Tips

=Ohio eBird Hotspots=

Tips on Using this website
How to Use the BirdTrax Gadget

Features

 * eBird Hotspot Explorer map is interactive. You can click on a marker to reveal Hotspot name and information, zoom in or out on the map, and change the map view from street to terrain or satellite. A link is provided to view the Hotspot Explorer in a larger window.
 * Links are provided to websites and maps for the Hotspot.
 * If available, an image and link to a map of the location's website are provided.
 * The city, state, and zip code and GPS coordinates provide information for those needing it for GPS navigation systems.
 * Live data from eBird on sightings and rare birds is available on state and county pages provided by accuBirder and BirdTrax.

Navigating the site

 * There are **two main index pages**. Alphabetical list of Ohio Counties provides links to each county page where the eBird Hotspots in Ohio are listed in that county. Hotspots are listed alphabetically at Alphabetical list of Ohio Hotspots. Most birders will use the county listing and a link to this main navigation page is found at the top of every page in the website and in the menu bar on the left of every page.
 * On county pages there is a link to Recent Ohio Bird Sightings reported on eBird (BirdTrax) in the past month. It takes you to a live display of bird sightings reported to eBird in Ohio. There are three tabs in this gadget. For the state the default tab is "Rarities," shows rare birds which have been seen in Ohio in the last month. The tab "Sightings" displays a list of all birds seen in Ohio in the last month. You can click on the + to get more information about any particular sighting, including a map of where in the county the bird was seen, who saw the bird, a link to the checklist where the bird was reported in eBird. A third tab offers a list of birders who have submitted checklists in this county in the last month. Because this can be a long list of birders it can take some time to load and sometimes causes a browser to freeze. It is better to go to a county page to look at such a list by county.
 * The link **Top 100 Ohio eBirders for 2017** opens a report in eBird showing a list of birders who have submitted checklists to eBird this year. By default, this page shows current year data. You can select a past year or "All Time" if you want to see more past data. The default report shows the "top" birders in terms of the number of species of birds reported. There is a tab where you can see how many completed checklists each birder has reported and the ranking is changed based on this number. You do not need an eBird account to view this information. If you are logged in to your eBird account, where you stand in the list is highlighted.

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 * The links in the chart above open reports from eBird showing all the birds which have been reported in Ohio to eBird. Clicking on a link opens the page in eBird. You do not need an eBird account to view this information. In eBird, you can adjust the time frame by clicking on "Adjust Date." You can select a past or current year if you want to see what has been reported recently. You can also view birds seen in Ohio by season, so, for example, you can get a list of birds seen in Ohio during the spring migration or during the winter.
 * The link **[|eBird Rare Bird Alert for Ohio]** opens a report from eBird showing rare bird sightings in Ohio in the past seven days. If you have an account with eBird you can subscribe to receive this alert via email.

On each County Page

 * There is a map showing the location of all the Hotspots in the county. You can zoom in or out on the map or click on markers to get more information. Below the map is a link, **"View eBird Hotspot Explorer in a larger map."** When you click on that link it opens the map in the eBird Hotspot Explorer. This allows you to use all the Hotspot Explorer functions with the locations. You can get directions to the Hotspot. You can print the map, either on paper or as a .pdf file.
 * The links **"County Wide Bar Charts"** open reports from eBird showing all the birds which have been reported at this location to eBird. Clicking on the link opens the page in eBird. You do not need an eBird account to view this information. In eBird, you can adjust the time frame by clicking on "Adjust Date." You can select a past or current year if you want to see what has been reported recently. You can also view birds seen at the location by season, so, for example, you can get a list of birds seen at this location during the spring migration or during the winter.
 * The link **"Recent [This County] Sightings reported on eBird (BirdTrax)"** takes you to a box at the bottom of the page which is a live display of bird sightings reported to eBird in the county. There are three tabs in this gadget. For the county, the default tab is "Sightings," all birds seen in the county in the last month. The tab "Rarities" shows rare birds which have been seen in this county in the last month. You can click on the + to get more information about any particular sighting, including a map of where in the county the bird was seen, who saw the bird, a link to the checklist where the bird was reported in eBird. A third tab offers a list of birders who have submitted checklists in this county in the last month.
 * The link **Top 100 eBirders in [This County]"** opens a report in eBird showing which birders have reported checklists in this county. By default, this page shows "All Time" (1900-present) data. You can select a current or past year if you want to see more current data. The default report shows the "top" birders in terms of the number of species of birds reported. There is a tab where you can see how many completed checklists each birder has reported and the ranking is changed based on this number. You do not need an eBird account to view this information. If you are logged in to your eBird account, where you stand in the list is highlighted.

On pages describing the Hotspots

 * In eBird a Hotspot may have a general location and a number of sub-locations. The rule for naming Hotspots is to list the general location first followed by a double hyphen (no spaces) and then the sub-location. Thus when you see Oak Openings Preserve Metropark--Visitor Center you will know that the Visitor Center is a sub-location within the Oak Openings Preserve Metropark. You may use a general location to submit checklists from any location within the boundaries of the location. It is even more helpful when you are able to submit checklists for the more precisely defined sub-locations. eBird makes it easy to get data out of eBird about a general location and the sub-locations within it. Here is a sample bar chart for Magee Marsh.
 * On each Hotspot page there are links to take you back to the county navigation page (Ohio eBird Hotspots) and to the county page listing all the Hotspots in the county.
 * Click on the link "eBird Bar Chart" to go to the eBird website and see a bar chart listing all the birds seen at this Hotspot.You do not need an eBird account to view this information. In eBird, you can adjust the time frame by clicking on "Adjust Date." You can select a past or current year if you want to see what has been reported recently. You can also view birds seen at the location by season, so, for example, you can get a list of birds seen at this location during the spring migration or during the winter. If the Hotspot has sub-locations, the bar chart displays data for the general location and all the sub-locations. If you want data about just one of the sub-locations you can click on the sub-location name in eBird.
 * The latitude and longitude coordinates are given for each Hotspot. You can paste these numbers into the eBird mapping tool to zoom directly to the Hotspot. (You must already be in the correct state in the mapping tool for this to work properly.)
 * The address, or at least the nearest community, is given for each Hotspot.
 * If there is a website which describes the location it is listed.
 * If there is a map or trail map on the web a link is provided so you can view and download the map.
 * Each Hotspot is listed with the GPS coordinates. Four links are provided for each Hotspot: Map, View details, Recent visits, and Submit data. Each of these opens the appropriate page in eBird.

Tips on Managing your eBird Records
How to change the location of a checklist you have submitted to eBird How to merge a personal location with an eBird Hotspot How to share a checklist with other birders How to suggest a personal location as a new eBird Hotspot

Corrections and how to help
Please, send corrections or additional information on locations to: eBird Hotspot reviewer for Ohio
 * Ken Ostermiller**

It would be especially helpful to add "Tips on birding [this Hotspot]" to any location where you can share helpful information with birders about the place.

You can volunteer to
 * "adopt" a county listing and report your bird sights to [|eBird]
 * proofread descriptions
 * donate photos to make the site more attractive
 * add "Tips for birding . . ." to descriptions about Hotspots you often visit