Date: 5/5/25 6:23 am From: Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] *** Calamus Reservoir*** eBird locations
Rita and all:
Thank you for using eBird. Very useful and important for bird research,
Your response was not out of line at all as this is how
learning takes place.
I do not have time to follow this up properly today. I will try to do
this later in the week.
I did notice a response from Wendy VanDeWalle following your post to me
which explains further some good practises. Please read that post as well.
That said: ALL the major locations are in fact already listed
HotSpots. eBird is extremely well organized, but to use it correctly does
take a little time to learn.
God Bless.
*Paul O. Roisen*
*Woodbury County, IA*
*Mobile 712-301-2817*
On Mon, May 5, 2025 at 4:11 AM Rita Cunha via groups.io <rita23cunha=
<gmail.com...> wrote:
> Paul,
>
> I know the person who made this checklist you mention. I was birding with
> them, and I have to say, this confusion or conflict is a big reason why
> more people don’t use ebird.
>
> For starters, it is not an intuitive app that a beginner will know how to
> use “properly” as the developers probably intended. Second, this birding
> outing was a traveling one, and the only reason it was logged on eBird at
> all was because this person is doing the Nebraska Birding Bowl, which
> requires checklists. We started birding at the trout pond, but continued
> driving making stops wherever we felt like it.
>
> In my opinion, it is hard enough getting folks who bird recreationally —
> folks who may not have much of an interest in the more complex methods of
> research — to use eBird at all. The same applies to other community science
> apps, like iNaturalist. As someone who lives in rural central Nebraska, I
> am often the only one (or part of a handful of people) making observations
> in my county (and sometimes surrounding counties). I understand the need
> for accurate reporting — but does it not make sense to make the eBird
> process simpler and less fiddly? Noticing habitat changes, knowing to stop,
> close a checklist, and start up a new one I fear will drive casual users
> and casual birders away… and then we won’t have any data, period.
>
> I hope this isn’t coming across the wrong way. I would like to see maybe a
> new hotspot for each “big” pullout at Calamus SRA. Bill, do you think this
> is a good idea? Maybe:
> - Valley View Flats
> - Gracie Creek — trout pond
> - Hannaman Bayou
> - Ash Grove fishing access
> - Dry Creek fishing access
> - etc
>
> I bird the Calamus very regularly. And i will be sure to start following
> these best practices you outlined, Paul. But wanted to share my concerns
> and desire in seeing eBird become more user-friendly, beginner-friendly,
> and casual birder-friendly in order to be MORE USED.
>
> Thank you for touching on this issue, Paul and Bill.
>
> Rita Cunha
> Valley County
>
> On Sun, May 4, 2025 at 9:22 PM Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
>> Bill,
>> Thank you for your response on this one, Bill. Calamus Outfitters
>> Birding Tours, unfortunately, did a great disservice to eBird and
>> ebirders. Hope I did not overstep with my comments, but ran into another
>> list out of Calamus a couple of days ago which they named "Calamus State
>> Recreation Area" but it was not a hot spot. The GPS coordinates matched
>> "Calamus Reservoir--Gracie Creek trout pond", but the name suggests the
>> entirety of the Calamus Reservoir. I would suspect that this person was
>> not familiar with eBird hotspots.
>>
>> Have a great birding year. Maybe I will see you at the Tri-State
>> Ornithological meeting in South Sioux City May 16-18.
>>
>> God Bless,
>>
>>
>> *Paul O. Roisen*
>> *Woodbury County, IA*
>> *Mobile 712-301-2817*
>>
>>
>> On Sun, May 4, 2025 at 6:59 PM William Flack via groups.io <sparvophile=
>> <yahoo.com...> wrote:
>>
>>> As the eBird hotspot editor for Nebraska, I think I can de-hotspot
>>> Calamus Outfitters. That wouldn't eliminate the data associated with the
>>> site; it'd just transform it into a private location, which wouldn't show
>>> up on the hotspot map or for anyone who hadn't already entered a list there.
>>>
>>> Is this something I should do? I'll ask not just Paul, but anyone else
>>> who's done significant amounts of Calamus Reservoir birding. In
>>> particular, does anyone have strong arguments against doing so?
>>>
>>> William Flack
>>> Kearney
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
