[obol] Re: About not reporting a bird on a birding list
- From: Brandon Green <brandon.green18@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OBOL <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2013 10:34:50 -0800
I'm dismayed to see Stephanie's very reasonable request for photographers
to give the Linn County Burrowing Owl a little space morph into a "Whaddya
mean we can't post bird sightings on OBOL?!" post. Yes, you can post bird
sightings and directions on OBOL. The OBOL Guidelines clearly encourage
this ("Give directions to notable birds.")
http://www.orbirds.org/obolguidelines.html
And while Paul is absolutely correct that Rich's post was appropriate and
that he has nothing to apologize for, there's a glaring lack of attention
to the gray area in this discussion. No sane birder would object to
somebody reporting a vagrant warbler at a suet feeder in a public area.
However, for obvious reasons, one would incur the wrath of many by posting
detailed directions to an active Spotted Owl nest. A nuanced discussion of
this topic would account for the fact that some species are more sensitive
to human activity and/or are in more sensitive situations than others.
OBOL's "membership" are *not* the only ones who have access to the
information posted here. OBOL posts are available to the general public
via the ABA web site and via the archive page on the OBA web site. Thus,
all OBOL posts are available for public consumption. One can debate how
often the general public reads OBOL but, if I were a non-birder with a
vested interest in locating rare birds, it wouldn't take me long to find
OBOL.
While I do not begrudge those who post directions to the roosts/nests of
sensitive species, my personal feeling is that it may be best to first post
the general location and then invite interested parties to e-mail for
detailed directions. That way, you have some control over the information.
Just my $0.02.
Brandon
Eugene
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