OHIO-BIRDS Archives

March 2014

OHIO-BIRDS@LISTSERV.MIAMIOH.EDU

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From:
Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Kenn Kaufman <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 31 Mar 2014 11:22:25 -0400
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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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