Re: [cobirds] ID help wanted - immature Larus Gull Cherry Creek SP (Glaucous-winged??)

[Nicholas Komar]

Ben, glaucous-winged Gull is concolorous-all one color. And paler than your 
bird. Your bird has blacker tertials and primaries. It is Herring Gull. 

Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO

> On Dec 6, 2018, at 10:39 PM, Ben S  wrote:
> 
> Hi all - 
> This bird was on the sandbar, along with many Ring-billeds, Herring, and a 
> Thayer's. This bird was a juvenile or 1st winter. Deep pink legs. Light brown 
> overall, with some white on rumps and around bill. Herring Gull sized, but 
> the bill seemed a good deal thicker than a Herring. Because of these 
> features, I am leaning towards Glaucous-winged Gull. If it is not, sorry for 
> the false alarm. 
> 
> I am having trouble uploading pictures on google groups. To see the below 
> picture larger, go to my ebird checklist for it at : 
> https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S50485117
> 
> 
> Ben Sampson
> Centennial, CO
> 
> 
> 
> 
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[cobirds] Cobirds and the RBA

[Peter Gent]

All,

I have been in England for the past week and will be here for the next 10
days. I halted receiving Cobirds messages while I'm away, so I haven't seen
them all, and am speaking without full knowledge of all that has happened
over the past week.

First, let me say that Andy Bankert is a tremendous asset to Colorado
birding, and his documentation of nesting Baird's Sparrow north of Fort
Collins is the most important contribution to our knowledge over the past
few years.  He is a regular contributor to Cobirds, the CFO and to leading
trips at the Convention.  Therefore, in my opinon, we should all respect
the choices and decisions he made over posting about the Gyrfalcon.  He
clearly thought hard about what was the best to do in what was not
straightforward circumstances.  Andy, please continue your contributions to
Colorado ornithology in all possible ways.

Second, when I'm in Boulder, I look at Cobirds and the RBA every morning
because I'm interested in what has been seen. I would hate the RBA to go
away, and am relieved to hear from Joe that it will continue in 2019.  I
would suggest that it can be relatively short, and the reports I've seen
over the past couple of days look fine: Thanks Cheryl.  This would make it
less of an onerous task to compile on a daily basis.  Allison,I think there
are many birders out there who really appreciate the RBA; not many alerts
get updated daily !!

Third, I think there are still many birders who do send messages to Cobirds
about the rare birds they find; I can think of many from Fort Collins all
down the Front Range to Pueblo, and the other parts of Colorado. That is
still the way I, and many others, let people know about rare birds I see,
even if not everyone now does it that way.  I would encourage all birders
who communicate this way to continue sending messages to Cobirds, even if
they now communicate information through Facebook, ebird or any other
method as well.

Sincerely,  Peter Gent.
Nottingham, England.

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Re: [cobirds] Thoughts on rare bird communications - a conversation starter and a suggestion

[Carl Bendorf]

Hi Ross,

Couple of thoughts.  First, regarding passwords, I would think you would at 
least want to be signed into your Facebook account to be able to view (and 
comment) on this new Colorado Rare Bird Alert page.  But you should be able 
to sign in to Facebook just once and be able to remain signed-in between 
sessions so you don't have to enter a password and sign in every time.

For finding bird-related groups, once you are signed-in on Facebook, I 
think you just need to use the general search box found at the top of every 
page in Facebook.  For example, typing "rare bird alert" showed me maybe 50 
different groups with "rare bird alert" in the group's name.  Entering some 
related search terms might yield additional groups.  Then, every group can 
have its own parameters such as whether they are an open group or one where 
you need to request to join, and so on.  I tried "Nebraska Rare Bird Alert" 
and nothing came up but searching for "Nebraska Birding" showed me a group 
with a 1,000 members of which I suspect you are one!

The other thing in Facebook is that you might have friends on Facebook who 
will invite you to join various bird-related groups.  Finally, I seem to 
get suggestions from Facebook for groups that might be of interest based, I 
would guess, on how many of my Facebook friends also belong to those groups.

Hope all this helps; feel free to email me directly if I can be of more 
help.

Cheers,

Carl

On Thursday, December 6, 2018 at 1:10:50 PM UTC-7, Ross Silcock wrote:
>
> Thanks Carl for the summary. I have questions about FB (I’m on it, but 
> rarely look at it), but my main question is how can I know which groups 
> there are, ie, is there a way to get a list of bird-related groups to see 
> which ones I am interested in, as well as which new ones are being 
> constantly added? Hopefully this can occur without having to plow through 
> the annoying requests to sign up or re-sign up or re-set password etc from 
> Microsoft Google, and FB.  
>
>  
>
> Ross
>
>  
>
>  
>
> Ross Silcock
>
> Seasonal Reports Compiler
>
> Nebraska Bird Review
>
> Co-Author “Birds of Nebraska- Online”
>
> https://www.birdsofnebraska.org
>
> Tabor, IA
>
> 402-618-4933
>
>  
>
>  
>
>  
>
>  
>
> *From:* cob...@googlegroups.com   > *On Behalf Of *Carl Bendorf
> *Sent:* Thursday, December 6, 2018 11:08 AM
> *To:* Colorado Birds >
> *Subject:* [cobirds] Thoughts on rare bird communications - a 
> conversation starter and a suggestion
>
>  
>
> The current debate about rare bird communications in Colorado is very 
> interesting.  First, there is the current discussion related to the Larimer 
> County Gyrfalcon.  I'm fairly certain these exact same debates have taken 
> place in nearly every state and province.  Many of us have all seen the 
> rise and fall of various technologies and communication systems (email 
> chains, websites, listservs, text alerts, etc.) but the thorny issues of 
> what to report and when to report remain.  I doubt that technology will 
> ever eliminate this aspect of the debate and it's important we continue 
> discussing the ethics of reporting rare birds.
>
>  
>
> At the same time, there is a discussion underway about our methods of 
> sharing information in a timely and efficient manner.  When I started 
> birding in Iowa the late 70's, we tried to create an organized phone tree 
> with a paper chart showing who would call whom and so on.  Of course, the 
> communication chain often broke down when someone was out of town or just 
> not at home to answer the phone.  A lot of people didn't even have home 
> answering machines back then and, of course, reporting a rare bird meant 
> driving to the nearest pay phone and dropping in quarters to make a call.  
> In the early 80s, we started a rare bird alert using an answering machine 
> located in my parents' garage.   Part of the trick was finding a machine 
> that offered an extended outgoing message as many answering machines were 
> limited to perhaps 30 seconds.  We put the machine in my parents' garage 
> because they lived in a small town where the local phone company offered a 
> very low monthly phone bill for a second phone line.   As technology 
> changed, these recorded rare bird alerts using phone lines have essentially 
> disappeared.
>
>  
>
> In my view, for many birders, Facebook has become the rare bird 
> communication platform of choice since it offers features like the ability 
> to quickly post photos/recordings, a role for a moderator(s), presence on 
> both millions of smartphones, laptops, and desktops, and the fact that 
> millions of people are already on their Facebook accounts every day.
>
>  
>
> A great example is the ABA Rare Bird Alert Facebook page (
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABArare/) which has grown tremendously 
> (18,000 members.)  It's amazing to watch as bird sightings are being 
> updated in real time and you can even see groups of birders in the field 
> using this page to 

[cobirds] possible sandhill crane 1:50 pm near Lyons

[Raymond Davis]

Not quite positive, but just heard a couple of calls up high (very faint)
while shoveling
a trace of snow.  Heading south, I believe.Would be quite late, I think.

Be interested to see if anyone in Golden hears them about 2:15 ish.I'm
4 miles NW of Lyons, just a hill west of the front range.

Rayond Davis

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[cobirds] Palm Warbler article & analysis by Dean Shoup

[Ted Floyd]

Hey, everybody.

Writing for the American Birding Association's "Happening NOW" column, *North 
American Birds* regional editor Dean Shoup offers a fascinating analysis of 
the Fall 2018 Palm Warbler phenomenon (still ongoing!) in Colorado:

http://tinyurl.com/Shoup-PAWA-analysis

Enjoy!

Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder County

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RE: [cobirds] Thoughts on rare bird communications - a conversation starter and a suggestion

[Ross Silcock]

Thanks Carl for the summary. I have questions about FB (I’m on it, but rarely 
look at it), but my main question is how can I know which groups there are, ie, 
is there a way to get a list of bird-related groups to see which ones I am 
interested in, as well as which new ones are being constantly added? Hopefully 
this can occur without having to plow through the annoying requests to sign up 
or re-sign up or re-set password etc from Microsoft Google, and FB.

Ross


Ross Silcock
Seasonal Reports Compiler
Nebraska Bird Review
Co-Author “Birds of Nebraska- Online”
https://www.birdsofnebraska.org
Tabor, IA
402-618-4933




From: cobirds@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Carl 
Bendorf
Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2018 11:08 AM
To: Colorado Birds 
Subject: [cobirds] Thoughts on rare bird communications - a conversation 
starter and a suggestion

The current debate about rare bird communications in Colorado is very 
interesting.  First, there is the current discussion related to the Larimer 
County Gyrfalcon.  I'm fairly certain these exact same debates have taken place 
in nearly every state and province.  Many of us have all seen the rise and fall 
of various technologies and communication systems (email chains, websites, 
listservs, text alerts, etc.) but the thorny issues of what to report and when 
to report remain.  I doubt that technology will ever eliminate this aspect of 
the debate and it's important we continue discussing the ethics of reporting 
rare birds.

At the same time, there is a discussion underway about our methods of sharing 
information in a timely and efficient manner.  When I started birding in Iowa 
the late 70's, we tried to create an organized phone tree with a paper chart 
showing who would call whom and so on.  Of course, the communication chain 
often broke down when someone was out of town or just not at home to answer the 
phone.  A lot of people didn't even have home answering machines back then and, 
of course, reporting a rare bird meant driving to the nearest pay phone and 
dropping in quarters to make a call.  In the early 80s, we started a rare bird 
alert using an answering machine located in my parents' garage.   Part of the 
trick was finding a machine that offered an extended outgoing message as many 
answering machines were limited to perhaps 30 seconds.  We put the machine in 
my parents' garage because they lived in a small town where the local phone 
company offered a very low monthly phone bill for a second phone line.   As 
technology changed, these recorded rare bird alerts using phone lines have 
essentially disappeared.

In my view, for many birders, Facebook has become the rare bird communication 
platform of choice since it offers features like the ability to quickly post 
photos/recordings, a role for a moderator(s), presence on both millions of 
smartphones, laptops, and desktops, and the fact that millions of people are 
already on their Facebook accounts every day.

A great example is the ABA Rare Bird Alert Facebook page 
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABArare/) which has grown tremendously (18,000 
members.)  It's amazing to watch as bird sightings are being updated in real 
time and you can even see groups of birders in the field using this page to 
communicate with each other in real time.  The page has at least 7 
administrators meaning the work of monitoring the flow of info is being shared 
and doesn't become a major burden.  Heck, you can even livestream a video of 
your rare bird to the entire audience.

One of the features of the (very helpful) COBIRDS Google Group is that the 
content is generated from the individual submissions of contributors.  I also 
really like the compiled RBA report but the downside there is it requires a 
compiler or compilers willing to put in the major effort of gathering, 
collating, typing up, and posting of a report.  As we've seen, it's going to be 
increasingly hard to find someone who is willing to put in all that work.   
Also, the effort of collating and posting a compiled RBA inevitably adds a 
time-delay to reports.

This long missive is my suggestion that perhaps Colorado needs a dedicated Rare 
Bird Facebook Page with multiple moderators.  Again, the ABA is using this 
model very successfully by having three separate Facebook pages.  Each page has 
a different defined purpose (this is critical, I think):

1.  A general Facebook page for the organization for non-urgent information and 
sharing of a general nature:  https://www.facebook.com/birders/

2.  An extremely successful page for helping people identify birds--this page 
has a very clearly defined purpose and has nearly 34,000 members!  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatsthisbird/   And, I understand a number of 
extreme rarities have been “discovered” from the postings of photos from 
contributors who couldn’t identify what they had seen/photographed.

3.  The above-mentioned ABA Rare Bird Alert with about 18,000 members:  

[cobirds] Colorado Rare Bird Alert Facebook Group

[Christian Hagenlocher]

Hello Colorado Birders,

It seems like from the discussion today that a Colorado Rare Bird Alert 
Facebook group would be useful for both resident and visiting birders to the 
state. (Great suggestion, Carl!) Before Diana's kind offer, I took the liberty 
to create this group, which is now up and running with rules, moderators, and a 
growing pool of members. It is now up to the birding community to use this 
group as another tool in our toolbox to report rare birds and share sightings 
in the manner outlined by the group’s rules. 

I know this action may ruffle some feathers. The Colorado Rare Bird Alert group 
isn’t intended to replace or outcompete the daily Rare Bird Alert, the Colorado 
Birds Google group, or the Denver Field Ornithologists group. Each one plays an 
important role in how people access information and bird sightings, and serves 
a valuable purpose. I’m grateful for the dedication shown by those who have 
stepped up to the plate to continue the Rare Bird Alert emails- that's great 
news! I'm sure sightings will migrate from the email to the Facebook page, and 
vice versa (Hopefully in a timely manner!) 

I invite anyone interested to join, and for those who don’t use Facebook, tell 
your friends who do- so all may benefit from this new tool. The link is live 
at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/coloradorba/

Good birding,

Christian Hagenlocher
Buena Vista, CO
Sent from my iPhone

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Re: [cobirds] Thoughts on rare bird communications - a conversation starter and a suggestion

[Christian Hagenlocher]

Hello Colorado Birders,

It seems like from the discussion today that a Colorado Rare Bird Alert 
Facebook group would be useful for both resident and visiting birders in 
Colorado. I took the liberty to create this group, but it is up to the birding 
community to use this as a tool to report rare birds and share sightings in the 
manner outlined by the group’s rules. 

This Colorado Rare Bird Alert group isn’t intended to replace or outcompete the 
daily Rare Bird Alert, this Google group, or the Denver Field Ornithologists 
group. Each one plays an important role in how people access information and 
bird sightings, and serves a valuable purpose. I’m grateful for the dedication 
shown by those who have stepped up to the plate to continue the Rare Bird Alert 
emails. Great news!

I invite anyone interested to join, and for those who don’t use Facebook, tell 
your friends who do- so all may benefit from this new tool. The link is live 
at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/coloradorba/

Good Birding,

Christian Hagenlocher
Buena Vista, CO

Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 6, 2018, at 10:13 AM, Diana Beatty  wrote:
> 
> If there is interest in a Facebook group for Colorado Rare Birds i would be 
> happy to create one.  I think many people are kind of doing it already in a 
> variety of existing Facebook groups like CFO, DFO, etc.  But if people in 
> general see a need/value in having a specific page for that purpose it would 
> be pretty easy for me to get it started, fyi.
> 
> Diana Beatty
> El Paso County
> 
> On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 10:07 AM Carl Bendorf  wrote:
>> The current debate about rare bird communications in Colorado is very 
>> interesting.  First, there is the current discussion related to the Larimer 
>> County Gyrfalcon.  I'm fairly certain these exact same debates have taken 
>> place in nearly every state and province.  Many of us have all seen the rise 
>> and fall of various technologies and communication systems (email chains, 
>> websites, listservs, text alerts, etc.) but the thorny issues of what to 
>> report and when to report remain.  I doubt that technology will ever 
>> eliminate this aspect of the debate and it's important we continue 
>> discussing the ethics of reporting rare birds.
>> 
>>  
>> At the same time, there is a discussion underway about our methods of 
>> sharing information in a timely and efficient manner.  When I started 
>> birding in Iowa the late 70's, we tried to create an organized phone tree 
>> with a paper chart showing who would call whom and so on.  Of course, the 
>> communication chain often broke down when someone was out of town or just 
>> not at home to answer the phone.  A lot of people didn't even have home 
>> answering machines back then and, of course, reporting a rare bird meant 
>> driving to the nearest pay phone and dropping in quarters to make a call.  
>> In the early 80s, we started a rare bird alert using an answering machine 
>> located in my parents' garage.   Part of the trick was finding a machine 
>> that offered an extended outgoing message as many answering machines were 
>> limited to perhaps 30 seconds.  We put the machine in my parents' garage 
>> because they lived in a small town where the local phone company offered a 
>> very low monthly phone bill for a second phone line.   As technology 
>> changed, these recorded rare bird alerts using phone lines have essentially 
>> disappeared.
>>  
>> In my view, for many birders, Facebook has become the rare bird 
>> communication platform of choice since it offers features like the ability 
>> to quickly post photos/recordings, a role for a moderator(s), presence on 
>> both millions of smartphones, laptops, and desktops, and the fact that 
>> millions of people are already on their Facebook accounts every day.
>>  
>> A great example is the ABA Rare Bird Alert Facebook page 
>> (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABArare/) which has grown tremendously 
>> (18,000 members.)  It's amazing to watch as bird sightings are being updated 
>> in real time and you can even see groups of birders in the field using this 
>> page to communicate with each other in real time.  The page has at least 7 
>> administrators meaning the work of monitoring the flow of info is being 
>> shared and doesn't become a major burden.  Heck, you can even livestream a 
>> video of your rare bird to the entire audience.
>>  
>> One of the features of the (very helpful) COBIRDS Google Group is that the 
>> content is generated from the individual submissions of contributors.  I 
>> also really like the compiled RBA report but the downside there is it 
>> requires a compiler or compilers willing to put in the major effort of 
>> gathering, collating, typing up, and posting of a report.  As we've seen, 
>> it's going to be increasingly hard to find someone who is willing to put in 
>> all that work.   Also, the effort of collating and posting a compiled RBA 
>> inevitably adds a time-delay to reports.
>>  
>> This 

[cobirds] RBA

[Suke C Lee]

I check the RBA 1-2 times a day.
I sure hope it will continue but I understand how difficult it might be to find 
someone to take on this task.
Thanks to Joyce for all her work over the years!!!
Marie Cecile Lee (Cici)
Elbert,CO

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[cobirds] Re: El Paso county Colorado Springs Western screech owl

['Egret' via Colorado Birds]

I was asked not to talk about the location of the bird. There are concerns 
our presence my bring in predators to it. The OP pointed out it's in a busy 
area with hundreds of dogs in the area and does not seem to be bothered. I 
drive by Bear Creek Park most days, if anyone wants me to see if it's 
around let me know.

On Tuesday, December 4, 2018 at 10:12:29 AM UTC-7, kickback wrote:
>
>   There is a Western screech owl in the Bear Creek dog park in Colorado 
> Springs that is very viewable. It is located at the western end of the 
> creek (north side of creek) just before the chain link fence crosses the 
> creek. There is a lot of foot traffic from dog walkers going under the tree 
> it is in and lots of folks getting close and taking cellphone pictures, the 
> owl does not seem to care. It has been there since at least Thanksgiving 
> according to some of the dog walkers I talked to.
>
> Lucy Luck reported and posted pictures of this owl that she thought was a 
> snowy owl on ebird on Dec 2. Her map coordinates  did not come out quite 
> right but a woman walking her dogs who had seen the owl took the time to 
> show me exactly where it was.
>
> Very hard to get good pictures due to lots of tall brush in this area.
>
>
> http://avoapples.com/birds/1Z7A7500_cr.jpg
>
> Bill Kosar
>
> bill_...@msn.com 
>

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Re: [cobirds] Gyrfalcon (No Sighting)

[Pam Dowd]

Thank you, Andy, for your polite and thoughtful e-mail.

2018 is my 50th anniversary year of birding.  As you can well imagine during 
those years I’ve seen “birding” evolve from a handful of folks with Peterson 
Guides and a “phone tree” to share sightings to what seems to be a flood of 
people, websites, e-lists, twitter notices and field guides that break down 
species into sub-species and sub-sub-species.

It’s like everything in our society today, change can be both positive and 
negative.  I hope Andy’s comments will remind all of us to consider first the 
welfare of the birds we so adore and second share our values with those who 
come to see these creatures as we do with civility.

To this day I remember my first “bird walk” at Lake Ontelaunee in Pennsylvania 
with a “gentle man” who took me under his wing and fostered a love of birds and 
wildlife that became a core element of my life.

Helping others understand the protocol makes better birding for all of us.

Pamela Dowd
Parker, Douglas County, CO





Sent from my iPad

> On Dec 5, 2018, at 9:19 PM, Andrew Bankert  wrote:
> 
> Let me start off by saying that the Gyrfalcon was not refound anywhere this 
> morning that I am aware of with people looking along Trilby Road and at the 
> landfill.  
> 
> After thinking about it, I do not regret the 15 hour delay between 
> identifying and posting the Gyrfalcon to CObirds.  I try to get the word 
> about rarities out as quickly as possible, but this Gyrfalcon was a special 
> case with both being a charismatic species drawing attention from a wider 
> number of people than your average rarity and being found in a restricted 
> area where we could easily lose access if there were any incidents involving 
> birders not following protocols at the landfill.  As birders, I understand 
> how exciting it is to chase a rare bird and add a new tick to a list, but I 
> do wonder whether during our pursuits we forget about considering the impacts 
> we might have on the birds we chase and the areas we visit.  
> 
> Considering these impacts, including consulting with other birders, is what 
> happened during that 15 hour delay.  Just last week while watching the 
> Grandview Cemetery Eastern Screech-Owl from a safe distance across the canal, 
> a group of us witnessed two, probably well intentioned, birders walk right up 
> to the tree the owl was roosting in while searching for it without seeing it. 
>  Cases like this seem to occur somewhat regularly with charismatic species 
> that draw attention from more than just listers. There has previously been 
> suboptimal behavior and breaking of protocol from chasers at rarities even 
> within the same CBC Circle as the Gyrfalcon (American Woodcock and 
> Streak-backed Oriole come to mind). Normally, I would trust in the birding 
> community's ability to help educate this small number of people, but the 
> situation at the landfill is different with large equipment with the 
> potential to cause serious injury to someone not following the landfill 
> protocol.  Such an event would surely ruin access to one of my favorite 
> birding spots in Larimer County, which we luckily have the privilege to bird 
> at unlike some other landfills in the state.  One of the gatekeepers at the 
> landfill today did say that there were some problems with birders not 
> following protocols yesterday, which verified my concerns about posting this 
> sighting.  Finally, the Gyrfalcon did not show up on any eBird alerts because 
> they have been deemed to be a sensitive species, and I thought this was worth 
> considering before plastering this sighting for everyone to know about.  It 
> seems that in other states birders and falconers have run into problems over 
> Gyrfalcons, and it was not until Tuesday morning that I was confident that it 
> is illegal to trap a wild Gyrfalcon in Colorado.   
> 
> I still think we, as a birding community, should be excited when rare birds 
> show up and try to share them with everyone when appropriate, but I think we 
> do need to consider the impacts of both reporting rarities and chasing birds. 
>  If you find a Red-faced Warbler at a city park there probably won't be too 
> much need for hesitation, but if you find a Snowy Owl that is best viewed 
> from an active construction site you might want to consider the impacts of 
> informing more than just a small group of people you know well.  I also hope 
> we can appreciate birders who do consider the impacts their hobby has on the 
> birds they see, the places they visit, and the environment as a whole.  
> Finally, I do encourage anyone interested to visit a landfill that allows 
> access to look at gulls because you are often rewarded with a good study of 
> difficult-to-identify birds, just make sure you always follow their rules and 
> are constantly vigilant of your surroundings. 
> 
> Andy Bankert
> Fort Collins 
> -- 
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google 

Re: [cobirds] The Colorado RBA will continue into 2019.

[Mary Driscoll]

Thanks Joe, that is good news, and thanks to Joyce for all the years she has 
done it. Thanks to the new volunteers!!

Mary Driscoll
Arapahoe Co.

> On Dec 6, 2018, at 11:10 AM, Joe Roller  wrote:
> 
> Thank you for your support! 
> Harry, I appreciate your note very much.
> Joe Roller, Denver
> 
>> On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 11:06 AM Harry Price  wrote:
>> That's very good news.  I read COBIRDS posts and the RBA religiously and 
>> appreciate the info because my job as a business owner leaves me with very 
>> limited time for field activities.  I am not a Facebook reader, am opposed 
>> to the onerous data collection potential inherent therein, but would make 
>> exception for a Colorado/COBIRDS Facebook presence.  Also intend to avail 
>> myself of the ABA RBA Facebook page.  Thanks for the hard work and the 
>> suggestions.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Harry Price, Erie
>> 
>> Partial to Stearns Lake, Boulder Rez/Coot Lake, Teller Farm, Sawhill Ponds
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> From: cobirds@googlegroups.com [mailto:cobirds@googlegroups.com] On Behalf 
>> Of Joe Roller
>> Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2018 10:31 AM
>> To: Colorado Birds
>> Subject: [cobirds] The Colorado RBA will continue into 2019.
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> A team of six Rare Bird Alert compilers has been recruited to continue what 
>> Joyce Takamine has done so well for so many years. 
>> 
>> I thought that now was a good time to announce this good news. We are still 
>> interviewing additional volunteer compilers, and appreciate
>> 
>> the support received from the birding community!
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Thanks, 
>> 
>> Joe Roller, Denver
>> 
>> past president DFO
>> 
>> -- 
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>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
>> 
> 
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Re: [cobirds] The Colorado RBA will continue into 2019.

[Joe Roller]

Thank you for your support!
Harry, I appreciate your note very much.
Joe Roller, Denver

On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 11:06 AM Harry Price  wrote:

> That's very good news.  I read COBIRDS posts and the RBA religiously and
> appreciate the info because my job as a business owner leaves me with very
> limited time for field activities.  I am not a Facebook reader, am opposed
> to the onerous data collection potential inherent therein, but would make
> exception for a Colorado/COBIRDS Facebook presence.  Also intend to avail
> myself of the ABA RBA Facebook page.  Thanks for the hard work and the
> suggestions.
>
>
>
> Harry Price, Erie
>
> Partial to Stearns Lake, Boulder Rez/Coot Lake, Teller Farm, Sawhill Ponds
>
>
>
> *From:* cobirds@googlegroups.com [mailto:cobirds@googlegroups.com] *On
> Behalf Of *Joe Roller
> *Sent:* Thursday, December 6, 2018 10:31 AM
> *To:* Colorado Birds
> *Subject:* [cobirds] The Colorado RBA will continue into 2019.
>
>
>
> A team of six Rare Bird Alert compilers has been recruited to continue
> what Joyce Takamine has done so well for so many years.
>
> I thought that now was a good time to announce this good news. We are
> still interviewing additional volunteer compilers, and appreciate
>
> the support received from the birding community!
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Joe Roller, Denver
>
> past president DFO
>
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> 
> .
> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
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RE: [cobirds] The Colorado RBA will continue into 2019.

[Harry Price]

That's very good news.  I read COBIRDS posts and the RBA religiously and 
appreciate the info because my job as a business owner leaves me with very 
limited time for field activities.  I am not a Facebook reader, am opposed to 
the onerous data collection potential inherent therein, but would make 
exception for a Colorado/COBIRDS Facebook presence.  Also intend to avail 
myself of the ABA RBA Facebook page.  Thanks for the hard work and the 
suggestions.

Harry Price, Erie
Partial to Stearns Lake, Boulder Rez/Coot Lake, Teller Farm, Sawhill Ponds

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com [mailto:cobirds@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of 
Joe Roller
Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2018 10:31 AM
To: Colorado Birds
Subject: [cobirds] The Colorado RBA will continue into 2019.

A team of six Rare Bird Alert compilers has been recruited to continue what 
Joyce Takamine has done so well for so many years.
I thought that now was a good time to announce this good news. We are still 
interviewing additional volunteer compilers, and appreciate
the support received from the birding community!

Thanks,
Joe Roller, Denver
past president DFO
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[cobirds] Re: The Colorado RBA will continue into 2019.

[mvjohnski]

thanks Joe. Joyce did an awesome job. Glad to know you and group will carry 
forward. Much appreciated.

John Rawinski

On Thursday, December 6, 2018 at 10:31:09 AM UTC-7, Joe Roller wrote:

> A team of six Rare Bird Alert compilers has been recruited to continue 
> what Joyce Takamine has done so well for so many years. 
> I thought that now was a good time to announce this good news. We are 
> still interviewing additional volunteer compilers, and appreciate
> the support received from the birding community!
>
> Thanks, 
> Joe Roller, Denver
> past president DFO
>

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[cobirds] The Colorado RBA will continue into 2019.

[Joe Roller]

A team of six Rare Bird Alert compilers has been recruited to continue what
Joyce Takamine has done so well for so many years.
I thought that now was a good time to announce this good news. We are still
interviewing additional volunteer compilers, and appreciate
the support received from the birding community!

Thanks,
Joe Roller, Denver
past president DFO

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Re: [cobirds] Thoughts on rare bird communications - a conversation starter and a suggestion

[Diana Beatty]

If there is interest in a Facebook group for Colorado Rare Birds i would be
happy to create one.  I think many people are kind of doing it already in a
variety of existing Facebook groups like CFO, DFO, etc.  But if people in
general see a need/value in having a specific page for that purpose it
would be pretty easy for me to get it started, fyi.

Diana Beatty
El Paso County

On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 10:07 AM Carl Bendorf  wrote:

> The current debate about rare bird communications in Colorado is very
> interesting.  First, there is the current discussion related to the Larimer
> County Gyrfalcon.  I'm fairly certain these exact same debates have taken
> place in nearly every state and province.  Many of us have all seen the
> rise and fall of various technologies and communication systems (email
> chains, websites, listservs, text alerts, etc.) but the thorny issues of
> what to report and when to report remain.  I doubt that technology will
> ever eliminate this aspect of the debate and it's important we continue
> discussing the ethics of reporting rare birds.
>
>
>
> At the same time, there is a discussion underway about our methods of
> sharing information in a timely and efficient manner.  When I started
> birding in Iowa the late 70's, we tried to create an organized phone tree
> with a paper chart showing who would call whom and so on.  Of course, the
> communication chain often broke down when someone was out of town or just
> not at home to answer the phone.  A lot of people didn't even have home
> answering machines back then and, of course, reporting a rare bird meant
> driving to the nearest pay phone and dropping in quarters to make a call.
> In the early 80s, we started a rare bird alert using an answering machine
> located in my parents' garage.   Part of the trick was finding a machine
> that offered an extended outgoing message as many answering machines were
> limited to perhaps 30 seconds.  We put the machine in my parents' garage
> because they lived in a small town where the local phone company offered a
> very low monthly phone bill for a second phone line.   As technology
> changed, these recorded rare bird alerts using phone lines have essentially
> disappeared.
>
>
>
> In my view, for many birders, Facebook has become the rare bird
> communication platform of choice since it offers features like the ability
> to quickly post photos/recordings, a role for a moderator(s), presence on
> both millions of smartphones, laptops, and desktops, and the fact that
> millions of people are already on their Facebook accounts every day.
>
>
>
> A great example is the ABA Rare Bird Alert Facebook page (
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABArare/) which has grown tremendously
> (18,000 members.)  It's amazing to watch as bird sightings are being
> updated in real time and you can even see groups of birders in the field
> using this page to communicate with each other in real time.  The page has
> at least 7 administrators meaning the work of monitoring the flow of info
> is being shared and doesn't become a major burden.  Heck, you can even
> livestream a video of your rare bird to the entire audience.
>
>
>
> One of the features of the (very helpful) COBIRDS Google Group is that the
> content is generated from the individual submissions of contributors.  I
> also really like the compiled RBA report but the downside there is it
> requires a compiler or compilers willing to put in the major effort of
> gathering, collating, typing up, and posting of a report.  As we've seen,
> it's going to be increasingly hard to find someone who is willing to put in
> all that work.   Also, the effort of collating and posting a compiled RBA
> inevitably adds a time-delay to reports.
>
>
>
> This long missive is my suggestion that perhaps Colorado needs a dedicated
> Rare Bird Facebook Page with multiple moderators.  Again, the ABA is using
> this model very successfully by having three separate Facebook pages.  Each
> page has a different defined purpose (this is critical, I think):
>
>
>
> 1.  A general Facebook page for the organization for non-urgent
> information and sharing of a general nature:
> https://www.facebook.com/birders/
>
>
>
> 2.  An extremely successful page for helping people identify birds--this
> page has a very clearly defined purpose and has nearly 34,000 members!
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatsthisbird/   And, I understand a
> number of extreme rarities have been “discovered” from the postings of
> photos from contributors who couldn’t identify what they had
> seen/photographed.
>
>
>
> 3.  The above-mentioned ABA Rare Bird Alert with about 18,000 members:
> https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatsthisbird/
>
>
>
> I imagine one of the points of view on this issue will be that not
> everyone uses (or wants to use) Facebook.  But this has been true of every
> form of communication through the years.  I’m sure at one time there were
> those who preferred to communicate by letter and not 

Re: [cobirds] Do we want an RBA

[Jim Nelson]

I should have said I value the listserv and the RBA, which is a great 
consolidation of what is being seen each day.  It is a "must-read" for me each 
day.
Jim Nelson


-Original Message-
From: Jim Nelson 
To: cobirds 
Sent: Thu, Dec 6, 2018 12:09 pm
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Do we want an RBA

As an out-of-stater, who visits Colorado several times a year, I really value 
the listserv reports, even when I don't have a trip to Colorado pending.  They 
really help me keep track of what's going on.
When I am in Colorado, the reports can help me find good birds when I am in the 
right place.  I also try to post interesting sightings when I am fortunate 
enough to have them.
The listserv helps me feel like part of the community of Colorado birders, even 
when I'm not there.  And when I am lucky enough to meet local birders, I often 
recognize their names from the reports, and it is nice to put faces with names.
Jim NelsonBethesda, Maryland


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Re: [cobirds] Do we want an RBA

[Jim Nelson]

As an out-of-stater, who visits Colorado several times a year, I really value 
the listserv reports, even when I don't have a trip to Colorado pending.  They 
really help me keep track of what's going on.
When I am in Colorado, the reports can help me find good birds when I am in the 
right place.  I also try to post interesting sightings when I am fortunate 
enough to have them.
The listserv helps me feel like part of the community of Colorado birders, even 
when I'm not there.  And when I am lucky enough to meet local birders, I often 
recognize their names from the reports, and it is nice to put faces with names.
Jim NelsonBethesda, Maryland


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[cobirds] Thoughts on rare bird communications - a conversation starter and a suggestion

[Carl Bendorf]

The current debate about rare bird communications in Colorado is very 
interesting.  First, there is the current discussion related to the Larimer 
County Gyrfalcon.  I'm fairly certain these exact same debates have taken 
place in nearly every state and province.  Many of us have all seen the 
rise and fall of various technologies and communication systems (email 
chains, websites, listservs, text alerts, etc.) but the thorny issues of 
what to report and when to report remain.  I doubt that technology will 
ever eliminate this aspect of the debate and it's important we continue 
discussing the ethics of reporting rare birds.

 

At the same time, there is a discussion underway about our methods of 
sharing information in a timely and efficient manner.  When I started 
birding in Iowa the late 70's, we tried to create an organized phone tree 
with a paper chart showing who would call whom and so on.  Of course, the 
communication chain often broke down when someone was out of town or just 
not at home to answer the phone.  A lot of people didn't even have home 
answering machines back then and, of course, reporting a rare bird meant 
driving to the nearest pay phone and dropping in quarters to make a call.  
In the early 80s, we started a rare bird alert using an answering machine 
located in my parents' garage.   Part of the trick was finding a machine 
that offered an extended outgoing message as many answering machines were 
limited to perhaps 30 seconds.  We put the machine in my parents' garage 
because they lived in a small town where the local phone company offered a 
very low monthly phone bill for a second phone line.   As technology 
changed, these recorded rare bird alerts using phone lines have essentially 
disappeared.

 

In my view, for many birders, Facebook has become the rare bird 
communication platform of choice since it offers features like the ability 
to quickly post photos/recordings, a role for a moderator(s), presence on 
both millions of smartphones, laptops, and desktops, and the fact that 
millions of people are already on their Facebook accounts every day.

 

A great example is the ABA Rare Bird Alert Facebook page (
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABArare/) which has grown tremendously 
(18,000 members.)  It's amazing to watch as bird sightings are being 
updated in real time and you can even see groups of birders in the field 
using this page to communicate with each other in real time.  The page has 
at least 7 administrators meaning the work of monitoring the flow of info 
is being shared and doesn't become a major burden.  Heck, you can even 
livestream a video of your rare bird to the entire audience.

 

One of the features of the (very helpful) COBIRDS Google Group is that the 
content is generated from the individual submissions of contributors.  I 
also really like the compiled RBA report but the downside there is it 
requires a compiler or compilers willing to put in the major effort of 
gathering, collating, typing up, and posting of a report.  As we've seen, 
it's going to be increasingly hard to find someone who is willing to put in 
all that work.   Also, the effort of collating and posting a compiled RBA 
inevitably adds a time-delay to reports.

 

This long missive is my suggestion that perhaps Colorado needs a dedicated 
Rare Bird Facebook Page with multiple moderators.  Again, the ABA is using 
this model very successfully by having three separate Facebook pages.  Each 
page has a different defined purpose (this is critical, I think):

 

1.  A general Facebook page for the organization for non-urgent information 
and sharing of a general nature:  https://www.facebook.com/birders/

 

2.  An extremely successful page for helping people identify birds--this 
page has a very clearly defined purpose and has nearly 34,000 members!  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatsthisbird/   And, I understand a number 
of extreme rarities have been “discovered” from the postings of photos from 
contributors who couldn’t identify what they had seen/photographed.

 

3.  The above-mentioned ABA Rare Bird Alert with about 18,000 members:  
https://www.facebook.com/groups/whatsthisbird/

 

I imagine one of the points of view on this issue will be that not everyone 
uses (or wants to use) Facebook.  But this has been true of every form of 
communication through the years.  I’m sure at one time there were those who 
preferred to communicate by letter and not by telephone followed by those 
who preferred to communicate about rare birds by land line telephone and 
felt left behind by the cell phone followed by those who were happy with a 
call on their cell phone but objected to needing a smart phone, and so on. 
 Consider also how many local bird club newsletters used to include a 
compilation of recent rare bird sightings in a printed/mailed newsletter.  
You don’t see that so much anymore.

 

My suggestion to those who don’t wish to use Facebook is to recruit a 

Re: [cobirds] Do we want an RBA

[Diana Beatty]

Since the RBA report comes out every morning, how is it more timely than
Ebird reports entered after a day of birding?  Some Ebird reports come up
much sooner, of course, and a regular post to COBIRDS comes up sooner, but
the daily RBA report as far as I know comes out every morning.  Or is there
something else you're talking about - a different RBA report - or something
I'm missing? I don't think we're talking about getting rid of COBIRDS
altogether, but rather talking about the specific morning report since the
compiler is retiring and new volunteers are needed to take it over?

Diana Beatty
El  Paso

On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 9:48 AM marimammoser 
wrote:

> my vote is vehemently YES. With a handicapped wife my birding time is
> quite limited. I use the RBA *every day* to see what has been seen and to
> plan how to use the hour here or hour there to go check on birds that have
> been reported. I also check in Ebird but quite often the reporters do not
> post until they get home after a day's birding. To hear about an unusual or
> interesting bird late in the afternoon or evening or the next morning can
> be very frustrating when there could have been an opportunity for me to get
> out during the time the bird was originally being seen. I'm not sure if
> Ebird reporters can access the application from their smart phones and post
> while out in the field, but do know that Cobirders can. Having grown up
> with Cobirds since the 80's I would hate to see it go away.
>
> My two cents
> Joe Mammoser
> Fort Collins
>
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**

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[cobirds] Do we want an RBA

[marimammoser]

my vote is vehemently YES. With a handicapped wife my birding time is quite 
limited. I use the RBA *every day* to see what has been seen and to plan 
how to use the hour here or hour there to go check on birds that have been 
reported. I also check in Ebird but quite often the reporters do not post 
until they get home after a day's birding. To hear about an unusual or 
interesting bird late in the afternoon or evening or the next morning can 
be very frustrating when there could have been an opportunity for me to get 
out during the time the bird was originally being seen. I'm not sure if 
Ebird reporters can access the application from their smart phones and post 
while out in the field, but do know that Cobirders can. Having grown up 
with Cobirds since the 80's I would hate to see it go away.

My two cents
Joe Mammoser
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] RBA

['kent nelson' via Colorado Birds]

Birders,
Those of us in far parts of the state appreciate knowing what's around. I like 
having the opportunity to chase a bird if I want to, even though I have no 
state list. When I visit friends on the Front Range, it's good to know what 
birds are where. 
That birders withhold information is, to me, antithetical to the spirit of 
birding and smacks of elitism. Yes, birds might be stressed by having too many 
people around, but it's hard to know how much difference this makes. Birds have 
wings to go elsewhere. (Private property is another issue.)
I am grateful to all the people who work hard to get the information out there 
and those who report their sightings.
Kent NelsonOuray   

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Re: [cobirds] Gyrfalcon; Do we want an RBA???

[Patrick O'Driscoll]

I agree with Maureen B. on both counts, and I'll bet a lot of us on CObirds
do, too: Occasionally venturing out to try to see birds on the list, but
also having great interest what's out there, season to season, whether I
can get out to see it or not.

Patrick O'Driscoll
Denver County


On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 8:26 AM Maureen Blackford 
wrote:

> I would hate to see the compiled list on Cobirds be discontinued.   I’m
> not a chaser, although I have gone to see some areas/birds reported.
> However, I find it of great interest to see what birds are moving through
> the state.
> And to experience birding virtually, through other people’s sightings; I
> believe it enriches my enjoyment.
>
> Maureen Blackford
> Boulder County
>
> On Dec 6, 2018, at 8:06 AM, Diana Beatty  wrote:
>
> I do think it is worth asking who uses the COBIRDS RBA report and getting
> some data before deciding to continue the extensive effort or not, unless
> someone just realyl enjoys doing it.  Is there anyone out there who uses it
> fairly regularly?  What tools are people using to learn of 'rare' birds?
>
> Personally, I have not used it much if at all.  I have sometimes learned
> of great birds in general COBIRDS posts but the RBA is a tool I haven't
> really used much. I did use it a few times to try to find out if a bird had
> been reported recently several days after the initial report when I didn't
> see something in eBird, since I know not everyone uses eBird.  I get rare
> bird alerts for certain counties from eBird and they are more specific and
> timely than the RBA for me personally, but I do rarely chase so my
> experience may be atypical.  I also learn of some birds on the CFO Facebook
> page.  I do wonder if there is some concern at least along the Front Range
> about loving rare birds to death - i.e. publicizing a sighting very openly
> possibly being harmful to the bird in question or to the reputation of
> birders, etc.,, in part because there may simply be too many people
> interested in seeing it, some of whom may be more 'rambunctious' in their
> quests than others.  I do not know that the RBA would be considered a
> contributor to those concerns, if people have them, though.  I appreciate
> the willingness of people to share and compile exciting sightings even if I
> do not go to see them because I do enjoy hearing about what of note is
> going on re: birds in Colorado.
>
> Diana Beatty
> El Paso County
>
> On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 4:23 AM 'Allison Hilf' via Colorado Birds <
> cobirds@googlegroups.com> wrote:
>
>> I totally understand the sensitivity of a Gyrfalcon sighting, and
>> consider it like an owl.  I agree with Andy and others that it should not
>> be publicly shared.  I wish it would never have been reported and this
>> discussion never happened.
>>
>> My comment was meant to be about the more general issue where most of the
>> more experienced  CObirders no longer report  any rare bird sightings to
>> CObirds or to the RBA.
>>
>> I was ready to commit a considerable amount of time and effort into
>> helping Joe and others keep the RBA going after Joyce retires at the end of
>> the year.  I’m now having serious doubts, as so few experienced Birders
>> take the time to report ANY rare findings to CObirds.
>>
>> I don’t list and no longer chase anything but a lifer (Gyrfalcon is NOT a
>> lifer; I had no interest in chasing the bird).   I help beginning Birders
>> and spend my time analyzing bird behaviors - we all bird differently.
>>
>> I apologize if I came across critical of competitive listers; we can all
>> agree to enjoy birding differently.  But do listers want to share
>> sightings?  If so, is COBirds the place to do it, and are people willing to
>> report sightings to CObirds?  Otherwise, why should we spend considerable
>> time and effort on compiling an RBA???
>>
>> Please respond; as I need to know if anyone sincerely wants the RBA to
>> continue.
>>
>> Thank you,
>> Allison Hilf
>> Aurora, CO
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Dec 5, 2018, at 8:19 PM, Andrew Bankert 
>> wrote:
>>
>> Let me start off by saying that the Gyrfalcon was not refound anywhere
>> this morning that I am aware of with people looking along Trilby Road and
>> at the landfill.
>>
>> After thinking about it, I do not regret the 15 hour delay between
>> identifying and posting the Gyrfalcon to CObirds.  I try to get the word
>> about rarities out as quickly as possible, but this Gyrfalcon was a special
>> case with both being a charismatic species drawing attention from a wider
>> number of people than your average rarity and being found in a restricted
>> area where we could easily lose access if there were any incidents
>> involving birders not following protocols at the landfill.  As birders, I
>> understand how exciting it is to chase a rare bird and add a new tick to a
>> list, but I do wonder whether during our pursuits we forget about
>> considering the impacts we might have on the birds we chase and the areas
>> we 

Re: [cobirds] Gyrfalcon; Do we want an RBA???

[Maureen Blackford]

I would hate to see the compiled list on Cobirds be discontinued.   I’m not a 
chaser, although I have gone to see some areas/birds reported.  However, I find 
it of great interest to see what birds are moving through the state.
And to experience birding virtually, through other people’s sightings; I 
believe it enriches my enjoyment. 

Maureen Blackford
Boulder County

> On Dec 6, 2018, at 8:06 AM, Diana Beatty  wrote:
> 
> I do think it is worth asking who uses the COBIRDS RBA report and getting 
> some data before deciding to continue the extensive effort or not, unless 
> someone just realyl enjoys doing it.  Is there anyone out there who uses it 
> fairly regularly?  What tools are people using to learn of 'rare' birds?
> 
> Personally, I have not used it much if at all.  I have sometimes learned of 
> great birds in general COBIRDS posts but the RBA is a tool I haven't really 
> used much. I did use it a few times to try to find out if a bird had been 
> reported recently several days after the initial report when I didn't see 
> something in eBird, since I know not everyone uses eBird.  I get rare bird 
> alerts for certain counties from eBird and they are more specific and timely 
> than the RBA for me personally, but I do rarely chase so my experience may be 
> atypical.  I also learn of some birds on the CFO Facebook page.  I do wonder 
> if there is some concern at least along the Front Range about loving rare 
> birds to death - i.e. publicizing a sighting very openly possibly being 
> harmful to the bird in question or to the reputation of birders, etc.,, in 
> part because there may simply be too many people interested in seeing it, 
> some of whom may be more 'rambunctious' in their quests than others.  I do 
> not know that the RBA would be considered a contributor to those concerns, if 
> people have them, though.  I appreciate the willingness of people to share 
> and compile exciting sightings even if I do not go to see them because I do 
> enjoy hearing about what of note is going on re: birds in Colorado.
> 
> Diana Beatty
> El Paso County
> 
> On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 4:23 AM 'Allison Hilf' via Colorado Birds 
>  wrote:
>> I totally understand the sensitivity of a Gyrfalcon sighting, and consider 
>> it like an owl.  I agree with Andy and others that it should not be publicly 
>> shared.  I wish it would never have been reported and this discussion never 
>> happened.
>> 
>> My comment was meant to be about the more general issue where most of the 
>> more experienced  CObirders no longer report  any rare bird sightings to 
>> CObirds or to the RBA.  
>> 
>> I was ready to commit a considerable amount of time and effort into helping 
>> Joe and others keep the RBA going after Joyce retires at the end of the 
>> year.  I’m now having serious doubts, as so few experienced Birders take the 
>> time to report ANY rare findings to CObirds.
>> 
>> I don’t list and no longer chase anything but a lifer (Gyrfalcon is NOT a 
>> lifer; I had no interest in chasing the bird).   I help beginning Birders 
>> and spend my time analyzing bird behaviors - we all bird differently.
>> 
>> I apologize if I came across critical of competitive listers; we can all 
>> agree to enjoy birding differently.  But do listers want to share sightings? 
>>  If so, is COBirds the place to do it, and are people willing to report 
>> sightings to CObirds?  Otherwise, why should we spend considerable time and 
>> effort on compiling an RBA???
>> 
>> Please respond; as I need to know if anyone sincerely wants the RBA to 
>> continue.
>> 
>> Thank you,
>> Allison Hilf
>> Aurora, CO
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> On Dec 5, 2018, at 8:19 PM, Andrew Bankert  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Let me start off by saying that the Gyrfalcon was not refound anywhere this 
>>> morning that I am aware of with people looking along Trilby Road and at the 
>>> landfill.  
>>> 
>>> After thinking about it, I do not regret the 15 hour delay between 
>>> identifying and posting the Gyrfalcon to CObirds.  I try to get the word 
>>> about rarities out as quickly as possible, but this Gyrfalcon was a special 
>>> case with both being a charismatic species drawing attention from a wider 
>>> number of people than your average rarity and being found in a restricted 
>>> area where we could easily lose access if there were any incidents 
>>> involving birders not following protocols at the landfill.  As birders, I 
>>> understand how exciting it is to chase a rare bird and add a new tick to a 
>>> list, but I do wonder whether during our pursuits we forget about 
>>> considering the impacts we might have on the birds we chase and the areas 
>>> we visit.  
>>> 
>>> Considering these impacts, including consulting with other birders, is what 
>>> happened during that 15 hour delay.  Just last week while watching the 
>>> Grandview Cemetery Eastern Screech-Owl from a safe distance across the 
>>> canal, a group of us witnessed two, probably well 

Re: [cobirds] Gyrfalcon; Do we want an RBA???

[Diana Beatty]

I do think it is worth asking who uses the COBIRDS RBA report and getting
some data before deciding to continue the extensive effort or not, unless
someone just realyl enjoys doing it.  Is there anyone out there who uses it
fairly regularly?  What tools are people using to learn of 'rare' birds?

Personally, I have not used it much if at all.  I have sometimes learned of
great birds in general COBIRDS posts but the RBA is a tool I haven't really
used much. I did use it a few times to try to find out if a bird had been
reported recently several days after the initial report when I didn't see
something in eBird, since I know not everyone uses eBird.  I get rare bird
alerts for certain counties from eBird and they are more specific and
timely than the RBA for me personally, but I do rarely chase so my
experience may be atypical.  I also learn of some birds on the CFO Facebook
page.  I do wonder if there is some concern at least along the Front Range
about loving rare birds to death - i.e. publicizing a sighting very openly
possibly being harmful to the bird in question or to the reputation of
birders, etc.,, in part because there may simply be too many people
interested in seeing it, some of whom may be more 'rambunctious' in their
quests than others.  I do not know that the RBA would be considered a
contributor to those concerns, if people have them, though.  I appreciate
the willingness of people to share and compile exciting sightings even if I
do not go to see them because I do enjoy hearing about what of note is
going on re: birds in Colorado.

Diana Beatty
El Paso County

On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 4:23 AM 'Allison Hilf' via Colorado Birds <
cobirds@googlegroups.com> wrote:

> I totally understand the sensitivity of a Gyrfalcon sighting, and consider
> it like an owl.  I agree with Andy and others that it should not be
> publicly shared.  I wish it would never have been reported and this
> discussion never happened.
>
> My comment was meant to be about the more general issue where most of the
> more experienced  CObirders no longer report  any rare bird sightings to
> CObirds or to the RBA.
>
> I was ready to commit a considerable amount of time and effort into
> helping Joe and others keep the RBA going after Joyce retires at the end of
> the year.  I’m now having serious doubts, as so few experienced Birders
> take the time to report ANY rare findings to CObirds.
>
> I don’t list and no longer chase anything but a lifer (Gyrfalcon is NOT a
> lifer; I had no interest in chasing the bird).   I help beginning Birders
> and spend my time analyzing bird behaviors - we all bird differently.
>
> I apologize if I came across critical of competitive listers; we can all
> agree to enjoy birding differently.  But do listers want to share
> sightings?  If so, is COBirds the place to do it, and are people willing to
> report sightings to CObirds?  Otherwise, why should we spend considerable
> time and effort on compiling an RBA???
>
> Please respond; as I need to know if anyone sincerely wants the RBA to
> continue.
>
> Thank you,
> Allison Hilf
> Aurora, CO
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Dec 5, 2018, at 8:19 PM, Andrew Bankert 
> wrote:
>
> Let me start off by saying that the Gyrfalcon was not refound anywhere
> this morning that I am aware of with people looking along Trilby Road and
> at the landfill.
>
> After thinking about it, I do not regret the 15 hour delay between
> identifying and posting the Gyrfalcon to CObirds.  I try to get the word
> about rarities out as quickly as possible, but this Gyrfalcon was a special
> case with both being a charismatic species drawing attention from a wider
> number of people than your average rarity and being found in a restricted
> area where we could easily lose access if there were any incidents
> involving birders not following protocols at the landfill.  As birders, I
> understand how exciting it is to chase a rare bird and add a new tick to a
> list, but I do wonder whether during our pursuits we forget about
> considering the impacts we might have on the birds we chase and the areas
> we visit.
>
> Considering these impacts, including consulting with other birders, is
> what happened during that 15 hour delay.  Just last week while watching the
> Grandview Cemetery Eastern Screech-Owl from a safe distance across the
> canal, a group of us witnessed two, probably well intentioned, birders walk
> right up to the tree the owl was roosting in while searching for it without
> seeing it.  Cases like this seem to occur somewhat regularly with
> charismatic species that draw attention from more than just listers. There
> has previously been suboptimal behavior and breaking of protocol from
> chasers at rarities even within the same CBC Circle as the Gyrfalcon
> (American Woodcock and Streak-backed Oriole come to mind). Normally, I
> would trust in the birding community's ability to help educate this small
> number of people, but the situation at the landfill is different 

[cobirds] Colorado CBC Dates Update

[Brandon]

Christmas Bird Count season is coming up, starting Dec 14, 2018 to Jan 5,
2019. Here are the dates that are on the CBC Website so far.

*Friday (12/14/2018):*
Fairplay

*Saturday (12/15/2018):*
Colorado Springs
Denver
Fort Collins
Granby
Longmont
Monte Vista N.W.R.
North Park
Pueblo Reservoir
Pagosa Springs
Roaring Fork River Valley
Salida
Steamboat Springs

*Sunday (12/16/2018):*
Aspen
Boulder
Durango
Evergreen-Idaho Springs
Grand Junction
Gunnison
Montrose
Penrose
Rocky Mountain National Park

*Monday (12/17/2018)*
John Martin Reservoir
Pinon Canyon (new count starting this year)

*Tuesday (12/18/2018)*
Rocky Ford
Weldona-Fort Morgan

*Wednesday (12/19/2018)*
Pueblo

*Thursday (12/20/2018)*
Fountain Creek

*Friday (12/21/2018)*
Bonny Reservoir

*Saturday (12/22/2018)*
Crook
Nunn
Spanish Peaks

*Sunday (12/23/2018)*
Delta

*Saturday (12/29/2018)*
Cortez
Douglas County
Great Sand Dunes N.P.
Greeley
Westcliffe

*Monday (12/31/2018)*
Barr Lake
Rawhide Energy Station

*Tuesday (01/01/2019)*
Denver (Urban)
Grand Mesa
Loveland

*Friday (01/04/2019)*
Air Force Academy
Flagler

*Saturday (01/05/2019)*
Black Forest
Hotchkiss
Lake Isabel
Sterling

*No Date known yet:*
Dotsero
Eagle Valley
Summit County - unlikely going on this year


If you want to learn more about Christmas Bird Counts, go to
https://www.audubon.org/conservation/…/christmas-bird-count/



There are usually over 40 Christmas Bird Counts held around Colorado, each
winter.

To sign up for Christmas Bird Counts, contact the compiler as soon as
possible.

https://audubon.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=fadfb421e95f4949bde20c29a38228bd


Brandon K. Percival
Colorado's Christmas Bird Count Regional Editor
Pueblo West, CO

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[cobirds] Colorado Rare Bird Alert for Thursday, December 6, 2018

[Cheryl Teuton]

 

This the Colorado Rare Bird Alert for Thursday, December 6 at 6 AM sponsored
by Denver Field Ornithologists.
Rare, out of place and out of season species of note for the past seven days
include: (* indicates new information on this species)
 
Trumpeter Swan (Douglas)
Tundra Swan (Bent)
Black Scoter (*Arapahoe, Jefferson)
Black-legged Kittiwake (Adams)

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL (Larimer)

Long-tailed Duck (Arapahoe)
Red-throated Loon (Kiowa)
Pacific Loon (Pueblo)
Common Loon (Pueblo)
YELLOW-BILLED LOON (Pueblo)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Larimer)

GYRFALCON (Larimer)
Vermilion Flycatcher (Boulder)

Eastern Bluebird (Jefferson, Chaffee)
PURPLE FINCH (Jefferson)
Field Sparrow (*El Paso, Kiowa)

Rusty Blackbird (Arapahoe, *El Paso)
Palm Warbler (*Arapahoe, Jefferson, Pueblo)
Pine Warbler (Arapahoe)

 
ADAMS COUNTY:

--On December 2 a juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake was reported by Adam
Vesely at Ken Mitchell Park and Open Space, close to the fishing pier. Last
reported Dec 4.

 

ARAPAHOE COUNTY:
-On November 29 a Palm Warbler (Western) was reported by David Suddjian at W
Long Drive greenway in Littleton. It was at corner of tennis court. Last
reported Dec 5.
-On November 29 a Pine Warbler was reported by David Suddjian at W Long
Drive greenway in Littleton. Last reported Dec 3.
---On November 26 a female Black Scoter was reported by Tanja Britton at
South Platte Park-South Platte Reservoir. Last reported Dec 5.
---On November 28 a continuing pair of (2) Rusty Blackbirds (M/F pair) were
reported by several birders at Cherry Creek SP at the tiny pond in woods at
north end of swim beach. Although last officially reported Nov 30, I saw the
female on Dec 1- (CT).
-On November 28 a continuing pair of (2) Long-tailed Duck (M/F pair) were
reported by several birders at Cherry Creek SP Swim Beach Area. Last
reported November 29.
 
BENT COUNTY:
-On November 30 an imm Tundra Swan was reported by Duane Nelson on the west
end of John Martin Reservoir.
 
BOULDER COUNTY:
---On November 15 a Vermillion Flycatcher was reported by Leslie S. at
Walden Ponds, seen daily through November 25. Last reported Dec 3. 

 

CHAFFEE COUNTY:

--On December 2, an Eastern Bluebird was reported at Sands Lake State
Wildlife Area by Fawn Simonds.
 
DOUGLAS COUNTY:
-On November 30 a Trumpeter Swan was reported at Plum Creek Wetland at W.
Titan Rd. Last reported Dec 2.
 
EL PASO COUNTY:
-On November 30 (2) Rusty Blackbird were reported by Terence Berger at
Fountain Creek -S. Circle Dr. to S. Academy Blvd.  Last reported on Dec 5. 

--On  Dec 1, a Field Sparrow was reported by Jim Merritt at Red Rock Canyon
Open space. Last reported Dec 5.
 

JEFFERSON COUNTY:
-On November 28 a f PURPLE FINCH was reported by Doug Kibbe at South Platte
Park/South Platte Reservoir; Southwest Bay Area, in a thicket near the gate
on the east side of the road. This location is close to where the Tropical
Kingbird used to hang out. Last reported Nov 30.
-On November 28 (2) Palm Warblers (1 Western; 1 Yellow) were reported by
Kevin DeBoer at Denver West Office Park, just north of Lena Gulch between
Building 5 and the Building 6&7 parking lot. One bird was reported Dec 1.
---On Nov. 28 a female Black Scoter was reported at South Platte Park/South
Platte Reservoir; Southwest Bay Area. Last reported Dec 5.

--On December 2, 3 Eastern Bluebirds were reported at Ralston Creek, Maple
Valley Park by James McCall.
 
KIOWA COUNTY:
-On November 30 a Field Sparrow was reported by Glenn Walbek at Neenoshe
Reservoir-Locust Grove. Last reported Dec 2.

---On December 2, Steve Mlodinow reported a Red-throated Loon at Neenoshee.
 

LARIMER COUNTY:

---On December 3, a GYRFALCON was reported along Taft Hill Road in southern
Fort Collins.  The bird was seen again in the morning on December 4, between
7-7:30 AM, roosting on tall power poles along Trilby Road where it
intersects Taft Hill road.

---On December 4, a juvenile GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL was reported at Horseshoe
Reservoir by Nick Komar.

-On November 18 an imm Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was reported by David Wade
at Grandview Cemetery. Last reported by Andy Bankert on Nov 28. Previous
report of location by David Leatherman on Nov 26: in Scots Pines on City
Park Nine golf course just sw of the Trolley House on Mountain Avenue, in
elms near the old office at the entrance and in elms further west into the
cemetery. In pines on golf course fairway near southern border of cemetery
Dec 1. Last reported Dec 2. 
 
PUEBLO COUNTY:
-On November 30 a Pacific Loon was reported by Brandon Percival at Pueblo
Reservoir. Last reported Dec 2.
-On November 30 a juv Yellow-billed Loon was reported Brandon Percival at
Pueblo Reservoir-North Picnic Rd Lookout. Last reported Dec 2.
-On November 30 a Common Loon was reported by Brandon Percival at Pueblo
Reservoir. Last reported Dec 2.
-On November 30 (2) Palm Warbler (Western) were reported by Brandon Percival
at Pueblo Reservoir-North Picnic Rd Lookout.

DFO Field Trips...trip details are at the DFO 

[cobirds] Gyrfalcon; Do we want an RBA???

['Allison Hilf' via Colorado Birds]

I totally understand the sensitivity of a Gyrfalcon sighting, and consider it 
like an owl.  I agree with Andy and others that it should not be publicly 
shared.  I wish it would never have been reported and this discussion never 
happened.

My comment was meant to be about the more general issue where most of the more 
experienced  CObirders no longer report  any rare bird sightings to CObirds or 
to the RBA.  

I was ready to commit a considerable amount of time and effort into helping Joe 
and others keep the RBA going after Joyce retires at the end of the year.  I’m 
now having serious doubts, as so few experienced Birders take the time to 
report ANY rare findings to CObirds.

I don’t list and no longer chase anything but a lifer (Gyrfalcon is NOT a 
lifer; I had no interest in chasing the bird).   I help beginning Birders and 
spend my time analyzing bird behaviors - we all bird differently.

I apologize if I came across critical of competitive listers; we can all agree 
to enjoy birding differently.  But do listers want to share sightings?  If so, 
is COBirds the place to do it, and are people willing to report sightings to 
CObirds?  Otherwise, why should we spend considerable time and effort on 
compiling an RBA???

Please respond; as I need to know if anyone sincerely wants the RBA to continue.

Thank you,
Allison Hilf
Aurora, CO

 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Dec 5, 2018, at 8:19 PM, Andrew Bankert  wrote:
> 
> Let me start off by saying that the Gyrfalcon was not refound anywhere this 
> morning that I am aware of with people looking along Trilby Road and at the 
> landfill.  
> 
> After thinking about it, I do not regret the 15 hour delay between 
> identifying and posting the Gyrfalcon to CObirds.  I try to get the word 
> about rarities out as quickly as possible, but this Gyrfalcon was a special 
> case with both being a charismatic species drawing attention from a wider 
> number of people than your average rarity and being found in a restricted 
> area where we could easily lose access if there were any incidents involving 
> birders not following protocols at the landfill.  As birders, I understand 
> how exciting it is to chase a rare bird and add a new tick to a list, but I 
> do wonder whether during our pursuits we forget about considering the impacts 
> we might have on the birds we chase and the areas we visit.  
> 
> Considering these impacts, including consulting with other birders, is what 
> happened during that 15 hour delay.  Just last week while watching the 
> Grandview Cemetery Eastern Screech-Owl from a safe distance across the canal, 
> a group of us witnessed two, probably well intentioned, birders walk right up 
> to the tree the owl was roosting in while searching for it without seeing it. 
>  Cases like this seem to occur somewhat regularly with charismatic species 
> that draw attention from more than just listers. There has previously been 
> suboptimal behavior and breaking of protocol from chasers at rarities even 
> within the same CBC Circle as the Gyrfalcon (American Woodcock and 
> Streak-backed Oriole come to mind). Normally, I would trust in the birding 
> community's ability to help educate this small number of people, but the 
> situation at the landfill is different with large equipment with the 
> potential to cause serious injury to someone not following the landfill 
> protocol.  Such an event would surely ruin access to one of my favorite 
> birding spots in Larimer County, which we luckily have the privilege to bird 
> at unlike some other landfills in the state.  One of the gatekeepers at the 
> landfill today did say that there were some problems with birders not 
> following protocols yesterday, which verified my concerns about posting this 
> sighting.  Finally, the Gyrfalcon did not show up on any eBird alerts because 
> they have been deemed to be a sensitive species, and I thought this was worth 
> considering before plastering this sighting for everyone to know about.  It 
> seems that in other states birders and falconers have run into problems over 
> Gyrfalcons, and it was not until Tuesday morning that I was confident that it 
> is illegal to trap a wild Gyrfalcon in Colorado.   
> 
> I still think we, as a birding community, should be excited when rare birds 
> show up and try to share them with everyone when appropriate, but I think we 
> do need to consider the impacts of both reporting rarities and chasing birds. 
>  If you find a Red-faced Warbler at a city park there probably won't be too 
> much need for hesitation, but if you find a Snowy Owl that is best viewed 
> from an active construction site you might want to consider the impacts of 
> informing more than just a small group of people you know well.  I also hope 
> we can appreciate birders who do consider the impacts their hobby has on the 
> birds they see, the places they visit, and the environment as a whole.  
> Finally, I do encourage anyone interested to visit a