Hi Folks,
This has probably already been suggested BUT...
Can the BA Atlas suck info out of Eremaea and Birdpedia??? Or they export to
BA Atlas?? That would make it easy!!
Cheers
Steve Potter
m: 0407 398 234
e:
BA Atlas
from [Frank O\"Connor
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om%3Afoconnor%40iinet.net.au&idxname=birding-aus&sort=date%3Alate> ]
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ding-aus&m=2010-06&i=20100616081509.B18C3700247B%40mwinf3607.me.freeserve.co
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To:
Subject: BA Atlas
From: "Frank O\"Connor" < >
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2010 09:15:08 +0100
In reference to Tim Dolby's reference to not submitting the Pilbara Elegant
Parrot records to the Atlas.
I contributed 1000s of surveys to the Atlas. And I do feel guilty that I
haven't contributed as heavily to the Ongoing Atlas. Generally I do it for
the more out of the way areas that I might visit.
For me, the strength of the Atlas will be for monitoring changes in the more
common birds, and especially for changes at specific sites. I don't see the
Atlas as having much value for recording rarities, or for birds outside
their normal range. They need to be monitored and protected within their
normal range.
One weakness of the Atlas is that it requires a fairly specific definition
of the location. This meant that when I did Atlas, that I completed a lot of
incidental surveys. e.g. when heading east from Geraldton I put in
incidental surveys for my first sighting of birds like Pied Butcherbird,
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater, etc. I also filled in a lot of incidental surveys
for raptors. Despite this, I used to estimate that maybe only 80% of the
species that I saw that day would appear on the surveys, because I was
moving around a lot. Even when I was based in Broome (or Anna Plains
Station) for an extended period for things like the wader banding
expeditions, I would find that maybe only 60 to 70% of the species ended up
on the survey forms. For this reason, I would fill in a WA Database Card for
the area so that all the species were recorded, but on a far less specific
location. The WA Database accepts cards for shires, or National Parks, or
stations, or islands, or lakes, etc.
The other weakness of the Atlas is the time it takes to complete the
surveys. By the time that I have recorded my sightings on my computer, and
everything else, I don't have the time to then fill in Atlas forms as well.
e.g. when I am on tour with a group of people. You are birding from dawn to
dusk and then having dinner and doing a bird call, etc. I can (and do)
complete WA Database cards for areas like Dryandra SF, Stirling Range NP,
Albany Shire, etc as these take little time. I also don't have time during
the day to take GPS readings for survey sites. It is simply not feasible for
people like George Swann in the Kimberley to Atlas. There are not enough
hours in the day.
Don't get me wrong. The Atlas is a fantastic resource, and I applaud
everyone who has or still are contributing data. But it does have
limitations. But for me, the Atlas data is far more valuable for repeatedly
surveying a specific site, rather than for recording major rarities or a
bird out of its normal range. The fact that Elegant Parrots occur in the
Pilbara in winter is documented in books like the two volume reference
published by the WA Museum, and by papers like that by Rob Davis. Having it
in the Atlas does not contribute very much extra.
_________________________________________________________________
Frank O'Connor Birding WA http://birdingwa.iinet.net.au
Phone : (08) 9386 5694 Email :
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