[obol] Re: eBirding
- From: clay crofton <ruffledgrouch@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 1 Jul 2014 06:44:20 -0700
First, I'd like to thank David and Forrest for adding human faces to the
eBird editing process. I am now convinced that the eBird editors are well
intentioned volunteers.
Second, let me rephrase my dissatisfaction with eBird. If eBird does not
accept *MY* reports of birds on the edges of their ranges, then why should
I bother to contribute?
On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 12:43 AM, David Irons <llsdirons@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Greetings All,
>
> Speaking to the question of non-rare birds showing up on the "rare" bird
> alert. Knowledge isn't property and it isn't static. If we compare what
> David Sibley thinks he knows, with what Clay Crofton thinks he knows, with
> what I think I know, the three of us will not be in lock-step agreement. In
> fact, our perceptions of things may not even dove-tail much. Sibley's first
> edition "big book" has lots of problems with range maps and his
> representation of the range of Northern Mockingbird in Oregon was incorrect
> and he now knows it. How do I know this? Easy, the Northern Mockingbird
> range map in his recently-published second edition shows the entirety of
> Oregon except Forrest English's corner of the world (the Rogue Valley)
> shaded in gray. According to Sibley's key, gray = "rare." This version of
> his field guide has it right. The previous one didn't. Those who have the
> eBird filters for eastern Oregon counties set at zero for Northern
> Mockingbird have it right.
>
> A bird can be rare and still be somewhat regular in occurrence. Northern
> Mockingbirds are found somewhere in eastern Oregon, particularly
> southeastern Oregon every year. However, there is no site in this part of
> Oregon where one can go and have an expectation of seeing a mockingbird.
> During our recent trip to southeastern Oregon and northwestern Nevada,
> Shawneen and I saw the stakeout Northern Mockingbird that is hanging around
> the Malheur Field Station. It was the first mockingbird that I've seen in
> Harney County in several years and I get down there almost every year. We
> also found a Northern Mockingbird at a highway maintenance station along
> Hwy 140 about 20 miles or so south Denio, Nevada. When we entered it into
> our eBird checklist, it did not set off any sort of checkbox, which it
> would have had we reported it north of the Oregon border. We asked some
> Nevada birders that we know about this and they informed us that Northern
> Mockingbirds are not that rare in Humboldt County, Nevada. Looking at
> Sibley's latest edition, it appears from his map that Northern Mockingbird
> is indeed regular at least in the southern parts of that county.
>
> There is no better target than the nameless, faceless, "self-appointed
> guardian of knowledge." Why? Because no such person exists. The folks who
> are eBird editors are in place because someone asked them to lend a hand,
> not because they are self-appointed. In order to have review and filter
> setting privileges, someone in the eBird management team has to set them up
> for you and give you access to the database. This doesn't happen unless
> others have endorsed you as someone who understands and is familiar with
> the birdlife within the county, state, or country you are going be a
> reviewer for. Some in this community might tag me with the label of
> "self-appointed guardian of knowledge" because I not only have access to
> the eBird database, but I am also the Regional Editor for North American
> Birds, plus I am on the Oregon Bird Records Committee. In each case, I was
> either invited, recommended, or in the case of the OBRC voted into the
> position because or my combination of experience and knowledge of Oregon
> birds. I did not appoint myself to any of these positions, nor did they
> come my way because of my charming personality or because someone thinks
> I'm nice guy. My current set of knowledge (what I think I know) is not a
> completed set that I feel compelled to "guard." In fact, I challenge it,
> question it, and put it to the test every time I walk out my door.
>
> One of the reasons that I so strongly endorse eBird is because it gives me
> a chance to help fill in of gaps in our knowledge of Oregon's birds rather
> than relying on what we all think we know. Further, any time I want, I can
> start poking around the database and expand my knowledge. During the
> aforementioned trip to southeastern Oregon, Shawneen and I spent one night
> in Jordan Valley on the eastern border of the state about 50 miles north of
> the Oregon/Nevada border. We got up in the morning and found a nesting pair
> of Lesser Goldfinches in a tree next to the parking lot of the Old Basque
> Inn. I was very excited, thinking that Lesser Goldfinch in this part of the
> world was quite rare. Unfortunately, my notions about the status of Lesser
> Goldfinch in this part of Oregon were many years out of date. There a
> number of reports from Malheur County, which gets very minimal coverage and
> Lesser Goldfinches are now regular in Boise, Idaho. The range map in the
> first edition Sibley matches my prior knowledge (before this event) of the
> range of this species in the Great Basin. The second edition accurately
> shows that its range has expanded northward in the Great Basin.
>
> The ranges of birds are plastic and the ongoing expansions and retreats
> will never be perfectly represented in the eBird filter settings. Sometimes
> it's because the reviewers like me have yet to appreciate or fully embrace
> that change has occurred. It could also be that a reviewer simply hasn't
> found the time to make a filter change. These are unpaid positions after
> all, occupied by men and women who have jobs, careers, families, and even
> other recreational activities that they enjoy. None of us sits at home hour
> after hour, day after after day pouring through our county's filters in
> hopes of finding something to fine tune. Heck, I'm too busy going out to
> see all the places that I've never visited and learning new things. I
> barely find the time to capture all the details of those adventures.
>
> Dave Irons
> Portland, OR
>
> ------------------------------
> Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 20:19:08 -0700
> Subject: [obol] Re: eBirding
> From: forrest.english@xxxxxxxxx
> To: ruffledgrouch@xxxxxxxxx
> CC: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> Yes, I should know better than to talk about eBird on OBOL, but I'm going
> to give it a shot.
>
> Some regional editors have more cautious filters than others. It doesn't
> mean it's necessarily truly rare (and I'm fairly sure they know this). It
> can be helpful to the editors receive notice when even uncommon birds are
> seen if they are trying to better refine the filters, or if there are
> specific concerns with confusion of a more common species.
>
> The editors, while not perfect, are doing the best job they can to provide
> a little bit of quality assurance to the data that I think we all value.
>
> Also, unless I'm mistaken you have to opt in specifically to receive
> alerts of rare birds in your email.
>
> Back on topic... I'd actually say that the range of Northern Mockingbird
> is beyond the areas you just mentioned, as we certainly have them in SW
> Oregon as well (and no, it's not on our rare lists).
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 30, 2014 at 3:04 PM, clay crofton <ruffledgrouch@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> My greatist peeve about eBird is the "rare" reports. I am willing to waste
> the time filling out write-ins if the bird is actually a vagrant. Mostly
> they are not. The self appointed guardians of the knowledge need to back
> off on that. Example, Sibley shows the normal range of Mockingbirds from
> south central through south east Oregon. However, eBird requires they be
> writen up as "rare" in all three of the relevant counties. Hummm? Doesn't
> the scientific method require acceptance of all data to give accurate
> results?
>
> P.S. Recently figured out the the preferences page allows ebird
> contributers to opt out of the "rare" alerts.
>
> --
>
>
>
> *Happy birdingCLAYClosed yahoo account and encourage you to not use yahoo.
> Please note my new email address*
>
>
>
>
> --
> Forrest English
>
--
*Happy birdingClay*
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