It’s important to keep the observations on each checklist within a single block, so we’ve provided several options to help you keep track of your location in the field.
Quick Links
- eBird Mobile App
- Single Block Maps (paper and digital)
- All Blocks (digital)
If you see that you are about to cross a block boundary, stop your current checklist and start a new one.
eBird Mobile App
The easiest way to keep track of your location in the field is to use the eBird Mobile app. When you’re viewing maps within the app, you can see the atlas block boundaries.
To view block boundaries, follow these two tutorials:
Single Block Maps
Paper Maps
Avenza Maps screenshot of the “Albany – SE” block map and location of the DEC Central Office (blue dot) just across the border.
As straightforward as it sounds! Simply download, print, and go! Use landscape features like roads, rivers, buildings, and vegetation transitions to figure out where you are in the field. Note that the block boundary is highlighted in red and may not show up well if you print in black-and-white.
- Find a block. Go to the interactive map and find the block(s) you are interested in.
- Download. Click on the block and use the links in the pop-up to download the satellite or terrain map.
- Print. Once you download the map to your computer, print out the map and you’re all set!
Digital Maps
Go paperless! Save the map to your device and refer to it in the field just as you would a paper map!
- Find a block. Go to the interactive map and find the block(s) you are interested in.
- Download. Click on the block and use the links in the pop-up to download the satellite or terrain map.
- Save. Save the map to your favorite cloud storage app, such as Dropbox, Drive, or Box.
Plot Your Location On the Digital Map
The maps you download from the interactive mapper are actually GeoPDFs, which simply means that geographic coordinate information is embedded in the file. What this means for you is that you can plot your location on the map when you are in the field.
- Find a block. Go to the interactive map and find the block(s) you are interested in.
- Download. Click on the block and use the links in the pop-up to download the satellite or terrain map.
- Save. Save the map to your favorite cloud storage app, such as Dropbox, Drive, or Box.
- Install. Install the free Avenza Maps app.
- Import. Follow the step-by-step instructions for importing files. You can also follow along with the videos (Android, iOS).
- Activate. Once the map is installed, make the map active and select it. Your location shows up as a small blue dot!
Tip: If you are a superuser, check out Collections. Collections allow you to patch maps together.
All Blocks
Mapping App
Google Earth screenshot showing the location of the DEC Central Office (blue dot) in relation to the atlas block boundaries (red lines).
Display all the block boundaries in a mapping app and see which block you are standing in.
- Install. Install the mapping app of your choice (Google Earth, Gaia GPS, Avenza Maps)
- Download. Download the block boundaries to your device.
- Import. Add the blocks to the app.
- iOS: Google Earth, Gaia, Avenza
- Android: Google Earth, Gaia, Avenza
- Show Location. Display your current location.
- iOS: Google Earth, Gaia, Avenza
- Android: Google Earth, Gaia, Avenza
Tip: Install the Open Access Lands layer to help you locate public land.
Mobile ArcGIS App
An uber-volunteer, Bill Ostrander with Chemung Valley Audubon, made an ArcGIS app that you can use in the field. If you have a data plan and cell signal, you can go to this website and see your location in real time!
Google Maps
Navigate to and within priority blocks using Google Maps.
Shapefile
If you are familiar with ArcMap or QGIS and prefer to create your own maps, you can download a shapefile of the block boundaries.