First off, to make this post legitimate, the clay-colored sparrow was not
relocated today.  In fact most of the migrants that were around yesterday
and the day before were not found today.

I'd like to make a few comments about the listserv.  Maybe some of the
reports are of fairly common migrants, but at least these birders are
sharing their sightings.  Years ago, (before the internet), when I worked at
Crane Creek I used to get huge long distance bills.  I tried to relay what
was being seen up in Magee Marsh area to friends in Columbus and Cleveland.
After I moved out this way there was a swallow-tailed kite that was present
for a week in Holmes County.  I heard about it two weeks later.  As annoyed
as I was I continued to report rare sightings.  I did not want to be accused
of not sharing my sightings.

When the list-serv started out I saw this as a great way to relay
information.  In the old days you were charged with for long distance, while
the list-serv is free.  I have heard every excuse in the book as to why
people do not contribute their rare sightings to the listserv.  If Steve
Jones and I decided that we didn't want to report our hoary redpolls this
winter, a lot of people would not have seen them.  If the people with the
Bullock's Oriole had some excuse for not reporting their bird a lot of
people would not have seen that bird.  To me it gets a little irritating
reading about some rare bird a week later in the paper or months later in
the birding journals.  Personally, I would feel guilty showing up at a rare
bird when I don't report on my sightings.

Now, I am not saying that everyone should report everything they see.  I
think it is important to report rare and uncommon species and to report trip
lists from areas that get a lot of birding activity like Magee Marsh,
Greenlawn Cemetery, Conneaut, and Killdeer Plains.  As birders mature they
learn what is rare or uncommon and what may not be as important.   It seems
that every spring there is a mass of reports this time of year and as the
season progresses things slow down a bit.  I know I get scared that by the
second week of May that I'm going to come home to 1,000 bird emails, but it
has not happened (yet).

As many people have said in the past there is a delete button.  When I go
through the posts I don't read them all.  I look at where they are from and
the title of the post.  I don't read a lot of the southern Ohio posts,
because I have no plans on getting down there in the near future.  However,
when I do get a chance to go down there it is nice to know what is being
seen and I'll read them then.  I am sure there are people that see my
waterbird reports and hit the delete button because they have no interest in
them.  That is what birding is about.  While we may get inundated with
Baltimore oriole reports or hummingbird reports, it is nice to see where
they are occurring and how fast they are moving through the state.  We just
need to know when enough is enough.  Just remember, if everybody is
reporting orioles, you don't necessarily need to report yours.  If you have
twenty of them or all sightings have been from down south and you live
north, please report it.  If you pay attention to what has been previously
reported you'll know what is worth sharing.

The listserv is a great way of relaying information.  While some may use it
only to look  for rare birds, others like to see what others are seeing and
how the migration may be progressing.  Everybody has their own interests.
Instead of having everything for everybody the way it is now, we can do what
Michigan does and having a regular listserv and a listserv for only rare
birds.

Thanks to all who do share their sightings and to Ned for all his hard work!
Sorry if I offended anyone.


John Pogacnik
4765 Lockwood Road
Perry, OH 44081
(440) 259-2751

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