Many people are growing increasingly concerned about posting the whereabouts of rarities because of the existence of ethically-challenged birders. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's eBird depends on reports from birders to have sound, widespread data on bird numbers and distribution, but with iPhone apps and google tools that give birders instant alerts about the whereabouts of birds reported to eBird, inordinate pressure has been focused on some rarities, especially owls. Yesterday, eBird posted their own strategies to encourage birders to use eBird without this kind of pressure. It's posted here: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/sensitive_species
Best, Laura Erickson Ithaca, NY (but more at home in Duluth, MN) On Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 12:21 PM, James Griffin <[email protected]> wrote: > The problem of posting owl and raptor locations is not new in the > birding community. I started birding when I lived on Eastern Long Island, > N.Y.. As a new young, enthusiastic birder I spent untold hours cruising Dune > Rd. and other beach locations searching for Snowy and Saw-whet Owls. I was > lucky enough to find a Saw-whet in some cedars near Jones Beach. I > immediately notified members of my Audubon group(Moriches Bay). Since this > took place in the pre internet days(early 80's) I called the local RBA and > gave directions to the bird. I had no reservations about doing this since I > had used this source to observe many staked out rarities. I went back, with > several friends, the following afternoon. To my amazement someone had > decided to drastically prune the tree that the bird was still roosting in, > obviously to facilitate a photo. I couldn't believe my eyes. Since that day > I have always struggled with the decision to post locations. Ultimately, I > decided to continue communicating with my fellow birders. I have to believe > that the people who abuse this info are the small minority. It is clearly a > difficult(and personal) decision but as I said I had some very memorable > experiences using info from RBA's and I feel a need to return the favor > whenever possible. Good Birding to all. > Jim > _________________________________________________________________ > Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. > http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469226/direct/01/ > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > -- -- Laura Erickson Science Editor Cornell Lab of Ornithology 159 Sapsucker Woods Road Ithaca, NY 14850 607-254-1114 If you've found this information useful, I hope you'll consider supporting our work on behalf of birds and other wildlife. In addition to knowing that you'll be making a difference for conservation, you'll receive our award-winning Living Bird magazine and informative BirdScope newsletter four times a year. We invite you to join our "force for nature." To sign up or watch our video about membership, visit http://www.birds.cornell.edu/NetCommunity/membership or call us at 1-800-843-2473. 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
