The Observations Map allows you to query, visualize, and investigate bird observation data at surveyed locations in a map interface. It also allows users to identify which data sets are publicly available for further inquiry and analyses. Begin by reading the How to Use This Map in the far right panel. Once you get started, you can also review detailed instructions below.
Using the Observations Map
Overview
This tool allows for the visualization of bird observation data in a map interface. The three panels interact to allow the data to be filtered down to the observations of interest. The left panel map and address box at the top of the middle panel allow for the zooming in on a particular area. The middle panel also allows for the selection of all species or a single species of interest, as well as selection date range, in order to find observations of interest. You can display observations from one or more data collections. You can select one map overlay at a time.
Clicking on the points displayed on the map will query and return all the data available for that point in the far right panel. You can narrow down the data to a specific year by clicking on the year’s link at the top of the right-hand panel. The far right panel also works in conjunction with the overlays in the middle panel. For example, if you have selected ‘Counties and Municipios’ and click in a county but not on a point, the far right panel will summarize all bird observations for that County/Municipio.
Instructions
The default settings (with no boxes checked) shows the area covered by BADC. To begin, select a Data Collection(s) and a Map Overlay. Click on a point or polygon within the map to display an avian data summary for that point or region.
To get a regional summary, click on an area within that region devoid of points. The region will be defined by the overlay you have selected.
You may also wish to see locations where a specific species was observed. Simply choose a Species from the pull-down menu, and select one or all of the Data Collections. If no individuals were seen, no points will appear on the map. Select the first item, “All species” from the pull-down menu to see data points for all species.
You can also add a date filter by month via the appropriate pull-down menus. The default, Jan-Dec, will give you species occurrences year-round. To see winter populations, selecting something like Oct-Feb will work. Please note that Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data are collected only during the summer months, and do not include many species that you will see in eBird and other collections.
To create a summary for a customizable region, find the hand and polygon icons at the top center of the map. 
Select the polygon tool on the right, and draw a shape by clicking on the map to select the first corner of your polygon. Then move the mouse, clicking where you wish to lay down another corner. Close the polygon on all sides or double-click to stop drawing your polygon, and the summary will appear. Calculating the summary may take up to a minute; please be patient. Choosing a species will speed the processing. To stop drawing or start over, click the hand icon to clear the current selection.
