For the sake of the record (since this is an archived listserv...I think), it was Groucho Marx who said, "I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member," or some variation. There's uncertainty about the exact circumstances and wording of the quote, since Groucho himself changed the story and the line during his lifetime, but it undoubtedly originated with him. <http://quoteinvestigator.com/category/groucho-marx/page/2/>
To make this email "legal," here is some bird info: I looked for the Ash-throated Flycatcher at Lido Beach Park West this morning from 10:30 to 11:20 with no success. It was very windy, so it is possible it is still here but hunkered down. The only other birds I saw were 5 American Crows investigating the downed garbage pails and some flyover American Goldfinches and House Finches. Donna Schulman *---------------------------------------* *Donna L. SchulmanForest Hills, NY + North Brunswick, njqueensgir...@gmail.com <queensgir...@gmail.com>* * <http://www.flickr.com/photos/queensgirl>* On Mon, Nov 21, 2016 at 1:44 PM, Larry Trachtenberg <trachtenb...@amsllp.com > wrote: > > > If I may. I do not use and anticipate never using any of Facebook (or its > myriad bird groups), Twitter, bird text alert systems, > ebirds...@yahoogroups.com; #birdcp on Twitter, the “various WhatsAp” bird > sites referenced, or any of the seemingly endless selective groups that > report birds to their members. To quote WC Fields "I refuse to join any > club that would have me as a *member”* (not to say any of these clubs or > whatever they may be would have me.). > > I also was unaware that the NYSbird site was intended for rarities only. As > far as I understood; rather not only is there a NYS list-serve (which as > with Andrew, is the only place I use other than when I get around > occasionally to post to ebird), there are also *seven others* for various > listserv regions around the state which you see if you go to the ABA site > http://birding.aba.org (NY-Cayuga; NY-Genesee; NY-Hudson-Mohawk; > NY-Northern; NY-Oneida; NY-Orange and NY-Chautauqua). As David points out > likely those came about because the main NYS listserv is dominated by > downstate sightings often, like mine, mundane. Thus, the NY listserv sites > are far different than those in NJ for example which has only two; a > statewide place to post and a clearly identified NJ-RBA (but I do not know > how carefully that is monitored). > > In NY, every Saturday Gail Benson posts on the State NYSbird cite the > weekly Rare Bird Alert for the five boroughs and Long Island and what it > says is Westchester, although absent say a Virginia’s Warbler, Westchester > seems to be reported infrequently. That posting gives two ways to report a > rare bird (as opposed a general post to the NYS listserv of more routine > sightings that some may find interesting and some may not which is how I > viewed the general listserv). Per Gail’s regular Saturday posts for actual > rare bird sightings in the indicated area(s) they should either be called > in to a Hotline: New York City Area Rare Bird Alert: Number: (212) > 979-3070; or emailed to nysar...@nybirds.org (and if documentation is > requested there is a link to an on-line form). That, of course, begs the > question as to whether if someone calls in a rare bird, will it show up on > any list serve prior to Gail’s post on Saturday (assuming indeed the > sighting is valid, or whatever criteria may be used). Thus, if a Monday > sighting was not posted until Saturday and the bird is gone, the twitchers > would no longer be able to twitch (even if he/she were willing to drive out > on the execrable LIE to get to wherever such rare bird may be on Long > Island). > > Personally, I post fairly regularly from my patch at Croton Point Park, a > park which I know is visited by many birders. Most of my posts tend to the > mundane although some have reported an occasional rarity (*e.g.* cattle > egret, American avocet, boat tailed grackle). My CPP posts occasionally > lead to direct off line email communication sometimes with comments of > appreciation and/or requests for further info, and sometimes less so, shall > we say, but I never thought nysbirds-l@cornell.edu was limited to only > sightings of rarities, because, well it clearly has not been used that > way. It is also clear that NYS listserv is not universally used by those > in Westchester to post rarities when they do show up – at CPP alone it was > days last year before a lark sparrow was reported on the listserv after > being initially only posted on Facebook (fortunately it stayed for months) > and longer before a well photographed buff breasted sandpiper came to light > (after it was long gone). > > At bottom, I do not think it will ever be resolved via consensus (and > certainly not unanimity) even if as David says there is a designated > NYS-RBA site that (a) people use, and (b) someone is willing to maintain > (whatever that exactly means); although such a site seems like a good idea. > (What then, is rare?) > > > > > > *Lawrence B. Trachtenberg* | *trachtenb...@amsllp.com > <trachtenb...@amsllp.com>* > > *Aronson Mayefsky **&** Sloan, **LLP* > > 12 E. 49th Street, New York, New York 10017 | T: 212.521.3511 | F: > 212.838.5505 > > > > NOTICE: This e-mail is intended only for the named recipient(s). It > contains confidential, privileged and/or attorney work product information. > If you receive this e-mail in error, please do not disseminate, distribute > or copy it or any attachments. Should you have erroneously received this > e-mail, please notify the sender by replying to it or calling the phone > number above and please delete the e-mail and any attachments from your > system. Thank you! > > > > *From:* bounce-121020378-10490...@list.cornell.edu [mailto: > bounce-121020378-10490...@list.cornell.edu] *On Behalf Of *David Klauber > *Sent:* Monday, November 21, 2016 1:19 PM > *To:* Paul R Sweet > *Cc:* nysbirds-l > > *Subject:* Re: [ebirdsnyc] Re: [nysbirds-l] Brooklyn Ash-throated > Flycatcher > > > > Paul, > > > > You raise a good point. There is one site which historically has been THE > site for reporting rare birds state wide, and that is the Cornell listserve > NYS birds. While this is not only a rare bird alert, as its scope is > broader, it still is the best place to get the word out on a rare bird. > Unfortunately it has not been used as much in recent years due to people > posting on other local and regional sites, as you noted. > > I believe there been a perception - incorrect in my opinion- in the eyes > of some upstate birders that it is mostly a downstate / NYC /Long Island > listserve, possibly due to a majority of posts being from that area, at > least in the past. And to Paul's point there have often been many "run of > the mill" type daily posts of little interest to people who don't live in > that area. This has resulted in many birders upstate using their regional > listserves only, although a few people have made a good effort to cross > post and get the word out to a wider audience. I don't think it takes much > effort to list 2 addresses for those wanting to use their local sites and > still get the word out to a wider audience when a rarity shows up. > > But maybe to Paul's point a strictly RBA site state wide would address the > issue. But someone would have to take responsibility for its upkeep. > > > > Dave Klauber > > > ------------------------------ > > *From:* bounce-121020070-3714...@list.cornell.edu < > bounce-121020070-3714...@list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Paul R Sweet < > sw...@amnh.org> > *Sent:* Monday, November 21, 2016 12:25 PM > *To:* Andrew Baksh > *Cc:* Ethan Maitra; ebirds...@yahoogroups.com; nysbirds-l > *Subject:* Re: [ebirdsnyc] Re: [nysbirds-l] Brooklyn Ash-throated > Flycatcher > > > > As I think I'm being called out here perhaps let's talk about some > recommendations on how rarities are reported? Andrew you could take the > lead here? One problem is that there are two “rare bird alerts” for NY that > are often filled with run-of-the-mill daily lists and non rarity sightings. > While these are of interest to some, they dilute the power of an RBA. As a > suggestion could we make a recommendation that one of these becomes a true > RBA for NYSARC reportable or at least scarce taxa only ( > nysbirds-l@cornell.edu) and the other a site for daily lists and musings > on other aspects of local birding (ebirds...@yahoogroups.com). Of course > the proliferation of bird alerts on Social Media such as #birdcp on Twitter > and various WhatsAp and text alert groups add to the confusion. In short it > would be great to standardize how and where true rare bird info appears. > Ideally we should have a true RBA listserve like the one that Lloyd ran a > few years ago. Over to you Andrew. > > > > Paul Sweet > > Paul Sweet | Department of Ornithology | American Museum of Natural > History | Central Park West @ 79th St | NY 10024 | Tel 212 769 5780 | Mob 718 > 757 5941 > > > On Nov 20, 2016, at 1:10 PM, Andrew Baksh birdingd...@gmail.com > [ebirdsnyc] <ebirdsnyc-nore...@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > > > Good point but for many, the Nassau County ATFL might be out of the way. > More interesting for me, is how the Brooklyn bird was reported. It appears > to me that we are once again seeing a break down on how rare to uncommon > birds are being reported. > > > > I'll withhold fire for now but I again urge all in the game to keep up the > generosity of sharing and sharing early and to the wider community. There > are a lot of birders who don't text, tweet or are not using any form of > social media to communicate. Let's not leave them out. > > > > Thanks > > > > -------- > > "I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the > ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own > abhorrence." ~ Frederick Douglass > > > > 風 Swift as the wind > > 林 Quiet as the forest > 火 Conquer like the fire > 山 Steady as the mountain > > *Sun Tzu* > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Frefspace.com%2Fquotes%2FSun_Tzu&data=01%7C01%7Csweet%40amnh.org%7Cf96bb6c5767a48dc9f5f08d411708252%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C1&sdata=6eyh3GQUuuVT1oiYUIF6JB5Yb7vCNehY5m7V%2B%2FSLAdg%3D&reserved=0> > *The Art of War* > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Frefspace.com%2Fquotes%2FThe_Art_of_War&data=01%7C01%7Csweet%40amnh.org%7Cf96bb6c5767a48dc9f5f08d411708252%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C1&sdata=3EWzpKbmBCQx4jlEOYv0LBoTk171H7PgukAPVfLtOD8%3D&reserved=0> > > > > (\__/) > (= '.'=) > > (") _ (") > > Sent from somewhere in the field using my mobile device! > > > > Andrew Baksh > > www.birdingdude.blogspot.com > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.birdingdude.blogspot.com&data=01%7C01%7Csweet%40amnh.org%7Cf96bb6c5767a48dc9f5f08d411708252%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C1&sdata=7%2FvtHD3nnAVByjYa2n1d%2FCCmJCOFsunjG2nvjY%2FH%2Fpw%3D&reserved=0> > > > On Nov 20, 2016, at 11:07 AM, Ethan Maitra astrobirde...@yahoo.com > [ebirdsnyc] <ebirdsnyc-nore...@yahoogroups.com> wrote: > > > > Meanwhile, there's an Ash-throated Flycatcher in Nassau (West Lido Beach > Town Park) that is visible from the public parking lot.... > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > > Posted by: Andrew Baksh <birdingd...@gmail.com> > ------------------------------ > > *Reply via web post > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.yahoo.com%2Fneo%2Fgroups%2Febirdsnyc%2Fconversations%2Fmessages%2F16651%3B_ylc%3DX3oDMTJyazM5YWxkBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEzMzM2MzUwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2NTc4NwRtc2dJZAMxNjY1MQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzE0Nzk2NjU0MjM-%3Fact%3Dreply%26messageNum%3D16651&data=01%7C01%7Csweet%40amnh.org%7Cf96bb6c5767a48dc9f5f08d411708252%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C1&sdata=E3QoLV9Ouuf1kNhpaQE02gQNGKYtlFgk3BQSkq28F%2FU%3D&reserved=0> > * > > • > > Reply to sender > <birdingd...@gmail.com?subject=Re%3A%20%5Bebirdsnyc%5D%20Re%3A%20%5Bnysbirds-l%5D%20Brooklyn%20Ash-throated%20Flycatcher> > > • > > Reply to group > <ebirds...@yahoogroups.com?subject=Re%3A%20%5Bebirdsnyc%5D%20Re%3A%20%5Bnysbirds-l%5D%20Brooklyn%20Ash-throated%20Flycatcher> > > • > > Start a New Topic > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.yahoo.com%2Fneo%2Fgroups%2Febirdsnyc%2Fconversations%2Fnewtopic%3B_ylc%3DX3oDMTJmdHJtdXFiBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEzMzM2MzUwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2NTc4NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNudHBjBHN0aW1lAzE0Nzk2NjU0MjM-&data=01%7C01%7Csweet%40amnh.org%7Cf96bb6c5767a48dc9f5f08d411708252%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C1&sdata=HmwR2P1p%2Bfbxy7g1H2ygVw5H8GJoBUhJ6fmq2Z9cxsc%3D&reserved=0> > > • > > Messages in this topic > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.yahoo.com%2Fneo%2Fgroups%2Febirdsnyc%2Fconversations%2Ftopics%2F16647%3B_ylc%3DX3oDMTM3ZDBkYTZ0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzEzMzM2MzUwBGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2NTc4NwRtc2dJZAMxNjY1MQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzE0Nzk2NjU0MjMEdHBjSWQDMTY2NDc-&data=01%7C01%7Csweet%40amnh.org%7Cf96bb6c5767a48dc9f5f08d411708252%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C1&sdata=7PH2R8CaA2hpTM6col7FfCVEPHFqHwKpRBGPLaDvnL0%3D&reserved=0> > (5) > ------------------------------ > > [image: > https://s.yimg.com/ru/static/images/yg/img/megaphone/1464031581_phpFA8bON] > > Have you tried the highest rated email app? > <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyho.com%2F1wwmgg&data=01%7C01%7Csweet%40amnh.org%7Cf96bb6c5767a48dc9f5f08d411708252%7Cbe0003e8c6b9496883aeb34586974b76%7C1&sdata=BGQK6naavRhOYaWX5abFfE5yLXfZw43t7po1PQwabvM%3D&reserved=0> > > With 4.5 stars in iTunes, the Yahoo Mail app is the highest rated email > app on the market. 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