Thanks for the reminder, especially in light of the delightful warmer weather. 

Deb Smith

> On Mar 31, 2014, at 11:22, Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> This message is particularly for new birders, and new subscribers to the
> Ohio-birds listserve.
> 
> Tomorrow is April 1st. Of course, many significant and worthwhile things
> have happened on that date; for example, it was the birthday of my friend,
> the late Ted Parker, the most amazing field ornithologist that I ever met.
> 
> But April 1st is also celebrated, in some quarters, as April Fools' Day;
> and as a result, we have to be careful about believing rare bird reports on
> that date. In the past, there have been many such "April Fools' rarity
> reports" on this and other listserves. Sometimes these are outlandish and
> genuinely funny. But at other times they have been written in a very
> serious tone, in a very plausible way, with only a few subtle clues to tip
> off the experts that these aren't real reports. In some cases, eager new
> birders have jumped in their cars and headed off to chase these reported
> "rare birds." When that happens, the "joke" is not funny at all. In my
> opinion, any prank that targets beginners is a bad thing for birding.
> 
> Of course, genuine rare birds may show up on April 1st, just as on any
> other day, so we shouldn't ignore rarity reports altogether! But if you see
> a report tomorrow that seems too good to be true, I recommend that you
> check it out thoroughly before you actually head out to pursue it.
> 
> Kenn Kaufman
> Oak Harbor, Ohio
> 
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