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POLISH OWL ATLAS USER MANUAL
Registration
All fields marked with a red star are required. To successfuly complete the registration process, read and accept the terms and conditions (It is necessary for using the database).
An activation link and information necessary to complete the registration process will be sent to your e-mail address.
By clicking the link provided and accepting the terms you become a full-fledged user of the database.
New observation
To report a new observation, fill out the following fields:
Place of observation
Find the place (point) of your observation on the map. You can do this by using the built-in map (zoom-in) or through the towns search engine. In the latter case, always try to pick the town closest to your place of observation. After marking a suitable location, click on "Insert location".
The form will automatically fill the fields for voivodship, county, commune, geographical coordinates and elevation.
A small percentage of the area of Poland does not support automatic localization due to flaws in Google Maps. In that case, the location has to be input manually, by using the drop-down lists of voivodships, counties and communes.
If you know the exact coordinates, you can bypass these steps by using the "Input coordinates" button. You can input the coordinates in any format, the rest of the location data will be filled in automatially.
When choosing the observation accuracy, users have three options available - High accuracy - up to 500 m, Medium accuracy - a 2x2 km square area, Low accuracy - a 10x10 km square area.
You can go back to the map at any time by clicking "Change location".
Basic observation info
Species - choose from the drop-down list.
Date - in case of a singular observation, choose a specific date from the calendar.
Observation period - in cases when the location is occupied for longer periods of time, input the dates of the beginning and end of the observations, for example: 12.04.2014-14.04.2014, 23.06.2010-14.05.2013.
If you make more observations at the same location after completing the form, you can edit your observation data to update the observation period info.
Details
Behaviour / nesting criteria / obseration type – choose one or more options.
Number of individuals – input the number of individuals observed and, if possible, determine their age and sex.
Place of observation / habitat – choose a habitat type of the location from the drop-down list.
Additional information – supply all additional information collected during the observation.
Observer - the name and surname of the user will be automatically filled in.
Co-observer - begin entry with surname. Names of co-observers that are registered in the database can be input from the drop-down list that will appear as the letters are entered. If co-observers are not registered in the database, their name and surname has to be entered manually. Individual co-observers have to be separated by a comma.
Co-observers registered in the database are included in the statistics.
Documentation
If photographs, video or audio recordings were taken during the observation, include the relevant files with the form.
Supported file formats: *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.png, *.gif, *.avi, *.mp3, *.mp4, *.flv, *.f4v.
Maximum file size: 100 MB.
If you do not want your observation to be displayed on the map, tick the box marked "I do not agree to the publication of the observation."
The locations of Eagle Owl, Great Grey Owl, and Common Scops Owl are automatically hidden due to their protection status and will not be visible on the map.
After filling in the form, save your observation by choosing one of the following:
Add - the observation will be saved on your account and you will be automatically take to the "My observations" tab. This option should be used when entering a single observation.
Add and reset the form - the observation will be saved and you will be taken to the map to enter a new observation. This option should be used when entering multiple observations with different dates.
Add and leave the data - the observation will be saved on your account and you will be taken to the map to enter a new observation. However, the previous location will be visible on the map (it is possible to move it). The previous date will remain in the form. This option should be used for entering multiple observations made during a single survey (for example, a survey of a small forest site).
You will be reminded if you miss any required fields.
Any new observation, before it is saved in the database and placed on the map, will be verified by an administrator. Any edits made to the observation data will prompt another verification. The same is true in case of removing observations.
My observations
All observations made by the user are saved in this tab, those accepted by the administrator, as well as those pending verification.
You can find specific observations (for example, a Long-Eared Owl from Lubuskie voivodship) by using the search engine feature.
You can export your observations into an Excel spreadsheet.
Observations
With this tab, you can view a map containing all non-restricted observations. You can also filter the map by species, however, the magnification level is set to obscure detailed location.
By searching for "only mine", you can view all your observations, incuding restricted ones. In this case, the magnification level is also not restricted.
Additional information
If you have an Excel spreadsheet file with observation data exported from another database, you can send it directly to the administrator's e-mail address. It will save your time and work. You need to have registered an account on the Polish Owl Atlas website for this. The Excel file must include geographical coordinates.
Technical Notes:
The database works on all modern browsers: Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer 9 +.
Internet Explorer 8 does support all functions.
Older versions of Internet Explorer may have serious problems with functionality.
Enjoy!