New webpage features

This entry was posted Thursday, 1 July, 2010 at 12:46 pm

On 5 July 2010 we launched a completely overhauled and redesigned website for MigrantWatch. Here is a listing of new features:

    General

  • Photos. You can add up to 4 photos to accompany each of your sightings, no matter when you reported them. Each photo has a public URL, so that you can share it with your friends, who can then comment. A photo gallery allows you to view and comment on any photo uploaded to MigrantWatch.
  • New species guide. The species guide is now improved, with easier navigation.
  • New sidebars. In the sighting form and several other pages, you can quickly perform searches or see new material by clicking on the links in the sidebar on the right.
  • Sighting page. Each sighting has a unique page, which gives details of the sighting, including any photos. Any registered user can comment on the sighting. Click here for an example. A unique URL makes sharing information easier!
  • Location page. Each location has a page with unique URL which shows the location on a map and also has the annual (since 2007) list of birds reported from that location. Click here for an example.
  • Watchlists. Once you have logged in to your account, you can add or edit your watchlist, which is a convenient way to pre-specify data searches that you are interested in. For example, if you specify one of your watch items as Greenish Warbler, Kanha National Park, then clicking on this item runs a data search with species and location pre-filled.
  • Uploading data

  • Single sighting form. Earlier, there were three separate forms through which sightings could be submitted – one each for First, General, and Last sightings. These three have now been merged into one, and you can choose the sighting type on that form.
  • Add new location using a map. Adding a new location is now easier using our map-based interface. You can search for a location already geocoded by Google Maps, or else you can click on the map to specify any other place. If the geocoded Location or City names are incorrect, you can correct them manually.
  • My Locations removed. The earlier My Locations feature stands removed. You can report sightings from any location without adding it to a separate My Locations list.
  • Exploring data

  • Viewing data. An important part of MigrantWatch is making data openly available to anyone who wants to to explore further. The view data page is much improved, with options to filter the data according to your interests, and then view the results on a map or in tabular form. When zoomed out on the map, records from multiple locations cluster into a single icon, which resolves into individual locations as you zoom in. Data can now be downloaded in KML as well as CSV format. KML is a file format commonly used to display geographical data. You can use it to visualise sightings in, for example, Google Earth or Google Maps.
  • Sharing data. Data searches are represented by shareable URLs, so now if you want to share a particular map or data table with your friends, you can simply copy and paste the URL into an email. For example, Kedar Champhekar’s sightings are here:
    http://www.migrantwatch.in/data.php?user=947
    Or, if you wanted to share sightings from Sultanpur National Park from the migration season 2008-09:
    http://www.migrantwatch.in/data.php?season=2008-2009&location=1201

We would appreciate it if you could report errors or bugs on the webpage to us at mw@migrantwatch.in

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