Thank you, Mary. I think you speak for many of us.
Linda Fink
On 12/29/2018 9:21 PM, Mary Garrard wrote:
Hi Joel and all, I appreciate Joel's commitment to forwarding RBAs and sharing
other interesting bird observations. Although I generally don’t chase rarities
and keep only casual county/state/life lists, I enjoy knowing what others are
seeing and having the opportunity to check out something rare or unusual in my
environs even if I don’t make use of it. I do receive eBird RBAs for several
counties but not everyone does.
As eBird has attracted more and more users, fewer and fewer post to the various
birding listserves. This makes me sad, because one of the values of the
listserves to me is the reports not just of rarities but of everyday
observations. I really enjoy Howard Bruner’s poetic descriptions, for a shining
example; I share the joy that others experience watching hummingbirds interact
at their feeder or witnessing the outcome between predator and prey. Thank you
to everyone who continues to post these quotidian observations—eBird serves a
function, but it certainly doesn’t feed my soul in the same way.
I wish everyone a wonderful year of observing, chasing, encountering,
conducting science involving, and otherwise enjoying the birdlife around us.
Happy new year!
Warmly,
Mary
On Dec 29, 2018, at 4:52 PM, clearwater@xxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi all,
In general I agree with the observations made by Wayne Hoffman and others:
Once a bird is reported via eBird or any other widely accessible digital media
(e-mail list-servs, Facebook, Twitter etc.), it's basically out there in the
public domain. Unless there is some particular reason to keep a report under
wraps (e.g. risk of harassment or unwelcome intrusions on private property), it
seems sensible to assume that any such report can and probably will be
forwarded to other interested parties.
Since there has been some commentary and speculation about when and how I
forward rare-bird reports to the Mid-(Willamette) Valley bird list, I'd like to
explain that process here.
As background, the Midvalley list was set up by Jim Norton in 2006, with two
main functions: (1) to keep local birders/birdwatchers informed of interesting
local bird observations and opportunities, and (2) to simplify the task of
compiling local field notes. Jim eventually left for a job in Texas, but we've
kept this list going because it's still useful for those functions. When I work
on the local Audubon field notes (as I'm doing this weekend), it's very useful
to have everything in one place.
In part to maintain those functions, I subscribe to both OBOL and COBOL (which sometimes
yields reports for the Santiam Pass portions of Linn County, within the service area for
Corvallis Audubon) in digest form. The digests come out fairly predictably in the wee
hours of the morning, so part of my morning routine is to skim through the digests, pick
out and forward postings that seem pertinent to the mid-valley region. It only takes a
few minutes and I usually just forward postings verbatim, without putting much thought
into it. Sometimes I'll add a bit of context on locations, and/or translate 4-letter
codes or other "birder-ese" for a broader audience.
As eBird gained popularity in the late 2000s, and quite a few interesting local
reports were no longer being shared via e-mail lists, I signed up for eBird
rare-bird alerts (RBAs) for Linn, Polk, and Benton counties. These RBAs come
out at seemingly random times during the day. When they pop up in my inbox, I
take a look and forward them immediately if they seem like they could be of
interest, and if I haven't yet seen a report on the mid-valley list. There is
usually at least a 3-hour delay for these RBAs.
I don't forward every "me-too" report of continuing rarities such as the Tundra
Bean-Goose (which has generated many dozens if not hundreds of RBAs) or birds that are only likely
to be of interest to hard-core birders (such as occasional Tricolored Blackbird reports from the
Philomath sewage ponds, or reports of so-called "Cassiar" Juncos), or reports of
ephemeral sightings that are unlikely to be replicated.
But if a report of something as charismatic a mockingbird pops up, I'll
definitely forward that as soon as I see it. Historically wintering
mockingbirds have tended to stick around long enough for many people to see
them. Even people who aren't hardcore birders tend to enjoy mockingbirds,
especially if they grew up in a region where these were familiar birds.
I certainly appreciate when birders take the time to post notice of unusual birds to the
MidValley list, but I know it often gets forgotten. Some birders who use eBird for all of
their observations have suggested that everyone should just sign up for eBird, and then
they'd get these reports directly, either as RBAs or as "needs-list" reports.
I know the folks who make these suggestions are trying to be helpful, but it reflects a gap in understanding
of how 80% or 90% of local birdwatchers pay attention to birds. If you're not keeping a state/county
"year" list or a life list you don't "need" any birds, but you might still be interested.
I haven't signed up for "needs" lists myself because I don't want to hear about how I really need
to go see a Ruddy Duck at the Philomath sewage ponds just so I'll have it on my list for Benton County this
year. But if someone finds something else cool in my neighborhood, I might still be interested.
On the Midvalley list we have a few folks who make a regular routine of visiting Baskett
Slough NWR. They're not necessarily listers or "chasers" but they share their
own notable sightings. I think they'd appreciate knowing that a mockingbird is around,
for next time they go out there.
Like some of you guessed, I wasn't thinking at all about the Oregon CBC tradition of
keeping rarities under your hat until the countdown, when I forwarded that RBA. I was
thinking about how to organize the Oakridge CBC the next morning, and also dealing with a
house full of guests, and our septic system which has been acting up lately. I was aware
of the Dallas CBC (and I regretted not being able to help Caleb this year -- especially
after seeing the list of "misses" since my contribution in recent years has
usually been to do a bit of owling, then hike clearcuts in the higher elevations on the
west edge of the circle). But when this RBA came out at 6:20 PM, it never occurred to me
that someone might be offended if I shared it.
I appreciated Isaac's comment on his own expectations regarding eBird postings.
My hunch is that the younger generation, in general, have a good handle on the
realities of digital communications.
Happy birding in the CBC season,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
_______________________________________________
birding mailing list
birding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding
_______________________________________________
birding mailing list
birding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://midvalleybirding.org/mailman/listinfo/birding
