Sorry for seeing this thread after it was done, but I was at Whigg Meadow for the last couple days (I’ll post about that later) where there is no cell service. I have a couple points to add and I’ll try to be brief. Since the thread is complete and I’m out of line (sorry!), please reply to me directly rather than on the list: ssomershoe@xxxxxxxxx First and foremost (in my mind), one of the best things about birding is sharing what we see, sharing the birds and the experiences (sometimes high fives are involved and beers are owed), sharing the places, and the knowledge on how, where, and when to look for certain birds. Birders from novice to the most experienced gain a lot of knowledge from posts on TN-Bird. There’s a lot more gained by posting what you see than just the location and time of a species and for the record keepers. Honestly for me, I love birding (duh) and finding good birds (this goes without saying!), but I really enjoy letting others know ASAP so they can see the birds or if others are nearby, getting other birders on the bird(s). One example that sticks out in my mind is when a group of us were looking for the Harris’s Sparrow at Percy Priest WMA (Rutherford Co.) last Oct. I left the group and wandered around a bit since the Harris’s was MIA and I found a Nelson’s Sparrow (which was completely unexpected!). As soon as I called it out to the group (literally 1 second later), Tony Lance called out that he’d found the Harris’s. Twenty min later or so, after we all saw the Harris’s, I went back and somehow relocated the Nelson’s. What I’ll always remember first from that morning is that I got all 12 or so people in the group 1-4 crushing looks at the normally secretive Nelson’s. I got a lifer in the Harris’s (and ABA area bird 500) and the Nelson’s was also a lifer for a lot of people, but what was most memorable and enjoyable was getting others to see the Nelson’s, the great experience and time we had out there that morning, and it didn’t matter if it was a county bird, state bird, Big Year Bird, life bird, or you’d seen them 100 times. We all had fun that morning, we saw some really cool birds, and that’s all that really mattered. Sharing sightings is rewarding in many ways. I’ve tried to encourage people to start posting on TN-Birds or post more frequently since we know a lot of folks are out there birding and many others are interested in what’s being seen, and we hear little about what’s being found. There’s a lot to be gained outside a “tick” on a list or a note in the Season report for the Migrant (for which I’m now really behind after all the goodies reported this week!). In terms of Facebook, I started and manage (with a couple other people) the Tennessee Birding Facebook page (and we have a small page for Rutherford Co., which barely gets used anymore). Keith Watson also manages a page for Sevier Co. birds. My goal was to engage more birders that are not on TN-Bird or are afraid to post on TN-Bird, have never heard of TN-Bird, don’t eBird, nor otherwise interact with the birding community in Tennessee AND hear more about what people are seeing, have discussions on ID points, where to bird, etc. and have more lengthy discussions on these topics than is appropriate for TN-Birds. It was designed to supplement TN-Bird, not be a separate nor exclusive place to post bird sightings, and thus far it has served that purpose well. All rare/notable birds posted on the TN Birding Facebook page have also been posted on TN-birds by the observers or I’ve made a point of posting on TN-bird all other notable birds, with a couple unintentional exceptions. I can only see the benefit of the Facebook page(s) as long as we keep up the overlap and posting of goodies on TN-Birds. eBird: It’s an immensely powerful, useful, and fun tool, but you all know that already. Use it! No excuses. You just don’t understand how useful it is until you start using it regularly. By the way, Scott Block has included the eBird Rare Bird Alert gadget (showing recent rare birds submitted) for the state of Tennessee on the home page of Nashville TOS: https://sites.google.com/site/nashvillebirds/home I don’t see the Piping Plover from Musick’s Campground on the alert yet. J I probably forgot a point or misstated something, but I think the main ideas and points are there. I need a nap. If you got this far thru my ramble, thanks. Now go get your binocs and scope, go birding, have fun, and let us know what you found! Good birding! Scott Somershoe On Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 8:49 PM, Terry Witt <terrywitt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > I knew I would get some feedback > > Yes, not all e-bird users are on Tn-bird, but why not?? > The price of joining either site is the same - zero > > Second point, I am not interested in having a target list on e-bird > I am interested in what is being seen, where, by whom, then I can decide > whether it is something I might want to try and relocate > It is also helpful to see what is moving through the area > For targeted birding, NARBA might be a better choice > > Just Sayin > > Terry Witt > Murfreesboro Tennessee >