I think this thread has been quite illustrative of the reality on this listserve--though some Cobird members are focused on vagrants and other rarities, there are many of us whose focus is not so limited. I find the information about the sandhill cranes interesting even though I am currently in eastern Kansas as I am interested in Colorado's birds and regular migrants.
I am also glad that the gentleman posted about being newer to birding. I think we sometimes fail to keep the needs of novice and intermediate birders in mind. I think it's important to help newer birds so they don't lose interest in birding. SeEtta Moss Canon City but in currently in Ks On Mon, Sep 28, 2009 at 12:25 PM, arvind panjabi <[email protected]> wrote: > I also appreciate the posting of these and other common bird phenomena. > not all of us get to get out and bird everyday, so knowing there is a wave > of birds coming through, regardless of what they are, is very interesting to > me. And we'd never learn the extent to which these phenomenon are happening > if it weren't for enthusiastic birders posting all their sightings. In > fact i appreciate knowing this sort of information much more so than the odd > rarity that I'd have to drive 3 hours to chase. And as for scientific value > from cobirds and other list serves, there is much more to be gained from > posting of common species than of rare ones. Of course it's more difficult > to get people to do that regularly (myself included). Along these same > lines, the postings from the various RMBO (and other) bird banders from > around the state is perhaps the most interesting to me, as they help keep a > pulse on what's going on in the bird world in a single location over time. > So I don't see any purpose in discouraging ANY posts, so long as they > conform to the rules of the list serve. So keep posting your sightings -- > regardless of what they are. > > I know I will be out on my deck this evening, looking and listening for > Sandhills, as I usually get some flights by my place, but missed them last > night. thanks for the heads up! > > Arvind Panjabi > 5700' feet, Larimer County, CO > On the north slope of Milner Mtn > Mountain mahogany shrubland and grassland > > ------------------------------ > *From:* "[email protected]" <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected]; [email protected] > *Sent:* Monday, September 28, 2009 11:18:32 AM > > *Subject:* [cobirds] Re: Reports of Sandhill Cranes; more, please > > For what it’s worth, I thought I would enter the Sandhill Crane discussion. > I know I have certainly enjoyed reading the reports of the Sandhill flocks. > Regardless of whether the reports are scientifically worthy of reporting, > they have no doubt added to my personal enjoyment and knowledge of the > birds, which is probably why I and many others are on co-birds in the first > place, so I want to say thank you everyone for posting these. Just out of > curiosity, I used the reports of the N. Boulder flock spotted at 6:30 and, > assuming this could be the same flock spotted in Colorado Springs at 9:00, > calculated their flight speed. The two locations are approximately 85 > miles apart as the crow flies, or in this case as the cranes fly, spotted > 2.5 hours later, gives a flight speed of 34 mph. This is definitely in > the correct range (25 - 35 mph) as I have later researched, so very well > could indeed be the same flock. Maybe this adds nothing of scientific > value, but it is fun to ponder and adds to my knowledge. I know I will > now be on the lookout for cranes tonight. > Tony Wilk > 0A Longmont, CO > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Nick Komar <[email protected]> > To: cobirds <[email protected]> > Sent: Mon, Sep 28, 2009 9:57 am > Subject: [cobirds] Re: Reports of Sandhill Cranes; more, please > > > Ted Floyd wrote: "The phenomenon [of large crane flights over Front Range > cities] is eminently worthy of further study, formal documentation, and, > most of all, enthusiastic sharing here on COBirds." > > OK, in the interest of "Discussion", I ask how do these reports provide new > knowledge? According to Colorado Birds, 1992, by Andrews and Righter (p. > 104), Sandhill Crane is an "irregular" migrant on the Eastern plains, "often > locally abundant in fall". An abundance chart indicates their status as > "uncommon to fairly common" on the Eastern Plains from mid-Septemer through > October. A range map shows normal occurrence along the rivers and along > sections of the Front Range area although not the entire eastern plains, > probably indicating the region(s) where observers frequently find these > birds roosting/feeding, rather than flying over. I would venture that the > lack of reports from the Front Range during certain years simply reflects > that the flocks passed over a slightly different20path, where fewer cities > (and thus observers) were located. Because of the non-random, skewed > distribution of observers, these casual reports of passive observations > would not provide any useful survey data, but rather, suggest misleading > population trends for the species. > > Perhaps someone could offer to receive all the observations (E-bird could > serve this function) and then offer some kind of summary remark or analysis > (Seasonal Reports in Colorado Birds serves this function), rather than > invite myriad postings to a group of 850 people. > > Earlier this fall (last month actually), numerous reports of migrating > Upland Sandpipers over Front Range cities appeared on Cobirds. Those reports > indicated that migration status (very rare) provided in Colorado Birds (p. > 120) was either wrong or had changed or that 2009 was an anomaly for Upland > Sandpiper migration. I welcomed such reports in my Inbox. > > I'll stay silent on this topic at this point and leave further discussion to > others. > > Nick Komar > Fort Collins CO > > > > > > > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
