[texbirds] Re: We need a "bird of interest" program
- From: Clay Taylor <Clay.Taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'jlt290@xxxxxxxxx'" <jlt290@xxxxxxxxx>, "shawkins4@xxxxxxxxxxx" <shawkins4@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:55:21 -0500
All -
As much as I despise the term "paradigm shift" (it was badly misused for so
long), I think it can be applied to this subject - we are now seeing multiple
ways to report bird sightings, and different groups like one or another method
better. The truly "hooked in" birder will bounce in and out of them all with
regularity, while others of us will stick with the one(s) we are most
comfortable with.
Which method will survive? I'm guessing an eBird-type of data entry and some
evolution of information dissemination. Ugh, that sounds very high-falutin',
doesn't it?
Look at what has happened to bird records / verification over the past 40
years. In the 70s, a rare bird record was expected to be accompanied by a
Field Sketch. No sketch, no acceptance. With the advent of digital
photography, even the British records committee expects (requires?) a digital
photo to accompany a rarity report.
The American Birding Association just had a long thread on their FaceBook page
dealing with the current crop of "young birders" and why they are not joining
the ABA. The short answer is that their style of birding, record keeping,
and social interaction do not embrace a 40-year old birding model.
My own preference of action - longer, more detailed written reports to
TexBirds; short, punchy tidbits with photos to FaceBook TexBirds, and I have
not ever surfed eBird, nor signed up (yet) for eBird Alerts.
My 2¢ worth,
Clay Taylor
TOS Life Member
Calallen (Corpus Christi), TX
Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:Clay.taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
-----Original Message-----
From: texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of John Tharp
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 6:00 PM
To: shawkins4@xxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: TexBirds
Subject: [texbirds] Re: We need a "bird of interest" program
I've said it before on here and I'll say it again. TexBirds still seems to be
the most inclusive way to spread the word to the Texas birding community about
what you saw and where you saw it and often get some great feedback.
I won't knock e-bird or text alerts as all of our tools serve a purpose and as
birders we should embrace the advantages in communication and data management
we gain with all of our new toys.
However, I very strongly feel that it is important that the birding community
be inclusive and not gravitate entirely toward using tools that exclude a
relatively large number of birders for whatever reason, be it not using
facebook, not using ebird, etc. I personally get the most enjoyment out of
birding when I can share my sightings with the greatest number of people. Until
we come up with a nice happy combination of all of these tools (as suggested in
the original post), I plan on sticking with the seemingly most inclusive
approach for sharing my sightings.
John Tharp
Houston, TX
On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 4:13 PM, Stevan Hawkins
<shawkins4@xxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:shawkins4@xxxxxxxxxxx>>wrote:
> TexBirders:
>
>
> In the mid 1990s when I first heard of TexBirds, it was touted as a
> way of people telling other Texans and others about the neat birds
> they had seen and where others could go to see those birds. Having
> one central place to get word once per day about rarities saved a
> whole lot of time and money over telephoning and transcribing various
> groups' taped announcements, which tended to only get updated once per
> week. I have to agree with Fred Collins about Facebook and ebird. In
> my case I don't have a Facebook page and I don't want to. I don't
> think that it is asking too much of people to send their ebird reports
> to TexBirds.
>
>
>
> Later!
>
>
>
> Steve
>
>
>
> Stevan Hawkins
>
> San Antonio TX
>
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> *****
>
> From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)"
> <Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx<mailto:Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx>>
>
> Subject: [texbirds] We need a "bird of interest" program
>
> Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2013 22:27:03 +0000
>
>
>
> Mitch mentioned my melancholy. Texbirds is no longer a reliable source
> for bird information in the state. That is a shame, but a fact. I regret it.
> Many people only post to ebird, some just to local group lists or
> bulletin boards. This is especially true of the Dallas and San Antonio (?)
> areas.
> Some former Texbird regulars now use Facebook primarily. I do not have
> the time, energy or desire to attempt to monitor all of these forums.
> I do get Texbirds and ebird rarity reports. I am on Facebook but do
> not look at it daily much less hourly.
>
> We need Mister Rosy Finch to design a program that watches all of
> these sites and send us an email when a bird's number pops up.
>
>
>
>
>
> Fred Collins
>
> (281) 357-5324
>
> Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center
>
> Cypress Top Historical Park
>
> Commissioner Steve Radack
>
> Harris County Precinct 3
>
> www.pct3.hctx.net<http://www.pct3.hctx.net>
> <http://www.pct3.hctx.net%3chttp:/www.pct3.hctx.net>
> <http://www.pct3.hctx.net
>
>
>
> Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
> //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds
>
> Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking
> permission from the List Owner
>
>
>
Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
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Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission
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