Gee, I must have ruffled someone's feathers to get the Pres of CFO to respond with posting guidelines. Actually, Jim, none of the posts I was thinking of were not made in the instant to get the word out (as illustrated in my example) but were reports after the fact.
Getting a little information about a bird would facilitate the recreational enjoyment of some who might be interested in looking for the bird. I, like several other Cobirders I have talked to, might be interested in looking for a rare bird if it was something we were interested in and within a reasonable distance, but we are not interested in going on a 'wild goose chase' (such an appropriate phrase) to find that the reported rarity (say a Barred Owl) that turned out to be a very common species (say a Great Horned Owl with it's tufts drawn back). A little identifying info such as 'the bird had black eyes' , etc, would be helpful to some of us. It is also especially helpful if the bird is in some immature species for which a little description might aid those who do try to refind it. Some skilled cobirders do post this info such as " CANADA WARBLER - 1 bird heard singing a total of 4 times, I briefly saw the bird as it flew out of the tree. I saw a bright yellow belly, a white undertail covert, and a gray back. I was not able to see the head or the chest. The main thing that helped in the ID was that I heard it singing." posted by Cole Wild in early Sept. It is unfortunate that a cobird member cannot express their 'wishes'--as that was all it was--without it precipitating these posting guidelines. SeEtta Moss Canon City http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 5:12 PM, Jim Beatty <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi All, > > COBirds, as a part of the Colorado Field Ornithologists, has a primary > mission of supporting Colorado birds and birding. This is for both > scientific and recreational purposes. Each of us probably has at least a > slightly different set of reasons for subscribing to COBirds. > > When a rare or unusual bird is found or thought to be found, we all know > that speed is of the essence, if we have any interest in chasing and > observing the bird. COBirds has the substantial advantage of great speed in > spreading the news of the find to a large number of people who can decide > for themselves the pros and cons of chasing the bird for whatever reason. > So early posting with or without identification details is always the first > consideration with a 'possible,' or 'probable' added if warranted. > > Also, I'm sure that just about everyone knows that Colorado does have a > rare bird committee called the Colorado Rare Bird Committee which is the > official keeper of the State List and has the duty to review rare or unusual > sightings and such sightings may be submitted to them with documentation. > They will then 'accept' the record or 'not accept.' The latter only means > that submitted documentation did not in their opinion confirm the stated > identification. All records are filed and kept. > > While ID discussions are highly appropriate on COBirds and are both > interesting and educational, they are just that - discussions. As such we > must ensure that such discussions are civil in tone and respectful of all > involved. > > As to the issue of supporting evidence, I believe that speed comes first. > If the observer/poster has supporting evidence that they have the time and > inclination to include, please do so. It adds much richness to the > discusson on COBirds. > > However, there is no COBirds requirement to document rare or unusual with > supporting evidence. That duty comes with submitting a rare bird record to > the CBRC. > > I welcome any of your comment and views. > > Jim Beatty > Durango, CO > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* SeEtta Moss <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 14, 2010 12:58 PM > *Subject:* [cobirds] Re: Ted Floyd's post on rare bird postings > > I want to second Ted Floyd's comments today about posting sightings of rare > birds: "We can all learn a lot by discussing reports of rare > birds--ideally, those backed up with excellent photos, like > Becca's--reported from Colorado. It's infinitely more satisfying and > educational than reading something like, "Went to Crow Valley, refound the > Philly Vireo. Good Birding, --Jack Birder." > > It used to be the norm that when a big rarity was posted it would be > accompanied by a description that supported the identification and sometimes > an accompanying photo. In recent months there have been posts that made > note of a rarity sighting sometimes in a rather off-handed manner (ie, "Saw > a flock of robins, oh and also saw a Carolina Parakeet"). I think that > sightings that are reported without substantiating documentation are at of > being dismissed by many. > > As Ted also noted Becca got some great photos which really helped with that > difficult id. Not everyone can get photos so making good notes of field > marks and confirming with good identification sources is important. > > Let me also congratulate Becca for having the courage to post about this > bird. It can be scary and let me add that I have yet to meet a birder who > did not misidentify birds, even the experts make errors sometimes. > > SeEtta Moss > Canon City > http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.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]<cobirds%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en. > > -- > 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]<cobirds%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en. > -- 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.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
