[2026-05-18 08:42:11] Customer (Maya R.): Hi, I’m trying to submit yesterday’s Marsh Route survey, but the app says my checklist has “missing effort details.”
[2026-05-18 08:42:36] Support (Jon): Good morning, Maya. I can help with that. Was this a traveling count, stationary count, or point-count route?
[2026-05-18 08:43:02] Customer (Maya R.): Point-count route. It was the East Fen route, stops 1 through 8.
[2026-05-18 08:43:28] Support (Jon): Thanks. For point-count surveys, each stop needs duration, start time, and whether all birds were reported. Can you open the survey and tap Stop 1?
[2026-05-18 08:44:10] Customer (Maya R.): I’m there. Stop 1 has 6:05 AM, 5 minutes, and “complete list” is checked.
[2026-05-18 08:44:31] Support (Jon): Great. Please check Stops 2 through 8 for any blank duration or start time fields.
[2026-05-18 08:45:19] Customer (Maya R.): Stop 6 is blank for duration. I must have missed it. It was 5 minutes like the others.
[2026-05-18 08:45:43] Support (Jon): Enter 5 minutes for Stop 6, then tap Save. After that, try submitting again.
[2026-05-18 08:46:22] Customer (Maya R.): That fixed the missing effort error, but now it’s asking me to confirm 14 Soras. We heard a lot calling in the reeds.
[2026-05-18 08:46:57] Support (Jon): That number is above the local review threshold, so the system asks for a note. Add a brief comment explaining how you counted them, especially if some were simultaneous callers.
[2026-05-18 08:47:38] Customer (Maya R.): Should I write that at least 9 were calling at the same time between Stops 4 and 5, and the rest were separated by distance?
[2026-05-18 08:47:59] Support (Jon): Yes, that’s exactly the kind of detail reviewers need.
[2026-05-18 08:49:12] Customer (Maya R.): Done. One more thing: I added “Traill’s Flycatcher” because I couldn’t separate Alder from Willow by sight. Is that okay?
[2026-05-18 08:49:44] Support (Jon): Yes. If the bird did not vocalize or you were not confident, using Traill’s Flycatcher is preferred.
[2026-05-18 08:50:21] Customer (Maya R.): Perfect. The app is also showing my GPS track as a straight line back to the parking lot, but I walked the boardwalk.
[2026-05-18 08:50:55] Support (Jon): That usually happens when the phone loses location service or battery saver pauses tracking. For point-count routes, the stop locations matter more than the track. Are the stop pins in the right places?
[2026-05-18 08:51:23] Customer (Maya R.): Yes, all eight pins are correct.
[2026-05-18 08:51:47] Support (Jon): Then you can submit. If you want, add “GPS track incomplete; stop pins verified” in the survey notes.
[2026-05-18 08:52:36] Customer (Maya R.): Added. Submitting now.
[2026-05-18 08:53:18] Customer (Maya R.): It went through. Survey ID is BFA-2026-0518-7742.
[2026-05-18 08:53:42] Support (Jon): I see it in the queue. The effort details are complete, and the Sora note is attached.
[2026-05-18 08:54:06] Customer (Maya R.): Great, thank you. I’ll turn off battery saver before next weekend’s route.
[2026-05-18 08:54:31] Support (Jon): Good plan. Also, if you survey offline, open the route while you still have service so the stop map is cached.
[2026-05-18 08:54:59] Customer (Maya R.): Will do. Thanks for the quick help.
[2026-05-18 08:55:12] Support (Jon): You’re welcome, Maya. Thanks for contributing to the marsh bird survey.