Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 18:09:17 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Norman Saunders Subject: Rarity posting policies MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit One of our subscribers asked me this in a private message: > I'd also like to know the policy when one finds a VA or MD threatened species. If the bird were on the threatened or endangered species list, either nationally or at the State level, I would NOT report the bird in a public forum such as this one. It probably should be reported to local rare bird committees so that adequate documentation of the bird can be carried out. Is this unfair? Well, yes, it is, but it serves the interests of the bird and the interests of the ornithological community, both of which should come before an individual birder scoring another tick on his or her list. If the bird weren't endangered but was definitely a rarity for the area or state, then whether it gets widely reported or not should be related to where the bird is and how much ill will might be caused by an avalanche of birders. I realize this isn't terribly precise. A lot of common sense has to come into play and local people need to make contact with landowners IN ADVANCE if a lot of birders are expected. Some self-policing has to take place as well--if you see a birder acting in an irresponsible way (against the ethical code of the American Birding Association, e.g.) then you have to have the courage to speak up and the ethical presence not to imitate that birder. This can be really hard at times, especially when the person acting irresponsibly is seen as an "experienced birder." I would invite others to add to this thread since it seems to come up more at this time of year. Best, Norm ================================= Norman C. Saunders Colesville, Montgomery County, Maryland marshhawk@att.net ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================