RE: [cobirds] State Bird Records Committee

Mark,

 

You answered your own question by reminding birders about the Baikal Teal behind the Baskin Robbins.  It was a "real" bird but it was found during a period when Baikal Teal in their natural Asian range were in severe decline after having been the most common duck in its range.  Also, anyone can currently buy a pair of Baikal Teal for a farm pond for $400.  The ornithological record is way more than a birder's eBird claims. It is a method of documentation that describes in writing for perpetuity what the bird was doing, what it looked like, where and when it was seen, and why it wasn't a look-alike species. eBird reviewers and eBird users make mistakes.  Rare bird committee members make mistakes too, but there 7 people evaluate a record, ask experts from outside of CO when needed, vs. the one eBird reviewer.  If you want Baikal Teal on your personal list, tick it, but there were excellent ornithological reasons not to have it become part of the official CO bird list.  Careful documentation, especially when a suite of photos or sound recordings are included, adds very valuable ornithological information for Colorado. eBird, IMO, not so much.

 

Respectfully,

 

Bill Maynard

Colorado Springs

From: 'Mark Obmascik' via Colorado Birds [mailto:cobirds@googlegroups.com]
Sent: Friday, April 29, 2016 9:36 AM
To: Colorado Birds
Subject: [cobirds] State Bird Records Committee

 

In an age of Ebird, CObirds, and even Facebook bird ID groups, why do Colorado and other states still have state bird record committees?

 

After John Ealy found the hooded oriole in his Douglas County backyard, many excellent birders asked to have documentation submitted to the Colorado Bird Records Committee, which decides whether rare-bird reports are legitimate. I submitted, but the process is a hassle. The website crashed, and instructions weren't always clear.

 

I know this an all-volunteer effort, and money is short, and I'm always in favor of something that increases interest in and knowledge about birds, but what does the committee do that isn't already being done elsewhere in a more convenient way? In my experience, Ebird reviewers do an excellent job of screening entries. (They've found a bunch of my mistakes.) Ebird and CObirds make it easy to add photos. And with its international reach, Facebook allows fast access to ID experts whose yardbirds are our vagrants.

 

It's also tough for me to forget how the committee decided that Bill Brockner's Baikal teal, seen by me and hundreds others behind the Baskin Robbins in Evergreen a few years back, was not actually a real Baikal teal. 

 

If there's a good reason to keep submitting to bird records committees, I'd like to hear it.

 

Good birding.

 

Mark Obmascik

Denver, CO

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