[va_co_birding] Re: screaming into the void...

  • From: "C. Michael Stinson" <cms@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <va_co_birding@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 23:35:28 -0400

Sue et al. -

The reason you (Sue) didn't get Todd's message is that it was posted some
time back, before I changed the settings to reflect your new email address.
In fact, the error message I got when Todd's message bounced from your old
address was the reason I knew I needed to change it to the new one.

As for what to post - I assume that we're all on VA Birds, thus it would be
redundant to post things here that are already being posted on VA Birds with
no additional information. If something is truly rare it should go on VA
Birds, but this list serve could be the forum for additional discussions of
rarities that were specifically related to county listing. (An example: the
Swallow-tailed Kite from 2002 certainly deserved posting on VA Birds. The
fact that it was seen in two counties might be worth additional discussion
here but not worth mentioning on VA Birds.)

Stuff that is clearly in the "backyard bird" category and that doesn't
relate to county listing doesn't go here. E.g., in the context of this list
I don't want to hear about your Northern Cardinals singing, the Tufted
Titmouse at your bird feeder, or the crows making funny noises in the trees
beside your driveway, even if you think they're cute. That's for the "Cute
Birds" list, or the "Backyard Birds" list, or whatever. Save the electrons.

Bad poetry or song lyrics - or good ones for that matter - only get
tolerated if they are directly related to county listing. And then only if
I'm in a good mood. Ian? n.b.

What I hope to see here as time goes on is stuff that has to do with
county-level details of bird distribution (this is the serious side), and
stuff that has to do with county listing (this is the weirdo side). In this
context, a Northern Cardinal might be interesting if you are about to close
it out in every county of the state and only need to see it in a couple more
cities or counties. You can even come see the ones in my backyard if you
need them for your Buckingham County list.

A few random questions to get at the sort of stuff we can discuss here:

How many cities/counties in Virginia have records for Fish Crow and Common
Raven? Where are they common, where annual, and where are they truly rare?
Some miscellaneous facts relevant to this question: I see (and hear) Fish
Crows in Farmville (Prince Edward Co.) every spring, but only then. Are they
migrating up (or down) the Appomattox River? Where do they come from? As for
ravens, I have seen them in Prince Edward at various times throughout the
year, but I only see them there once or twice per year.

Why can't I find a Brown-headed Nuthatch in Prince Edward County?

What counties in Virginia don't have records for Chuck-will's-Widows? and
how many counties actually have any solid evidence for the occurrence of any
of the caprimulgids that occur there (something besides verbal reports)?

And here's a big one: which species of birds will it be possible to close
out in Virginia (i.e., for an individual birder to see the species in every
city and county in the state)? How long would it take to close out, say,
Cedar Waxwing?

Since Sue is working on the county listing web site (hope that wasn't a
secret), we will sooner or later be able to gloat here when we pass 100
species for a given city/county and get to post our lists. And we will be
able to solicit one another's assistance when we go on a trip to bump our
species lists for a given area up to 100 species, e.g. that jaunt to
Westmoreland County in February. (That was me, Sue, and Todd, BTW.) And we
can likewise gloat when we close out a species. This is the dark side of
county listing, yes. Please, can you help me find a Grasshopper Sparrow in
Craig County?

We can also get into esoterica like "how many contiguous counties do you
have 100 or more species in?"

When I set up the list I wrote a mildly grumpy-sounding FAQ that has some
comments about what to post to the list as well. You can access that from
the freelists web site. If you're really bored...

comments, please -

CMS


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