As someone who has made her share of stupidly erroneous reports (never believe me if I say I've seen a rare gull unless someone WAY better than me can verify it!) but also some pretty good ones, I know what it feels like to be corrected, and also how emotional and cranky and snarky birders can be in emails (and anyone who has been at the receiving end of a snarky email from me knows I can be mean-spirited too. I try not to be, but that's human nature.).
But I also know how important it is for sightings to be accurate when they make it into the permanent record, or when they result in birders driving across the state on what turns out to be a wild goose chase. For us as individuals, each cool bird gives us another lifer or state or county bird. But for the MOU, each cool bird is supposed to represent a genuine and accurately represented species that has turned up in our state--and I appreciate that the highest standards must be met for a report to be "acceptable" at this level. Now that digital photography has become affordable and surprisingly easy for many, it's sort of become expected that we provide this level of proof for extraordinary birds. I'm sure some species will still get into the record without photos, but because even a crappy photo shot from a cellphone through a spotting scope can sometimes provide proof of important field marks, fewer and fewer great birds are reported without this level of proof. Those of us who feel really vulnerable when we post or document a rare bird need to see this with a little more perspective and less prickliness. And those who jump on beginners, intermediate birders, or even so-called "experts" like me could practice a bit of sensitivity too (though I must say that most of the snark I've dealt with over the years was from issues other than identification). When we see any issue from just our side, it's too easy to feel defensive and prickly, blinding us to seeing it from the other side. A little generosity of spirit and acceptance on both sides would go a long way to calm hurt feelings and ratchet down snark and arrogance. It's sad when someone fears reporting a cool bird. But it's also sad when someone writes off a whole group of people as an "old boys club" when even the people in that so-called club bicker amongst themselves about identifications. Frankly, Minnesota birders have too a long history of contentiousness for any old boys' club to endure. We're contentious and could all stand to be more accepting and kinder, but it is still true, and always will be true, that one of the best ways to learn is by making mistakes and being shown what was wrong and why, and it's also true that we have some of the finest birders in the world in our state and are lucky to be able to learn from the best. -- Laura Erickson Twin Beaks! www.twinbeaks.blogspot.com iTunes podcast of For the BIrds http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=288123640 For the love, understanding, and protection of birds There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. --Rachel Carson Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
