Birders,

> What was not said: "Posting bird sightings to this listserv is almost
> completely useless."
>
> What was actually said: "From a data perspective, posting bird
> sightings to this listserv is almost completely useless."

OK, regardless of the interpretation or the accuracy of the quote, I still
think it is wrong even from a data perspective to say that listserv
sightings are "almost completely useless" in any context. For the Fall 2009
season just past, eBird provided 48,000 bird records for Michigan. But this
was only about half of all data for the season. Of the remaining half, about
20% were from mailed in paper forms and about 30% were from listservs.
Postings to listservs of problematic species like Purple Finch, Field
Sparrow, or Red-headed Woodpecker will almost certainly be discussed to some
extent, and the number of these records on listservs tends to be low.
Whereas, on receiving a 48,000 record file there might be more than 1000 of
these to deal with, all in the 3-week window before the North American Birds
summary is due!

Please understand that my previous statement did not disrespect eBird to the
same extent as noted above. But all too often the eBird disciples in their
zeal to convince us all that it is the second coming, do not understand the
value of what we already have. And I say this not from a hypothetical
perspective, but from an actual user. eBird needs to address concerns from
users, not discount them, if the reality of eBird is to ever match the hype.

Allen T. Chartier
amazilia1(at)comcast.net
Inkster, Michigan, USA





> "From a data perspective" is the key context here to understand the
> statement. The original post was misquoted in the criticisms.
>
> There's nothing wrong with posting on the mailing list. But if you
> want your bird sightings to really count towards the science of bird
> conservation, additionally entering your data on eBird is the way to
> go. Taking the time to enter your observations somewhere where
> researchers can utilize the data is an important contribution.
>
> Sean Artman
>
> p.s. The identification problems brought up Allen Chartier are not
> specific to eBird reports. For example, when I see a Purple Finch
> reported on the listserv, how do I know wasn't actually a House Finch?
>
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