eBird - Mis-plotted checklists near Fruita

[Kathy and Jeff Dunning]

Dear Colorado eBirders (if you don't use eBird, you can gleefully delete this email),

This email is in response to concerns I have heard from several parties about several mis-plotted eBird checklists in Mesa County (or as one person put it, "Mesa County Exotics").

In December I noted a couple of checklists mis-plotted to the Adobe Creek Golf Course southeast of Fruita in Mesa County.  Many folks probably got the eBird "needs" alert for the pair of White-tailed Tropicbirds.  The observer re-plotted the checklist to the correct location in Hawaii and the "problem" was resolved fairly quickly. The next day, another checklist hit with the identical location, but very different list of rarities.   

At that time, I emailed eBird Central as the likelihood of two checklists being mis-plotted at exactly the same location from different observers seemed infinitesimally small.  Unfortunately, my email hit the folks after they had all departed for the Christmas holidays and I got no response.

Since then the problem has persisted. I have identified a total of six observers who have a total of nine checklist(s) mis-plotted to the exact same location (down to a millionth of a degree in latitude and longitude). Some have now been corrected.  These checklists originated in Michigan, Connecticut, Maine as well as two from unknown locations (they lacked any helpful comments), but they are located at that highly suspicious and relatively inaccessible location.

All checklists originate from an Android phone with eBird versions 2.0.4 through 2.0.8 (this being the most up-to-date version based upon what I can find). 

Yesterday, I emailed one of the leads at eBird about the additional checklists continuing to come in at this location and quite reasonably, I haven't heard anything back as of now.

So, this email provides all interested parties fair warning.  If a checklist comes in with a really juicy rarity at the Adobe Creek Golf Course near Fruita, at this point I would assume it to be mis-plotted.  The exact GPS locations provided when you look at the map are 39.131747, -108.705397.

Good birding,
Kathy Mihm Dunning 

Denver