Re: MacGillivrays cont.

Mike Collins (collins@ram.nrl.navy.mil)
Thu, 24 Sep 1998 21:05:18 -0400


Todd,

This topic is getting a bit stale, but let me clarify a
few things. My report was submitted properly and I did 
contact the Voice after it was ignored. It appears 
that a few factors resulted in the report being ignored. 
The main one was apparently that I didn't state that 
the bird was an adult male, which I had assumed was the 
"default" case. Gads, I can't imagine anyone daring to 
report an immature (or even an adult female) without an 
in-hand view.

I was not criticizing the Voice. They do a great job as 
volunteers. I can't imagine how they sort through all the
reports and come up with their work of art every week.
All I said specifically about the Voice was that my 
report was ignored. No harm done because the word got out 
(for what it's worth) and the bird is no doubt long gone. 
My question "How many other reports of MacGillivray's 
Warblers in this area have been squelched?" pertains to 
the entire east coast. As I discussed before, it's my
gut feeling that they occur more often than most people 
think. My reference to reports being "blown off" and 
"status nonsense" was a general statement that was not 
directed at the Voice. 

My post wasn't about being "slighted," but it's funny you 
should mention that because someone told me they wanted
to discuss some of the things I brought up but didn't
want to make it appear they were concerned about being
slighted. My post was about the difference between being 
skeptical about reports versus ignoring them. I have 
experienced some of both of these lately. The former 
is necessary (e.g., it filters out reports of Ivory-
billed Woodpeckers). The latter is dangerous (e.g., it 
led to the famous case involving a Ross's Gull). All
birders need to be careful along these lines. I heard
an interesting story this morning about a birder who, 
as a beginner, tried to convince some other birders to
drive five minutes down the road to check out a large
dark falcon. They ignored this upstart's report and
wrote it off as a Red-tailed Hawk. Too bad because it 
turned out to be a Gyrfalcon that was later seen by 
other birders. 

Mike Collins
Annandale, Virginia
collins@ram.nrl.navy.mil