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 ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. 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 Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]