Classic Mob!

While touring the Jamestown Fort yesterday we were treated with a terrific display of bird life; a classic bird mob just off the main pedestrian thoroughfare.

The first thing we noticed were the Carolina Chickadees in their chastising voices, then we saw them in fluttering flight, yet still it took a bit before it registered in my head that this was a classic mob of a predator. Once, we had witnessed an identical mob in Costa Rica on a boa constrictor. It however was led by treecreepers and the result was seriously fantastic birding, not to mention being turned on to a ten foot Boa that otherwise would have been lurking a foot from our head. So once it registered, our heart beat a faster tune and we sat down and watched to see if we could find the target of the fuss. Soon a Northern Mockingbird flew in and joined the action by walking through the grass while puffing it's breast and flapping it's wings. Then pine warblers, bluebirds and phoebes joined in, flying within a foot of the ground and hovering well enough to make a hummingbird blush. The birds were raising a ruckus, but still we couldn't find the predator until a near by squirrel hopped on board and began taunting the snake within a foot. The wild mob had the snake well on the move, but alas the final participant joined in when I pointed out the copperhead to an amateur photographer strolling by. With the word "Snake" the otherwise oblivious flock of tourists quickly responded with pointed fingers. The snake reacted immediately by freezing in perfect pose for the cameras aimed his way. With the new members of the mob at hand the birds dispersed and so did Eva and I, but I couldn't help to think that if it wasn't for the Chastising Carolina Chickadee then that tiny young lad carrying his new found memories of Fort Jamestowne might well have gotten tagged by a copperhead.

good times,
aaron

If you want to check it out I've posted a photo that of the creature at: http://www.aviatlas.com/hspsolo/06e1133c97ef0f86dc7f8985896bcbb5/photos

Launching New Homepage

Our new home page has come to fruition! We've brought a new initial face to Aviatlas with the goal of bringing dynamic content to the forefront and giving us the opportunity to make announcements about the project. Check it out when you get a chance: Aviatlas New Homepage

Building a Community Resource - Tucson Audubon and AviAtlas launch a joint project to document the birding hotspots of the Greater Tucson Area.

We're joining up with Tucson Audubon Society to build a detailed catalog of birding locations for the Greater Tucson area. The aim is to work with a local organization like TAS and utilize it's powerful network of birders to assemble both a digital and printed resource for the birding community.

We've agreed to put our knowledge of maps and graphics to work and Tucson Audubon is gathering community participants to contribute information. The result is going to be site descriptions, photographs, and sighting data for over 50 birding locations in and around Tucson. This information is then going to be compiled and edited into a Tucson Birding Map available through Tucson Audubon. For more information check out the article in the latest Tucson Audubon Newsletter

Hotspot Ranking Changed

We've updated our ranking system to redistribute our hotspots to better show the hotspots of the world. It was basically acknowledging that the hotspots were not objectively distributed when only US hotspots were showing, even though the system was objectively designed. We've basically applied a weight that ensures that there is a highest possible rank for every country.

More to come next week!

Hotspot Notebook

We've put together a small field notebook to help document birding hotspots. Basically it is a half-letter size spiral bound notebook with standard fields printed on one side of the page and a place for birds seen on the other side of the page. It is printed on stiff card stock for easy writing in the field or car and has a vinyl cover for protection.

We are very proud of our little conception and would like to share it with anyone who might think they would use it. Just drop me a line an i'll ship one out to you at no cost (I don't expect to many responses, though we have already shipped one out).

The world is small...

and it is completely connected by the internet! Somehow we have managed to spread to 21 countries now??

A short update on some new killer features put together by our dedicated developer -

• I think I've mentioned this before but the SEARCH has gotten a whole new body and is worth checking out: Aviatlas (I know I've bragged about this previously but really it is much better now)
• We've also added a Longitude and Latitude box in the lower left that will show you the coordinates for the center of the map, which is now marked with crosshairs! (that are able to be turned off if you want a clean look) These coordinates can be displayed in either decimal degree format or degree minute second format. On top of that we can now navigate the map to a specific coordinate by just typing the coordinate into those same fields and hitting the enter key or pressing go!! Aviatlas
  

Maybe I'm a nerd for thinking that this is the best thing in the world... but this is cool ?
- aa

We are giddy...

As of this morning (without really any marketing) we have now reached birders in 15 different countries! Including the likes of South Africa, Norway, Germany, Australia, Argentina, Thailand and Canada. Now, we've just got to get these guys adding and editing hotspots! It is so exciting to see Aviatlas begin to grow on it's own and we are beginning sense a horizon that is full of possibilities unknown to us right now. Ideas for getting users to contribute are welcome! visit our Forums to give us input!

On a personal note, we survived a classic Arizona flash flood this weekend while birding in the Blue Range Mountains. We were sitting at the beach of a calm clear canyon stream, sun shinning and completely relaxed when we heard a rumble up canyon and the tear of branches as the flood turned the corner rushing downstream. We can count our blessings now but at that point adrenaline was at it's highest peak while we scrabled up the mountainside. Fun stuff...
-aa