Hi All,
I couldn't agree more on how important it is to document rare bird
sightings. My discovery of a Long-tailed Jaeger on Hoover Reservoir was
the start of my involvement with the Ohio Ornithological Society. The
Ohio Birds Record Committee is a sub-committee of the OOS and there is a
very user friendly form available on our website. I have included the
link below. If you are unable to download the form in Adobe, there is
also a Word document that you can print out and send to Ned Keller,
Secretary for the OBRC.
http://www.ohiobirds.org/records/docform.pdf
Good Birding to Everyone!
Jen
President, Ohio Ornithological Society
"Ohio's Birding Network"
www.ohiobirds.org
On 5/30/12 4:54 PM, "Haans Petruschke" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Bills post on this subject raises the importance of documenting review
>list
>species. I think too often we assume the person or people who originally
>found the rare bird will properly document their record. The rest of of
>us
>ask why bother assuming others will have done so?
>
>How many of us posted success having seen the Black-tailed Gull, or Say's
>Pheobe, White-Winged Dove, Fish Crow, or Least Tern, and never sent a
>report to the OBRC? ( We are now all ineligible for either nomination or a
>positive vote from Bill (wink))
>
>On the other hand the OBRC needs to take some responsibility in this. If
>insufficient documentation has been received, the secretary can solicit
>this from the person(s) who originally found the bird or in a general
>manner such as this forum.
>
>There is another problem too. How many actually know how to write up a
>report or where to submit it? If you Google Ohio Bird Records Committee,
>the link will take you to a page with very intimidating
>language explaining what you should do. In other words it is not a very
>user friendly process for those who have little or no experience with this
>sort of thing.
>
>In reality it is easy. If you have a diagnostic photo, send it to the
>secretary of the committee with a statement like this:
>
>Here is a picture of the (insert bird) I saw and photographed at (insert
>place) on (insert date and time)
>Include your name and contact information.
>
>It is nice if you also include a little about the equipment you used,
>distance, etc, but if you are submitting a photo no one will actually pay
>any attention to that.
>
>It gets more complicated if the photo is non diagnostic or if you have no
>photo. (if the photo is non diagnostic better to *not* include it because
>in such cases the photo is all that matters and the description of what
>you
>saw is often ignored. You can just mention that no diagnostic photos were
>taken) In these situations you really do have to submit a detailed report
>that covers all the bases. Include sketches, why similar species were
>eliminated, etc. It is time consuming but not having a photo does not
>mean the record will be rejected. If it is a good bird worth reporting,
>and you or your group are the only ones to see it. It should be
>documented. I have had several so called sight records accepted by
>various
>state records committees.
>
>Finally don't worry about your reputation. Unless you lie, say you saw
>something you really didn't see, make stuff up, etc. everyone is entitled
>to the benefit of the doubt. One of Ohio's top birders, Tom Bartlett,
>likes
>to say: "If I had a nickle for every report I've had rejected by the OBRC
>I
>would be a rich man." The OBRC can't question what you saw or pass
>judgement on your skills, They can only decide if there is sufficient
>evidence to include the sighting in the records.
>
>Yes please do the *right* thing, and document review list sightings,
>especially of you or your group are the only ones who see the bird.
>
>Haans Petruschke
>Kirtland
>
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______________________________________________________________________
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Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.
You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
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