Well said Kenn....I have too have see the band spanking new birder, I
remember when I was one (weren't we all?)......I can't add anything else.

David Tan
Columbus

On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 3:09 PM, Kenn Kaufman
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Next Monday is April 1st: April Fool's Day. Based on past experience, it's
> likely that some birders will celebrate the day by posting reports of
> outlandish rare birds on various listserves.
>
>
> These April Fool's jokes are all in good fun, as long as you're in the
> know. They're usually written in such a way that the more experienced
> birders can recognize them as jokes immediately. The problem is that new
> birders are more likely to be taken in by them. To a new birder, no matter
> how intelligent, there's nothing self-evident about the fact that a
> Black-tailed Gull from Asia is a plausible vagrant to Ohio while a
> Yellow-winged Tanager from Mexico is not. I have seen unfortunate cases in
> which brand-new, eager birders, excited about discovery and learning, have
> been tricked by these April Fools jokes and have been publicly embarrassed.
> Any joke that selectively targets the beginners is a bad idea, because we
> need to encourage those new birders. Bird conservation is an uphill
> struggle, and birds need all the friends they can get.
>
>
> So, by all means, let the jokes fly, and share those products of the
> imagination. But if you are new to birding or new to this listserve, please
> remember to look at the calendar!
>
>
> Of course, it's possible - even likely - that genuine rare birds will be
> found and reported on April 1st. But in general, the more "clever" the
> report sounds, the more likely it is to be an April Fool's joke.
>
>
> Good (real and imagined) birding to all!
>
>
>
>
> Kenn Kaufman
> Oak Harbor, Ohio
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
>
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--
David Tan
Columbus
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