Base Layers

The ground underneath everything else on the map.

The base layer is the map underneath your data — the ground you are scouting. FowlTracker ships three, and you can switch between them at any time without losing your place, your date, or any layer you have turned on.

Open ⧉ Layers in the top-left of the map and pick one under Base map.

The Layers panel, showing Base map options Satellite, Img+Topo and Topo

Satellite

Aerial imagery. The most useful layer for reading a piece of ground you have never walked, because you can see the water itself rather than a symbol for it.

Satellite base layer over rice country near Stuttgart, Arkansas

Img+Topo

USGS imagery with topographic detail drawn over it — aerial ground truth plus contours, named water and boundaries in one view.

USGS Imagery and Topo base layer

Topo

The USGS topographic map. The cleanest background of the three, which makes it the easiest to read the waterfowl density layer against.

USGS Topo base layer

Topo is the default. If you have the density layer on and the colours are hard to read, switching to Topo usually helps — see the Waterfowl Model Guide.