Re: Western Tanager at Riverbend, VA
Mike Collins (collins@ram.nrl.navy.mil)
Fri, 9 Oct 1998 19:39:02 -0400
>(There is this great Simon Perkins story in Mass. about denying a Western
>sighting because the lime green back was not described. A few minutes after
>the initial call was placed to the hotline number, Perkins called the
>correspondent with the reply, "you saw a Baltimore Oriole - Westerns have
>green backs," and then quickly hung up. No amount of arguments subsequently
>made a difference to him since people can easily change their descriptions
>after the fact!).
Kurt,
Congrats on the Western Tanager. I won't bore you by questioning the ID
since it was such an easy call (compared to, say, an Oporornis warbler
or a Sedge Wren).
What's so great about the rude behavior in the story you mentioned? I don't
think the hotlines should be run by grand pooh-bahs whose role in life is to
"deny" sightings. The right thing to do in such a case would be to ask the
observer how the other possibility was ruled out. The absolute worst thing to
do would be to muddy the waters by stating a key field mark, which is exactly
what was done in the case you described.
I don't understand the point of your last statement. Since hotlines obviously
have to operate under the honor system, it makes no sense to assume that an
observer would provide further details dishonestly. If so, then you might as
well assume that all reports are dishonest and shut down your hotline. In the
case you mentioned, the observer apparently only wanted to supplement the
report. I would agree with you if the observer wanted to alter it.
The more I hear about hotlines, the more they turn my stomach. But I had
already decided to stop reporting to them before hearing this story.
Mike Collins
Annandale, Virginia
collins@ram.nrl.navy.mil