[wisb] Violet-Ear Scam
- From: Kathi Johnson Rock <kathijr@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 22:36:43 -0700 (PDT)
I want to apologize to everyone on the Wisconsin Birding List for the terrible
events of today with Violet-Ear hoax. It was mortifying, disappointing, and
demoralizing. What kind of person does this? I'm still trying to find out.
Anyhow, we all learned many lessons from this---mostly, that any kind of
sighting like this needs to be fully checked out before being posted on a
public forum such as The Wisconsin Birding List and I certainly take
responsibility for this. In reflecting on this unpleasant event later, the
photo did seem a little too good to be true and it was!
Master Hummingbird Bander Bob Sargent in Louisiana had many words of comfort
and Nancy Newfield, who is a master Hummingbird Bander in Louisiana had this to
say, which I thought might be of interest to the group:
"It was a terrible prank for someone to pull on unsuspecting birders and that
person's credibility is completely shot. Of course, the bird was
not a Black-chinned and it wasn't even a Green Violetear. It was a
Sparkling Violetear, which is about an inch larger than the Green
Violetear. I'm glad that this debacle was scotched in short order. I
am sure the good birders of Wisconsin will soldier on and they will find
species worthy of legitimate joy. The miscreant won't soon be
forgiven."
This is what I wrote on The Hummingbird Forum and I intend to move forward on
this premise:
"I guess we must take this with a grain of salt and move on with our
important work and focus on the things that really matter and that we
know are real (like the hummers that we can see and hear in our own
backyards!)."
Good Birding to All!!
Kathi Rock
Kathi and Michael Rock
Madison, Wisconsin
Zone 4/5
e-mail: kathijr@xxxxxxxxx
website: http://mywebspace.wisc.edu/mjrock/web
"Hummingbirds.....where is the person, I ask, who, on observing this glittering
fragment of the rainbow, would not pause, admire, and turn his mind with
reverence..."; (J. J. Audubon)
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