[TN-Butterflies] slowdown in posting foy and bamona records

From: "Steve Stedman" <birdsongteam@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tn-butterflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 8 May 2009 09:28:40 -0500
Hello to all,

I've come down with a really bad cold/allergy/case of respiratory crud, and I 
have not done much but feel sorry for myself since Tuesday.  It is bad enough 
that I am thinking that I will not be able to do field work for the Putnam 
County Spring Bird Count tomorrow, so you know it is bad.

Anyhow, when I do get to feeling better, which I hope is soon, I have to deal 
with a set of final exams that have to be graded by this coming Monday at the 
latest.  After that I have to make final revisions on and send in the Christmas 
Bird Count report for the 109th CBC in TN.  After that I will have to see if 
anything new has come in and needs dealing with regarding the Journal of the 
Tennessee Academy of Science, of which I am Managing Editor. Once those matters 
are attended to, I will be able to get back to FOY and BAMONA records; this may 
take a week or even longer, so please be patient, and please keep sending in 
those records; I WILL get to them.

Speaking of BAMONA records, a sea-change in the kind of records desired has 
taken place of late.  It now appears that BAMONA wants ALL butterfly records 
that it can get, not just new county records or records of rare 'flies. This 
new record hunger at BAMONA includes the results from field trips, butterfly 
counts, backyard counts, everything.  The catch is that the data currently have 
to be submitted on an EXCEL spreadsheet with correctly labeled columns--about 
15 of them.  The columns for which data are needed include the genus and 
species names (but not the common name) of the butterfly; the State; the 
County; the specific site; the lat-long data (more and more desired but not yet 
mandatory); the date; the name of the observer; the type of record (sight 
record, photo, or specimen); the name of the verifier (SJS); an indication of 
whether or not the specimen, if obtained, is in a collection; where the 
collection is housed if so; and any notes that seem pertinent to the record.

Anyway, if any of you are willing to fill out spreadsheets with these data for 
any of your past, present, or future field trips and send to me, I can then 
forward them to BAMONA for inclusion in the database. Let me know, if so, and I 
will send along the template for the spreadsheet.

If you have GPS data for any of your records already submitted, please send 
along as time and inclination allow. BAMONA wants to go to a system of mapping 
that will allow for data to be presented in more precise ways than just filling 
in a county with color if there is a record, and GPS data will allow for this 
to take place.

Moths: I am still hoping someone will step forward and agree to be the 
coordinator for Moths in TN at BAMONA. I find I just can't work in the time 
needed to do the work of submitting moth data to BAMONA plus do all the other 
stuff I am doing and still have any quality time for myself to do field work 
with 'flies and birds, have a family life, etc.  I hate that this is the case, 
but right now it is, and I do not expect it will change anytime soon.  So if 
you have a hankering to gain fame and fortune as a moth coordinator, now is the 
time to step up.  Note: When I accepted the BAMONA coordinatorship in TN, I 
thought it was just for the butterflies, but I discovered after the fact that 
moths were included in the job description, though I have yet to find time to 
deal with them.  I am saving everything I get about moths, and will eventually 
do the work of submitting the data when I retire if no one steps up before that.

Virally laid up, 

Steve Stedman
Cookeville (Putnam County)
[TN-Butterflies] slowdown in posting foy and bamona records

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