Now this is something I can help with. I have been an admin of a Facebook
group for going on 3 years. If no one else has done a group yet, I would be
willing to start one for you.
Tonya
On Apr 3, 2017 12:24 PM, "Matthew G Hunter" <matthewghunter@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi Folks,
That's not exactly an informative subject heading, but it seemed fitting a
somewhat related to what I wanted to post... And, the main thing being
decluttered here is ... my own mind and memory bank. :-)
I've been thinking on and off for a while about a couple things, and
thought I would throw them out there at this point for discussion.
1. UMPQUA BIRDS ON FACEBOOK. I know a few of you Luddites out there are
laughing, but ... I would like to open this topic for discussion and in the
end I have a proposal. Three and a half years ago, Tammy Weir emailed the
Umpqua Birds group asking if there was a Facebook group for birds in our
area. Her question and my reply are here in the Umpqua Birds freelists
archives: //www.freelists.org/post/umpquabirds/Raven-Summary,6.
Tammy is clearly light years ahead of me with this technology. I just
entered the Facebook world last fall as a means to keep up with changes in
schedule for our martial arts academy. It's been interesting. There are
definitely pluses and minuses to Facebook, but I find some people share
more on Facebook that just don't "send emails" to email groups. Perhaps
emails are boring or just "ancient" technology.
My recommendation is this: If there is someone out there--Tammy or someone
else--that would like to start an Umpqua Birds or Umpqua Basin Birds (or
whatever you want to call it) Facebook Group, I think that would be great,
and I will join. I think such a group would promote more interaction with
the Facebook (and Instagram, etc.) generation. For the rest of you that
shudder at the thought of Facebook or the loss of the Umpqua Birds email
list, never fear, I intend to continue this list as well. The relationship
between similar email vs Facebook groups is a modern quandary (Oregon has
statewide email and facebook groups). Some might be baffled as to where to
post or what group to follow or read. Well, if you're super serious, you'll
just have to do both. If it is just a pasttime for you, hey, relax and look
at whatever you want as little or as often as you like. For me, I'm too
busy doing what I'm doing to follow everything completely. A couple tips
though: Facebook ends up to predominantly be photos, and email
predominantly writing. [By the way, the Facebook people reading this are
thinking "Geez, he's going on and on," and the Luddites are thanking me for
explaining this thoroughly, haha!]
Facebooks style: Hey, someone want to start an Umpqua Birds Facebook
group? :-)
2. UMPQUA BIRDERS AND NATURALISTS. For decades, the folks over in Lincoln
County (Newport, etc.) have been the Yaquina Birders and Naturalists. We
all know that most everyone, if not everyone, on this Umpqua Birds list is
also interested in other things, such as flowers, amphibians, reptiles,
mammals, etc... And some will occasionally post on other taxa besides
birds. I have pondered changing the name and topical content of our email
group to Umpqua Birders and Naturalists or even just Umpqua Basin
Naturalists. Discussion?
3. iNATURALIST. If any of you have not heard of this, I urge you right
this minute, or at least sometime today, to go take a look at
www.inaturalist.org. This is an excellent way to encourage people to get
out and observe things, and contribute to the greater knowledge of
biodiversity wherever you are. It is also a great way to learn from the
naturalist community about many different species of living things. You can
see my observations here: http://www.inaturalist.org/
observations/umpquamatt
How do I navigate all this? What am I going to do? Thanks for asking.
Here's what I am doing, and I really enjoy it:
1. I contribute photos of non-birds (amphibs, reptiles, insects, fungo,
plants, etc), as well as some photos of birds and bird "evidence" (nest,
tracks, feathers) to iNaturalist. iNat is more of a "one critter at a time"
type of site. I mostly use my cell phone.
2. I continue to submit all my bird lists, and bird photos and sound
recordings, to eBird (ebird.org). This is a great site to contribute
lists of birds from a place or an outing, with or without photos.
3. I share current bird sightings with Umpqua Birds, and will probably
continue doing that, but would also join a local birds Facebook group if
someone created one.
4. My non-bird sightings are shared "automatically" with the iNat
community when I submit them, based on peoples' preferences for being
notified regarding different species, geographic areas, or observers. It's
pretty cool.
HAPPY SPRING! Get out and enjoy nature and contribute to knowledge of the
world in which we live!
We've had three species of "crowned" sparrows (Zonotrichia species) at our
feeder recently:
GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
Matt Hunter
