[texbirds] Re: eBird's position on documentation

  • From: Brush Freeman <brushfreeman@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Jim Sinclair <jim.sinclair@xxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 11:48:03 -0500

Ha Ha....Should I reveal my find of an Aztec Thrush at Webberville now??
**********************************************************************
Brush Freeman
503-551-5150 Cell
120 N. Red Bud Trail. Elgin, Tx. 78621
http://texasnaturenotes.blogspot.com/
Finca Alacranes., Utley,Texas


On Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 5:03 PM, Jim Sinclair <jim.sinclair@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Well,  I know that I will never, ever forgive Mary Gustafson for
> questioning my report of 10 Greater Flamingos on the Norias division.  My
> report should have stood on it merits.
>
> On Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 4:55 PM, Steve Gast <segast23@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > I find it enjoyable to find and submit something that gets flagged. I
> > don't look for these on purpose but do get a kick out of finding
> something
> > out of the ordinary. I have made mistakes in data entry and a few times I
> > don't have a good enough description for it to be accepted ( yeah - OK  -
> > sometimes too I just blow the ID)  But that is ok because I end up
> learning
> > how to study a bird better or how to ID a bird correctly the next time. I
> > am sorry for putting reviewers to extra work though. I really don't want
> to
> > do this on purpose and so I never complain about either having to submit
> > more details or volunteering to pull the record down due to insufficient
> > observation. I have the lesser amount  of work to that of the busy eBird
> > reviewers ( God bless 'em)
> >
> > The process however it plays out should be a learning one and enjoyable.
> >
> > Steve Gast
> > Houston TX
> >
> > > On Mar 20, 2014, at 3:00 PM, Brady Surber <supersurber@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > It would be much easier to document flagged sightings if one knew ahead
> > of time what would get flagged, to my knowledge there is no way to view a
> > list of what the filters hit. Frequently I get flagged for species that
> > shouldn't be rare(granted that can only be fixed by more sightings with
> > documentation) or that are in unusual numbers. Cases such as this if it
> > were possible to know or see a list by region of the filters /with
> expected
> > numbers it would be astoundingly easier for all of us to document things
> > better.
> > > regards,
> > > Brady Surber
> > > Vernon, TX
> > >
> > >> Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 08:52:18 -0700
> > >> Subject: [texbirds] eBird's position on documentation
> > >> From: heraldpetrel@xxxxxxxxx
> > >> To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > >>
> > >> Texbirders
> > >> I thought I would chime in here and provide some insight into how
> eBird
> > >> views the process of documenting rarities, and why that is important.
> > >> Photos are not required to support a record, but they are an excellent
> > >> source of documentation. That said, before digital photography was
> > widely
> > >> accessible to the public, birders adequately documented birds through
> > >> careful description. In some cases, a careful description can be
> better
> > >> than a photo. Photos in the absence of any text description are
> > >> problematic. Ideally, a record would have both. eBird editors should
> > not be
> > >> invalidating records with text descriptions as a rule. On the
> contrary,
> > >> they should be evaluating these to the best of their ability. If that
> is
> > >> not happening, I need to know about it. That said, some people refuse
> to
> > >> provide details, and it can be tiresome for volunteer editors who
> spend
> > >> countless hours trying to keep the database clean for scientific
> > purposes
> > >> to request details and get none. The eBird review team in Texas has a
> > huge
> > >> volume of records to review every day, and this is generally a
> thankless
> > >> job. Without them, eBird would cease to function, so please do your
> > best to
> > >> help them by documenting any flagged records you submit to the best of
> > your
> > >> ability.
> > >>
> > >> Please see the links below to learn more about the eBird data quality
> > >> process, and how to adequately document your records.
> > >>
> > >> Data Quality: http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/1055676
> > >>
> > >> Documentation:
> > >>
> >
> http://help.ebird.org/customer/portal/articles/973980-reporting-rarities--elements-of-a-bird-description?b_id28
> > >>
> > >> Thanks
> > >>
> > >> Brian
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> ===========
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> *Brian L. SullivaneBird Project Leader *
> > >> www.ebird.org
> > >>
> > >> *Photo Editor*
> > >> Birds of North America Online
> > >> http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA
> > >> -------------------------------
> > >>
> > >>
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>
> --
> Jim Sinclair (TX-ESA)
> TOS Life Member
> Kingsville, TX
>
> "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of
> thinking we were at when we created them." - Albert Einstein
>
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