[wisb] Re: Rare Bird Reporting
- From: "Tom Wood" <tcwood729@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <Wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011 16:56:13 -0600
The problem I see with this approach is that if the person who makes the
last observation during the stay of the bird does not have enough experience
to ID the bird and just thinks that he saw it, and then reports it, does
this not compromise the integrity of the records? Otherwise, why does the
records
committee go through the painstaking analysis and hard work of evaluating
records at all? I think Bob is emphasizing that the when of what, where, and
when
is also important to the record.
On the other hand, I can see the records committee being overwhelmed with
reports this season due to the large number of recent extralimital
occurrences.
After all, these guys are not being paid, have family and jobs and would
probably like to go birding too. The only solution I can see is to extend
the review
time for submissions. Perhaps the first five submissions can be reviewed to
meet the deadline for the Passenger Pigeon with an explanation that
subsequent records will be reviewed as time is available. I'm sure there are
slow periods when few rarities are observed.
I don't know if Jim Frank uses this forum, but I would be interested to know
what he thinks, and if this situation ever occurred during his ten year
oversight
of the records committee. Future ornithologists will have no doubt that the
records during those 10 years were of the highest quality. I don't know how
Jim
found the time, but all his analyses were well thought out and well
explained. If I had a question or concern, Jim would send me a detailed,
prompt answer.
These are just my thoughts and there may be better solutions.
Thomas C Wood,Menomonee Falls,Waukesha County
-----Original Message-----
From: wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:wisbirdn-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Ryan Brady
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2011 6:48 AM
To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [wisb] Re: Rare Bird Reporting
Hey folks, Mike is spot on. In my attempt to be brief perhaps I was unclear.
The Records Committee does NOT need any more "official" write-ups of the
birds in question. However, I thought it was obvious that we should continue
to monitor these birds and report them to WSO via eBird. This is second
nature to most of us at this point. In no way am I advocating that we
forget about these birds just because they've been adequately chased and
documented. (It felt ridiculous to even write that.)
Ryan Brady
Washburn, Bayfield County, WI
http://www.pbase.com/rbrady
> Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011 05:34:48 -0600
> Subject: [wisb] Re: Rare Bird Reporting
> From: mcdomik@xxxxxxxxx
> To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Howdy all,
> This is just a guess, but I think what Ryan was trying to say is that
> RC doesn't need any more field-mark / photo / ID documents. If someone
> lives fairly close to the vagrant bird in question, perhaps that
> individual will continue to monitor its presence to see how long it
> remains. However, I also feel it's important for birders to keep
> birding their regular locales (like I do for Pheasant Branch
> Conservancy). I'm not going to chase the Vermilion Flycatcher, but
> frequent checking on this vagrant would weaken my eBird data for PBC
> because of personal time constraints; I might miss something at the
> conservancy! Many vagrant birds (record late, early, too) are found by
those birders who bird the same area(s) every day.
>
> My advice to birders who travel to see a vagrant would be to go see it
> once, eBird it, but then continue birding at your regular routes and
> locales. The Dec. 2010 Golden-crowned Sparrow was easily and
> sufficiently documented for the 10 days it remained in Middleton
> because it was right out my window at work. Nearly 300 birders came to
> see this particular vagrant over the 10-day period the bird was
> present. While I'm not discouraging people from documenting a
> sighting, I don't feel the RC would have benefited from having 300
> write-ups of this sparrow hop-scratching for seeds in the snow below
> bird feeders. Essentially, I think RC wants bona fide documentation
> and then once established, any interesting anecdotal information,
> including duration of stay. Given the chase factor of a Vermilion
> Flycatcher (as well as the other vagrants birds presently in
> Wisconsin), I'm confident we're all going to know the last day these birds
are present.
>
> Mike M.
>
> Mike McDowell
> Madison - Dane County
> www.birddigiscoper.com
> www.pheasantbranch.org
> www.facebook.com/mmcdowell
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 6, 2011 at 3:52 AM, <rcd2@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > Although the WSO Rare Birds Committee has plenty of reports to
> > confirm that such species as the Inca Dove and the Scissor-tailed
> > Flycatcher have visited the state this fall, it is equally important
> > for the state records to know how long these birds remain. Thus
> > PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue to report to the WSO any later dates
> > as this is essential for our understanding of these birds. Perhaps
> > the RC will give a reprieve to documentation of these late dates -
> > but I am dubious of that. Late dates are as critical as first dates
> > - so keep those reports coming. One of the weaknesses in state bird
> > records is that birders all flock to see a rare bird as soon as
> > possible. Then, once checked off their personal state list, the bird
> > is ignored. I hope the Records Committee stops encouraging this
> > tendency. A great example of this is the Vermillion Flycatcher. This
bird, in other states, has a tendency (once found) to stick around awhile.
> > The report that put this species on the s tate list was made by a
> > birder named Brenda Rozella. She first noted this bird (an adult
> > male) on Nov. 10, 2001 in Jefferson County. She took great photos!
> > That was enough to place this bird officially on the state list. But
> > she did not stop there. She continued to monitor the bird - and it
> > continued to stay in place until Dec. 2, 2001, thus placing it into
> > the winter season. There had been 4 written reports previous to this
> > (but were not backed by photos or by other birders reporting). Is it
> > true that all four reports were of one day wonders? or was it simply
> > that the birders reported the birds once and thought that was
> > sufficient for our thirst for knowledge? I suspect the latter. But
> > no one will ever know. Will the Inca Dove, now pinned against the
> > shore of Lake Michigan, remain into the winter season? Who will know if
birders are encouraged not to report.
> > Please, for the integrity of the state records, ignore the advice of
> > the RC and continue to monitor these rare birds!
> > -- Bob Domagalski (at the moment sitting at his computer in St.
> > Nazianz but about to depart for the Vermillion)
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
>
>
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