>> Hi folks,
>> 
>> You sadly are missing the boat with the discussion about chipping in $$ to expand the MDOsprey subscriber base.  And, FYI, due to these subscriber limits, you all missed out on hearing about two separate bird sightings in the last couple of years that were MD State firsts.  More on that later (the sightings were not by me, and they were documented with great photos).
>> 
>> With respect to all the work Norm has put in, Norm's statement that limiting MDOsprey membership to 600 is due to cost reasons is untrue. A couple of years (or so) ago, I contacted Norm and offered to personally pay whatever amount it took to expand the number of subscribers, with no strings attached. I was already a member but knew other people who wanted the ability to post. My family's foundation is a major funder of dozens of environmental and conservation organizations and related efforts - the check would have arrived in his hands the next day.
>> 
>> Norm outright declined my offer.
>> 
>> So, it is not about cost, it is about control. I am simply a (very) amateur birder with no time to get serious about it, but I am a diehard environmentalist/conservationist. I cannot speculate on Norm's need for this kind of control and for limiting subscribers, but it is completely contrary to the well-established theory of "if you wanna help protect birds/wildlife etc., you gotta get more people involved." This listserv is important to bird conservation efforts in MD. It should be in the hands of the MOS (or some like organization), not an individual. MDOsprey has grown to be bigger than one person, it should belong to the birding community as a whole.  Norm has done a wonderful job keeping discussions on topic, etc., a truly fantastic job. But the member limit makes no sense.
>> 
>> I have a couple buddies, both former Special Ops guys, who tried to join MDOsprey but couldn't. Both of them have years of experience birding in some pretty interesting places. Their life lists would pretty well fill in some countries that don't have any eBird sightings recorded. Naturally they can't do that, but my point is that these guys are serious birders. They used birding to help keep their senses heightened while lying in wait for long hours to do "interesting" things. They also used birding to bond with locals when they were trying to make a village "friendly". Pretty cool guys. Now they both live in MD and are on full retirement. They bird together a lot, and they almost always go off the beaten trail. They see some pretty cool birds that Ospreyers would fall over themselves to know about, including two MD State firsts, but you all won't know about them because of the limit of members on this listserv. And yes, I offered to post things for them but they very understandably refused with the rationale of "if MDOsprey folks don't want us as members, then why should we share our sightings with them?!"  I did also forward Phil Davis' contact info to them, but if they haven't contacted him already it is likely they are pretty unhappy with the MD birding community as a result of their MDOsprey exclusion.
>> 
>> Norm, I have full respect of and appreciation for you for forming and nurturing MDOsprey for all these years, but it is time for a change. 
>> 
>> Best wishes everyone, and I hope you figure out a solution to this.
>> 
>> Steve Hersey
>> Alexandria, VA

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