Pisano wrote:
>> The Barnacle Goose has been very cooperative this, Monday, 1/16, morning on the Chester River, roosting with a large flock of Canada Geese. Sometimes it will be blocked from view by the Canadas, but patience has paid off. It's been here since dawn, and is still there as of 9:15 am.
>>
>> Good birding,
>> Paul Pisano
>> Arlington, VA
>>
>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4GLTE smartphone
>>
>>
>>
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