Reporting Sightings...and Downy Woodpecker chasing - longish

Miliff@aol.com
Thu, 21 Jan 1999 13:53:25 EST 

Hello all,

I wanted to pipe in to the discussion again with a few comments.  

I am glad Jim has contributed on the subject of reporting data.  He and I
(he's doing most of the gruntwork) have been trying to improve on our database
since Fall 1995, and we now have a number of regular contributors who share
not only ALL their bird sightings for the fall, but also computerize them all
for us.  Ellen is right in pointing out that _millions_ of lines of data would
be hard to handle but the hope is that everyone will share a small part of the
burden.  If we all store our own sightings in the same way, then we can all
share them freely and deposit them in the central database.  Another point
that Jim did not specify and that may not nbe onvious to everyone is that (for
the moment at least) we are concerned only with sightings from Marylad and
Virginia.  This certainly sets an upper limit on the amount of work it will
all take, and makes the value of it more immediately obvious.  On request we
can send a file of all Franklin's Gulls, Connecticut Warblers, Rufous
Hummingbirds, Downy Woodpeckers, or European Starlings reported in MD and VA
in the past 4 years.  Valuable papers have appeared in Field Notes, Birding,
Maryland Birdlife, and elsewhere using just this kind of data.  Further, we
can send a list of all sightings reported from Blackwater NWR, Little Bennett
Regional Park, or Smith Island.  Think how easy that would make the work of
someone compiling a checklist there.  Give it soe thought, and think of some
other practical uses...they are many.  And think also how much it would add if
we had all YOUR sightings from last year!

The database now includes fields for species (with sort code to put in
taxonomic order), number, month, day, year, location, couny, state, observer,
whee the report came from (Voice of Naturalist, MDOsprey etc...), and other
comments (age, sex, albino, photographed, nesting etc...).  
 
Also, regarding my suggestion that everyone hop in their car and chase the
Downy Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush, and Brown Thrasher on Smith Island...let me
clarify it.  It was meant simply in jest.  As Greg Miler pointed out in his
last post, he knows of few people (if anyone) who would do such a thing.  Nor
do I.  And nor would I chase such a bird.  

But why is that I ask myself.  I know without a doubt, that if a Western
Kingbird hung around in an easily reachable location somewhere in MD and I had
time, I wouldn't hesitate to drive 4 hours to see it.  I need it for my MD
state list. I expect there are others out there who would as well - as while
they are almst annual in the state, it is a hard bird to get on your state
list since they rarely stay long.  But chasing such a bird adds very little to
our knowledge.  My birding that day will be focused almost entirely on findig
that one bird, which has already been found by othes and which is undoubtedly
only on a brief migration stopover.  Wouldn't it be far more interesting to go
see if that Downy Woodpecker is still out on Smith Island?  The simple
presence of that bird out there raises interesting questions about how much
Downy Woodpeckers disperse.  Then one wonders if the habitat wil support that
one Downy Woodpecker.  If so, what other woodpecker species could that little
patch of forest support? (My guesses are flicker and Red-belly, but not Hairy
or Pileated).  Is the Downy a winter resident and will it move on once it
comes time for Downy Woodpecker migration?  Will it find a mate out there?  Or
has it already found a mate that Jim and I never located?  Has there been a
small population of Downy Woodpeckers there all along (I don't think so)?     

The presence of a Wild Turkey or Northern Bobwhite out there would not
interest us much more (at least in terms of "chasing") but wouldn't that be an
INCREDIBLE act of dispersal?  

The fascinating thing about islands in particular is that they are simplified
ecosystems.  That is why evolution has been so much more obvious there than
elsewhere.  Much is still to be learned by the study of islands.  The Downy
Woodpecker illustrates that...events of dispersal and migration in essentially
sedentary species are lost among the background noise on the mainland where
the species is common.

I, also, do a lot of driving around simply looking for birds.  Most of the
time I am surveying rarely visited parts of the state and feel that my
contributions are significant enough to buffet the wasted gas and burning of
the fossil fuels.  But...it probably isn't.  I have a gas-guzzling Ford
Explorer and have put 110,000 mi on it in 2.5. years.  I am unlikely to slow
my pace, but my justification is that I try to maximize the value of my
birding time by trying to visit areas that need the coverage.  Ironically,
Smith Island trips probably save gas.  A three day weekend that would
otherwise be spent wandering from favorite site to favorite site on the
Eastern Shore is instead spent on Smith Island.  I use public transportation
on the way over (ferry) and am stuck walking the one road once I get there.
This time we had a canoe.  From Friday to Sunday morning we burned no fossil
fuels (though we did use a little natura gas and electricity hile staying in
my friend's home out there).

I applaud Ellen for reminding us to consider the impact that our hobby has,
but I must say I would be _overjoyed_ to see places like Smith Island get more
coverage, whether it was because someone took an interest in the Downy
Woodpecker or in more conventionally "list-friendly" rarities out there (like
Purple Sandpiper, Orange-crowned Warbler, or the Hermit Warbler I plan to find
on my next trip there).

Good birding to all!

Marshall Iliff
miliff@aol.com