New Location Management Tools Launched!

The new tools found in "Manage my locations" will more easily allow you to rename, move, or merge your locations.  Here is a short tutorial about why these three things are important, and how you can help us clean up the eBird location database by getting rid of redundant personal locations that are already represented identically as public Hotspots.

At eBird we strive to collect data at the most refined spatial and temporal level.  That's a fancy way of saying that it's really important to be as precise as possible when plotting your locations on the map, and it's equally important to associate some effort information with your checklists so that we know not just where you were birding, but how you went birding.

Here are a few likely scenarios that will make you want to take action:

1. You created a location called "Cape St. Mary's" way back when, and then you realized that there is already an eBird hotspot called "Cape St. Mary's" that is different from your version of the same location.  Merging your version of "Cape St. Mary's" with the hotspot (and then deleting your version) will move your data into the public version of the location, thus combining them with the data of other eBirders gathered at this site.
2. You have two versions of the same location in your "My Locations" list.  Hey, it happens!  You can now merge those together into one location and delete the duplicate, without having to reenter all those checklists.
3. You chose the wrong location when submitting a checklist and would like to move the data of that checklist over to another site.

What Not to do! 

DO NOT merge your more refined locations with larger scale hotspots!  This will cause us to lose important spatial information.  For example, if you've created a location called "Cape St. Mary's--Golden Bay", do not merge that with the more general "Cape St. Mary's" hotspot.  Instead, suggest your specific location as a new hotspot that we can nest within the larger one.  This will allow us to retain the more specific location information you've provided by mapping Golden Bay, and then we can combine it on the output side with the larger scale hotspot.  The idea is to REFINE your location information, not make it more gross or more general!

Here's what you can do with the new tools:

Change the location of an existing checklist?

You can change the location of any checklist that you have entered in eBird by clicking the "My eBird" tab and then choosing "Manage my observations."  Next click the "View or edit" link next to the checklist that contains the erroneous record. Then click on the link to "Change Location".

Change the name of an existing location?

You can only edit the names of locations that you've created.  Likewise, once a location has been accepted as a hotspot, you can no longer edit the name except in your version of that location, which appears in your "My Locations" list.  For personal locations, however, you can change the name by going to "My eBird" and then clicking on "Manage my locations."  Click "edit" next to the location you wish to edit.  Select the "Rename" radio button and then type the new name into the window that appears above the map.  When you're finished click "Rename."  You changes should be reflected in your lists.  Remember, if the location is shared among all eBird users, an eBird administrator must change the name.  Click here

to send corrections for location names.

Move a location

You can only move locations that you've created.  Likewise, once a location has been accepted as a hotspot, you can no longer move it, only a hotspot administrator can change its position. To suggest a change click here.  To check whether your location is personal or shared, just look at whether the value is a "P" or an "S" in the "Type" column on the "Manage my locations" page. To move a personal location click the "My eBird" tab and then choose "Manage my locations."  Next click the "Edit" link next to the location you wish to move.  On the resulting mapping page, select the "Move" radio button. You can then simply click on the map to reposition the location, use the Google search window to find an address or town or type in new GPS coordinates (click "search" to activate the Google search bar).  When you're satisfied with the new position of your location click the "Move" button. Note: you should always strive to be as accurate as possible when plotting a location.  Always zoom the map in to maximum level when plotting a location.

Merge a personal location with a hotspot?

You can merge a personal location, and all of its associated checklists, with an existing eBird hotspot by doing the following.  Go to "My eBird" and then select "Manage my locations."  Next to the location you wish to merge click "Edit."  On the resulting mapping page click the "Merge" radio button.  This will activate the eBird hotspots (red balloons) and display them on the map, as well as show you all your personal locations (blue balloons).  To merge your location with another existing location simply select the destination location by clicking on it. A message will pop up above the map that says "Merge all XX checklists with XX location?". If you want your personal location to be deleted after the merge (recommended) check the "Delete after merging" box. When you're satisfied that you've got it right click the "Merge" button.  Important!--This action cannot be undone!

 

Enjoy these new developments!

 

--Team eBird