Bird lists and Google Maps

A huge number of birdwatchers create different lists of the birds was ever recorded in their lifetime. There are world (lifer) lists, regional or country lists, year lists or bird species gruop (e.g. birds of prey, birds-of-paradise etc.) list as well. Most of the list is created in Excel files with thickmarks while others handle it online. With Google Earth or Google Maps there is a new way to visualize our records. For those who would love to play (and have time for it!) with their records in the long grey winter days there are some way to add placemarks to maps utilizing Google solutions. It is especially useful if someone regularly shares trip sigtings with others. In Google Earth every placemark can be saved individually and can be sent by e-mail to the 'client' with the detail of bird recorded. In Google Maps you can generate a link of the certain map and you can also share it by sending via e-mail. If you keep your list in EXCEL file the link can be easily added to the species. Creating trip reports with routing is very easy including placemarks of sightings, a remarkable scenic landscape, notes, warnings, hotels, petrol stations etc. I also use them for planning any kind of trip where I can virtually travel along the routes before I actually would depart from home. Here are some expamples how I managed my records.

Placemark bubbles can contain any details of the record (date of birds seen, name of the place, number of birds seen or a story behind, etc.).

Of course any magnification is possible. You can zoom in and out till the map allows it.

Alternatively you can add images and videos as well. (note: Google Maps recommends to use Picasaweb to add images to a placemark however I was not succeed to make the image visible. I used one of the other image uploader possibility instead of Picasaweb which just works fine.)

This is a slice of my life list kept in EXCEL sheet. The last column is dedicated for the clickable links of the Google Maps which direct me to the certain map if I click on them. If you want to learn more of the EXCEL sheet I use, don't hesitate to post a message here.

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Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts, feelings and comments on my blog or its content. That is very welcomed!/Kérlek ne tétovázz véleményt írni a blogomról, vagy annak tartalmáról. Szeretettel várom!

Taxonomy changes in birds

Today I got the latest update of the recently published The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition by the late James F. Clements. I am not as serious bird 'hunter' for my list as my other friends but love to see new things and the birds are in the leading position. In 2006 I spent a nice holiday in Cuba with my wife and saw the local race of Common Black-Hawk which is now considered as a separate species named Cuban Hawk-Eagle Buteogallus gundlachii. If you are a list keeper it is very useful to record not only the species but the subspecies as well. Taxonomy changes can result surprise while you are sitting in your chair at home. It is sad to see some of the species recently confirmed/believed to be extict such as Guam Flycatcher Myiagra freycineti (Guam, S Mariana Islands), Kauai Oo Moho braccatus (Kauai, Hawaiian Island) and Bishop’s Oo Moho bishopi (Maui, Hawaiian Island). It is a little bit strange for my eyes to read that due to the recent phylogenetic analyses a close sister-group relationship identified between flamingos Phoenicopteriformes and grebes Podicipediformes. This is now recommended by the British Ornithologists' Union (published in Ibis) to name this group as Mirandornithes and place them between Ciconiiformes and Falconiformes, with the flamingos listed before the grebes. There is again a huge change in the Gull family indicating that our knowledge is not yet fully complete regarding this group of birds. Studies provided some new result in the relationship of different species that's why BOU recommends a new sequence list for the birds ever recorded in Europe: Ivory Gull Pagophila eburnea Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla Slender-billed Gull Chroicocephalus genei Bonaparte’s Gull Chroicocephalus philadelphia Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus Little Gull Hydrocoloeus minutus Ross’s Gull Rhodostethia rosea Laughing Gull Larus atricilla Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus Audouin’s Gull Larus audouinii Pallas’s Gull Larus ichthyaetus Mew Gull Larus canus Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus Herring Gull Larus argentatus Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans American Herring Gull Larus smithsonianus Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus The member of former Larus genus decreased drastically as a result of grouping the species showing strong relationship with each other. Naming e.g the new genus Chroicocephalus with three species in Europe (Slender-billed Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull and Black-headed Gull) is among the main changes. So today I won a species but maybe next time I will loose one due to lumping. You never know but all in all this is a game. :) I have seen 2001 species so far... ______ Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts, feelings and comments on my blog or its content. That is very welcomed!/Kérlek ne tétovázz véleményt írni a blogomról, vagy annak tartalmáról. Szeretettel várom!

Bernese Alps, Switzerland

On the way back home we crossed Switzerland. We have never ever visited this beautiful country with its gorgeous peaks. It was mainly for the enjoyment in the scenic landscape as we saw only a few bird species: Alpine Chough 90 White-winged Snowfinch 1

Morning in the Bernese Alps A view to Grimsel Pass from Furka Rhône Glacier, Furka Pass, Bélvédère, 2436 m, Bernese Alps Bélvédère Alpine Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus

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Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts, feelings and comments on my blog or its content. That is very welcomed!/Kérlek ne tétovázz véleményt írni a blogomról, vagy annak tartalmáról. Szeretettel várom!