Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2003 05:21:44 EST Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Marshall Iliff Subject: Sightings requested for NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Comments: cc: VA-BIRD@freelists.org MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Birders, The Fall Migration Season (1 August-30 November) has drawn to a close, and=20 we are soliciting reports for inclusion in the Middle Atlantic Region of NOR= TH=20 AMERICAN BIRDS. The Middle Atlantic Region covers reports from the states of= =20 Maryland and Virginia, and the District of Columbia, INCLUDING THE MOUNTAINS= =20 (see Changes below). If you are not familiar with NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS, plea= se=20 refer to . Although much of the= =20 information is outdated, the section "What is North American Birds" explains= a=20 brief history of the magazine, its contribution, and how your sightings can=20 help. NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS is entirely dependent upon your reports, and it i= s an=20 opportunity for YOUR sightings to become part of the Ornithological record a= nd=20 contribute to our greater understanding of bird distribution and migration.=20 Please send reports to: Todd M. Day North American Birds=20 5118 Beaver Dam Rd. Jeffersonton, VA 22724 blkvulture AT aol.com Feel free to contact Marshall (miliff AT aol.com; 246 East 16th St., Unit B,= =20 Costa Mesa, CA 92627) or Todd if there are any questions.=20 HOW TO REPORT Certain counties in Maryland and Virginia have county compilers (see=20 list below). We ask that reports from those counties be sent first to the co= unty=20 compilers, who will then compile and edit the sightings to forward them to u= s.=20 Most counties do not have county compilers in place though, so we welcome=20 direct reports as well. Although we monitor the state listservs (MDOsprey, VA-BIRD) keeping up with= =20 the hundreds of emails and thousands of sightings each season has proven a=20 daunting task. While we welcome reports in all forms (including contemporane= ous=20 emails), the ideal reporting format from our perspective continues to be the= =20 "old fashioned" summary report. Such a report would include a taxonomic list= of=20 noteworthy bird sightings from the reporting period (1 Aug-30 Nov in this=20 case) with species, date, location (with state and county), and observer=20 (including an indication of who first found the bird) for all sightings. Mos= t active=20 observers contribute about a page or so (very active birders may contribute=20 several pages) of noteworthy sightings, including rarities, early or late=20 migrants, unusual high counts, hybrid or aberrant individuals, or even behav= ioral=20 observations of interest. Please report the dates you observed well-known ra= re=20 birds (e.g., the Maryland Kelp Gull as well) since we never know whose=20 observation will be the last. Many observers comment on the weather and thei= r general=20 impressions about the migration =E2=80=94 such comments are always particula= rly welcome. Sightings of exceptionally rare species must be accompanied by=20 documentation to be included. If a report has been submitted to the MD or VA= Records=20 Committees please let us know and we can contact those secretaries for copie= s.=20 Depending on the species, a few lines of description may be sufficient, but=20 hard-to-identify birds may require lengthier descriptions. We appreciate the= =20 contributions of all. NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS typically has space to publish 3-5 photos for our=20 region. We welcome slides, prints, or digital photos. NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS d= oes=20 not pay for the photos, but your photo will be captioned with your name and=20 the date the photo was taken. Despite the "digital revolution" photo=20 submissions have been down recently, so please do send us photos if you woul= d like to=20 have them showcased because they add much to our article. Photos need not=20 necessarily be of rarities or even of exceptionally good quality, though gen= erally=20 the rarer the bird and the better the photo the more likely it will be print= ed. CHANGES 1) The local NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS editorship has undergone some changes tha= t=20 you may not all be aware of. First and foremost, our region now encompasses=20 all of the states of Maryland and Virginia, whereas it formerly included jus= t=20 areas east of the Appalachians. The former "Appalachian Region" is no more.=20 2) Todd M. Day, of Jeffersonton, VA, has signed on a co-editor as of the=20 Spring 2003 season. Todd has been the senior author of the Spring 2003 and S= ummer=20 2003 reports, and will continue to serve as senior author for the fall 2003=20 season. As of this season, please send reports directly to Todd (if you've=20 already sent your report to me, I will forward it to Todd [and thank you!]).= =20 COUNTY COORDINATORS Elizabeth Pitney (Wicomico County, MD), 7218 Walston Switch Rd., Parsonsburg= ,=20 MD 21849. Debbie Bennett (Caroline County, MD), P.O. Box 404 Denton, MD 21625. Patty Craig (St. Mary's County, MD), P.O. Box 84, Lexington Park, MD 20653.=20 pattycraig AT mail.ameritel.net Helen A. Patton (Montgomery County, MD), 429 Hamilton Ave., Silver Spring, M= D=20 20901.=20 Jo Solem (Howard County, MD), 10617 Graeloch Rd., Laurel, MD 20723. Odenata=20 AT msn.com We will look forward to your reports and thank you for your help with NORTH=20 AMERICAN BIRDS. Best, Todd M. Day (blkvulture AT aol.com)=20 and=20 Marshall J. Iliff (miliff AT aol.com) *********************** Marshall Iliff miliff@aol.com Costa Mesa, CA ************************ =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D =========================================================================