OHIO-BIRDS Archives

May 2015

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Subject:
From:
Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 30 May 2015 09:50:11 -0400
Content-Type:
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First of all Kathy's advice. I have seen lots of complaints about Yahoo
incompatibilities with mailing lists elsewhere, so use it with caution,
and don't blame the list.
        I go back to dial-up. I go farther back to the days when Ohioans sent
findings data to one person, who dished it out to others on a website.
I go back even farther, to phone-trees, and in-groups. One evening
eleven years ago my brother called me about having seen a northern
lapwing (!) in Adams county (!).  At the time, the most expeditious
thing for me to do to was to call friends and a shaky and seldom-used
list of regional birders who had agreed to alert others, by phone.
Twenty-one people arrived early enough the next morning, the
latest-arriving of whom saw it fly over his car on its departure.
Probably today, such a bird would tax the local constabulary in traffic
control trying to manage lines of cars parked overnight along that rural
road.
        Today there seems to be no single reliable place to inform other
birders quickly of such a record, and there should be. Well, actually
there is such a place---this list---but there should be more people who
know that. I bestow all blessings on social-media sites--they are great
for asking ID questions, sharing enthusiasms, etc. If you want to join
the throngs who ask "where are my hummingbirds?" every spring, they're
good for that. And listers will always troll these sites on the
off-chance they'll produce something.
        There is a hard-core group of listers--I once was among them--who yearn
to know where rare birds are (not where they once were, or might be
tomorrow, just where they are NOW) as soon as possible. I don't know
whether this pursuit advances the cause of bird protection or scientific
ornithology, but it's a popular and usually harmless preoccupation. It
makes sense to send information on this sort of thing to a single
internet site--and of course eventually with details to the Ohio Bird
Records Committee. As a reporter on bird records, I endorse observers
sharing sightings of unusual birds; this enhances our knowledge of bird
occurrences out at the margins. There is a growing group of eager
chasers, willing to spend time and money seeking bird records, and it
makes sense to have a central source to help them share their finds.
Sure, every blue moon or so a feeder-watcher will casually report a "big
green hummingbird," and those who troll other lists may find one, but
let's try to sort out the data better and where it belongs! As for the
"chat" sites, I guess none of us is too tired of hearing "where are my
hummingbirds?" if someone reports one with blue plumage every once in a
while!
Bill Whan
Columbus









On 5/30/2015 12:29 AM, Ohio Birder wrote:
> For those with yahoo accounts...
>
> The listserv is displaying a lot of errors with yahoo.com accounts
> where the messages are not being delivered to your mailboxes. This
> just started in earnest over the last few days.
>
> I suspect yahoo is interpreting these messages as spam and not
> allowing delivery. Please be aware that this is an issue with your
> ISP. If there are too many errors the listserv will remove your
> accounts automatically and you will have to setup your account again.
> Try using another email provider to prevent this.
>
> Hopefully this will resolve some of the 'lost messages'
>
> Kathy Neugebauer Listserv Owner OHIO BIRDS
.

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