Hello,

Being a beginning birder, I will put my two cents in regarding this
question.  First, I have had the opportunity to go and see many great birds
from information I have read on this list.  This I find invaluable and it is
the main reason I continue to be a subscriber to this listserve.  I have
posted only a couple of questions to the list, and the responses I received
were wonderful.  Mind you, though, I have only posted questions.  I feel a
little bit too intimidated to post anything other than a question.The main
reason being that yes I am a beginner and I get excited seeing the
"ordinary" birds.  The other day I about wet myself because I saw my first
Kingfisher...but I didn't think that it would be worth posting to anyone on
this list.  To me a lot of the excitement is finding the bird and then being
able to identify it.  I have seen how others are reprimanded for posting
something they thought was related to Ohio birds only to be "wrong"
according to the list-god.

The posts that list off every bird (and really, who can count that they
spotted 117 canada geese...if they can, good for them, if not...who cares!)
does nothing for me...I do skim by to see where the count was and what they
saw.  The posts that really helped me were ones such as those regarding the
owl in the tree at Glacier Ridge Metro Park and the Blue Herons in
Brecksville.  I was able to use these posts to go and see the birds for
myself.

As for "off topic" posts, I would enjoy reading posts about what others are
setting out for the birds  in their feeders...isn't that about attracting
the birds in Ohio to be seen?  Or is it only birds that can be seen in a
park?  I also found the hunting topics enlightening as I had never thought
about the deer disrupting the birds.  I did not see a post being pro or con
regarding the hunting, but I was kinda put out the way it was handled by the
list-god.  I don't see the reason to sound so nasty to get people to stop.

Oh well, just my two cents, take it or leave it.  I may just have to
continue to lurk in the corner :-)

Cheryl
Delaware, Ohio

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