Date: 5/5/25 9:48 am From: Shirley Maas via groups.io <dtmsem2006...> Subject: Re: [NEBirds] *** Calamus Reservoir*** eBird locations
Appreciate your input on reporting on EBird, just remember many of us bird for the enjoyment and not as scientists.
Will try to be more specific in my locations butsome time just Lake or National Wildlife Refuge is all your going to get. I’m not telling you what tree and branch I found the bird on .Off record I saw fifteenth Desert Bighorn Sheep on a Pelagic Trip on Canyon yesterday. This is like doing a Pelagic Trip on Lake Mac.
Don MaasMaricopa County, AZ
“If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government then you are doomed to live under the rules of fools. Plato“You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of reality.”
Don & Shirley MaasThe Maas’s have migrated to the Valley of the Sun in Mesa, AZ from Choctaw, Ok for the winter.
On Monday, May 5, 2025, 6:23 AM, Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> wrote:
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. RoisenWoodbury County, IAMobile 712-301-2817
On Mon, May 5, 2025 at 4:11 AM Rita Cunha via groups.io <rita23cunha...> 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 CunhaValley County
On Sun, May 4, 2025 at 9:22 PM Paul Roisen via groups.io <roisenp1950...> 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. RoisenWoodbury County, IAMobile 712-301-2817
On Sun, May 4, 2025 at 6:59 PM William Flack via groups.io <sparvophile...> 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 FlackKearney
