Cool..I didn’t know that, thanks
Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
________________________________
From: tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <tn-bird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of
Graham <grahamgerdeman@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2020 10:56:36 AM
To: Victor Stoll <victorjaystollnineteen80@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <Tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [TN-Bird] Re: Long-Eared Owl Field Trip
Hi all - I wanted to make sure that people know that eBird has a pretty solid
method of dealing with self-reporting (or non-reporting) of sensitive species
like roosting Long-eared Owls. This can (and should) be done whether you are
viewing known birds like the ones Victor is discussing - or you find them
yourselves. You can also do this if you find a rare bird on your property which
you want to count, but you don't want other birders to come see it. You simply
submit your list, and then immediately view/edit the list in a web browser, and
select "hide from eBird output" from the drop-down menu. (Attached screenshot).
It is a little clunky in that you cannot select this before you submit the
list, and you can't yet do it directly with the phone app. But you can submit
it on the app, open the checklist you just submitted, click the "eBird.org"
button to open it in a browser, and then hide it. As long as you have a data
connection or WiFi when you submit the checklist, it only takes a few seconds.
It must be done right away, to prevent any hourly "needs" or rare bird alerts
from going out.
This way, if you absolutely must have the species on your life/state/etc.
lists, it will still count as such in eBird, but the data will not be in the
public record - and won't show up in searches, etc. As much as we might say
"don't eBird it," some people are going to anyway, so this is a way to do it
privately.
For those tn-bird readers who may not be listers, or otherwise may be confused
by this conversation, Long-eared Owls are a hard to find species - which makes
them of high value to birders - and they are, of course, beautiful birds of
prey, which make them highly subject to harassment by photographers more
concerned with their image or their Instagram than the safety of the animal.
They are also known to be easily scared away from roost sites, which makes that
stress particularly harmful to them when it happens over and over again. By
reporting the location of a roost to eBird (or Facebook, Tn-bird, or
elsewhere), you put a big digital sign on something the owls themselves have
taken great care to keep secret. The next thing you know, dozens of people are
stomping the area trying to find them, and they're gone. This is only one of
several examples of why one might want to hide a checklist. For some species,
particularly endangered ones, eBird automatically hides the output.
The owl roost Daniel found provides an opportunity for viewing from a distance
with a scope without disturbing the birds, but you have to have someone who
knows where to look. They would be next to impossible to find otherwise without
intentionally flushing them, which is what everyone will go out and do. It's
generous for Ruben and Victor to offer to lead folks out to see them - so
please don't report the birds and defeat that purpose.
Graham Gerdeman
Nashville
On Mon, Feb 17, 2020, 4:29 AM Victor Stoll
<victorjaystollnineteen80@xxxxxxxxx<mailto:victorjaystollnineteen80@xxxxxxxxx>>
wrote:
There will be another trip to see the Long-Eared Owls on Saturday the 22’nd.
Contact me at 931-219-7497. Unfortunately Ruben dropped his phone in the
flooded Duck River so he will be out of touch for a while. Also, PLEASE PLEASE
PLEASE don’t report them on Ebird! At least 3 people have reported them after
being told not to, one even went back and reported them a second time after
being asked not to again! These birds were found by Daniel Redwine and we are
all very lucky to get to see them, he asked us to keep them off Ebird per
advice from high up. If people can’t obey such a simple request this kind of
viewing opportunity won’t happen again. (We were advised not to let anyone find
out but decided to trust people)
