Christmas Bird Count history report system |  |
Christmas Bird Count history report system | |
The regional page lists all the circles for one region in alphabetical order. However, each circle name may be related to multiple lat-long coordinates, and for most of the 20th century, circles were published with no geographic coordinates.
The job of the researcher is complicated by these facts.
A count with the same circle name may have different center locations in different years.
A count with the same center location may have different names in different years.
Two counts with different centers and names may overlap to a degree. Officially in most years, circles are not supposed to overlap within a year, but this rule was not in place until the institution was many decades old, and even the idea of the standard circle 15 miles in diameter was not instituted until the 17th year.
During the 1970s-1990s when the author was building the original database, he spent a lot of time resolving the variations in names and geographical locations. The current database has one standard name for each circle center location (latitude and longitude to the minute), but it also records the names and locations as originally published.
Consequently, the body of the regional page will display all the different names and locations in a complex index format that assists researchers in tracking the history of their circles of interest.
The general order of the entries on this page will be alphabetical by circle name.
If the entry is for a circle name that is the current standard name, it will be displayed as a primary name entry.
A checkbox will appear to the left of each primary entry. The button, on the top of the form, uses these checkboxs to produce a detail report for user-specified circles.
The circle name is a button that produces the report for just the circles with that center.
Secondary name entries are also displayed for any circle name that differs from the standard name for that lat-long.
Circle names that are in the current standard set are displayed in a primary entry which has these components.
A checkbox for selecting this circle, if the user
uses the Report on selected circles
button at the top of the form.
A button displaying the circle name and its related region code(s), followed by the latitude and longitude in {braces}, all in boldface type.
On the same line, a list of the years this circle was worked, in [brackets], with consecutive years shown as single numbers or ranges, e.g., “[34,62–76,78–93]”.
The early counts complicate this display because in many cases multiple counts were held in the same year at what we guess is the same locality. For each such case, the year number is shown followed by the number of duplicate counts in parentheses. For example, if a circle was counted twice on the 6th CBC but once for the 7th, that would be shown as “[6(2),7]”.
If the same circle was published under any different names, each variant name appears on a subsequent line, indented, preceded by the word “As”. If the published coordinates also differ, they will be displayed in {braces} following the name. In any case, the line ends with the bracketed list of year numbers that apply to that variant.
Within this list, the order of entries is as follows:
Entries for years when the name was the same but the coordinates were different, without the name.
Entries for years when the name was different. In each case, the coordinates are shown only if they differ from the standard coordinates.
If the same circle was published under the same name but with different or unknown coordinates, each set of coordinates appears on a separate line, indented, with a bracketed list of year numbers that apply.
If there are overlapping circles, whether by the same name or different names, each one is displayed on a separate line, containing: the word “Overlaps”; the degree of overlap as a percentage; the overlapping circle's coordinates in {braces}; and, if different, the overlapping circle name. The name (if present) and coordinates are links to the primary entry for the overlapping circle.
Here are some examples of primary entries, where the boldface type shows the extent of the button.
□ Middlesex Fells, MA {42°27′N 71°07′W} [7–8,15(2),18–20,24]
□ Clayton, NM {36°33′N 103°15′W} [83–94,97–106,108–109]
As {36°32′N 103°14′W} [83–85]
Overlaps 67.1%: Clayton, NM {36°30′N 103°13′W} [60–68,70–77]
□ Roswell, NM {33°24′N 104°28′W} [43–44,50–109]
As {43°24′N 104°28′W} [55]
As Bitter Lake N.W.R., NM {unknown} [54]
As Bitter Lake N.W.R., Roswell, NM {unknown} [43,50–53]
As Bitter Lakes N.W.R., Chavez County, NM {unknown} [44]
Here is the general form of the generated XHTML for a
primary entry. Each entry defines an id
(anchor) of the form p, where ddmm-DDDMMddmmDDDMMSUBMIT_.
ddmm-DDDMM
<div class='pri-div' id='p3602-10755'>
<input type='checkbox' name='LAT_LON'
value='3602-10755'/>
<input type='submit' name='SUBMIT_3602-10755'
value='Chaco Canyon N.M., NM {36°02'N 107°55'W}'/>
<span class='year-list'>[90]</span>
</div>
<div class='as-div'>
As <span class='sec-name'>Chaco Canyon</span>
<span class='year-list'>[90]</span>
</div>
<div class='as-div'>
Overlaps 92.1%:
<a href='#p3602-10754'>
Chaco Canyon N.M., NM
<span class='lat-lon'> {36°02'N 107°54'W} </span>
</a>
<span class='year-list'>[69,71]</span>
</div>
At the top of the detail report, the primary index entries for the selected circles are repeated, including the “As” lines, but not including the “Overlaps” lines, and without any hyperlinks.
Any as-published circle name that is assumed to be at the same location as one of the standard names, but has a different name, appears as a secondary entry with this format.
The variant name (if known) will appear in italics, followed by “: See” and the related standard name, the standard coordinates, and the bracketed list of years when that variant was used. The standard name is a hyperlink that jumps the reader to the related primary entry.
Examples:
Bitter Lake N.W.R., NM: See Roswell, NM {33°24′N 104°28′W} [45]
Bitter Lake N.W.R., Roswell, NM: See Roswell, NM {33°24′N 104°28′W} [43,50–53]
Bitter Lakes N.W.R., Chavez County, NM: See Roswell, NM {33°24′N 104°28′W} [44]
Rodeo, NM: See Peloncillo Mountains, NM {31°44′N 109°00′} [74–75]
Here is the general form of the generated XHTML for a secondary entry. The name of the related primary circle is a local link to the primary entry.
<div class='pri-div'>
<span class='sec-name'>Bitter Lake N.W.R.</span>: See
<a href='#p3324-10428'>
Roswell
<span class='lat-lon'> {33°24'N 104°28'W} </span>
</a>
<span class='year-list'>[54]</span>
</div>