More about posting the Voice

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Now that everyone may be completely confused about reporting
birds to the Voice of the Naturalist, I'd like to add what I can
(not to the confusion, I hope).

First, let me elaborate on what Norm and Les have already told
you:  It is nearly impossible for the Voice's compiler to 
separate out the bird reports from among the many message titles
on MDOsprey. Therefore, to have your reports considered for
inclusion in the Voice, you should send them to:  

voice@capaccess.org

Please don't take this as a rebuff; we need and welcome your
reports.  

Second, I'd like to request that you consider the needs of the
Voice in making your reports.  When I compiled the Voice on Nov.
11, I had 28 pages (yes, 28 full pages) of e-mailed reports
that I printed out to take with me to the Audubon Naturalist
Society (of course, I also had them on floppy).  When I got to
ANS, there were also phoned and faxed messages.  This is a
typical volume of reports (except for certain quiet times such as
mid-summer), and sometimes there are considerably more. The
compiler has to distill these into about two pages.  So,
preparing the Voice is a lot of work--it takes about four hours
at ANS, and that's not counting the time we spend at home.  I
hope you can see why it's  important that we get the reports as
efficiently as possible.  

Please also understand that all of your reports are useful, even
though they may not be included in the Voice. They are passed on
to researchers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural
History and to Audubon (soon to be ABA) Field Notes.  

So, be assured that your reports are valued.  To help make your
reports most useful, Jane and I offer the following guidelines:  


Reporting birds to the Voice of the Naturalist

The Voice of the Naturalist is written and recorded on Tuesday
mornings.  If you e-mail your reports, please post them to the
Voice mailbox, voice@capaccess.org, by Monday midnight to make
sure they are received in time. If you should miss the Monday 
e-mail deadline, or for some other reason wish to report
nonelectronically, either FAX your report to ANS at 301-951-7179
or leave your report on the ANS answering machine at 301-652-9188, 
ext 3101. (Note that if you report electronically or by
fax, there is no way for errors to creep in due to transcription
of a phone message by a nonbirder.)  Only reports of birds seen
in the preceding seven calendar days are considered.  The area
covered is (with rare exceptions) DC, MD, VA, and southern DE;
all other reports should be sent to the appropriate rare-bird
alert for the area in which the birds were observed.  Be sure to
report only those birds that you actually saw, not ones that
someone else told you about.  And please remember to include a
phone number where you can be reached on Tuesday morning; if you
can't be reached to verify a rare bird, your report will almost
certainly not be used.  

There are two main circumstances in which a bird sighting will
not be reported on the Voice as a matter of policy.  The first is
if the report would jeopardize the bird's welfare:  

     Reports of species that are threatened or endangered at the
     state or federal level are generally not used, especially
     during nesting season--local Loggerhead Shrikes are an
     example; similarly, owls are not listed, with two
     exceptions--Snowy Owl and Short-eared Owl; and rails are
     also generally not mentioned; the rails at Huntley Meadows
     Park, VA, are an exception because birders stay on the
     boardwalk.  
     
The second circumstance concerns private property: If the
property owner does not want birders, the sighting will not be
reported.  

Please keep your reports concise (no lengthy trip reports,
please), and provide the following information: 

 1) Full SPECIES NAME.

 2) NUMBER of individuals of each species (estimates for big
flocks are fine).

 3) Age and sex, if relevant (important for gull observations,
for example).  

 4) Location, including COUNTY and STATE (there are four
Middletowns in MD).

 5) DATE of observation ("today", "yesterday", "Saturday", etc.,
are not as helpful).

 6) TELEPHONE NUMBER where you can be reached on Tuesday between
10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

7) DIRECTIONS to little known places (your favorite local hotspot
may not be familiar to the Voice compiler or to other nonlocal
people); page numbers and map coordinates from the DeLorme
atlas/gazetteer are extremely helpful.  

8) Access limitations, if any; and, for birds that are on private
property, whether the owner does not want birders, if you know. 

9) Unusual behavior seen.

10)  For RARITIES, a description of features YOU ACTUALLY SAW
(not what is in the field guides).

Thanks in advance for your reports.  You can be sure that they
will be read. Don't be disappointed if your sighting isn't
mentioned; when there are a lot of reports, summary comments
sometimes have to be made.  There are times, however, when every
report is used in writing the Voice, especially during the hot
days of summer.

--The Voice of the Naturalist

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