Bird Board
Warbling Vireo @ Castellow Hammock (eBird report)
I really wish ebird would be used to augment traditional forums like the Bird Board and listserves, instead of replacing them. We shouldn't have to sort through tons of eBird reports sorting through collared coves, cardinals, and muscovy ducks to see if there is one good bird. If you notice this post, it highlights one species - the important one - and leaves out all the filler. For all you eBirders out there, please understand eBird is a database to collect bird info, not a means to get the word out about a good sighting, or a place for bird discussion. That's what the bird board is for. Please continue to report your GOOD birds on the bird board and, if you're subscribed, to other listerves like Birdbrains, Floridabirds, and Florida Birding and Rarities Facebook. Just to prove my point, did eBird alert anyone to the Warbling Vireo without reading through all the recent reports? I thought no.
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eBird does have some alert features which I often find useful. The rare birds report can go out hourly or daily, and can be set at the county, state/province, or country level. There is also a "needs" alert, where one is notified of any birds that they have not reported. I get an hourly needs alert for Miami-Dade and a daily report for Florida. eBird let me know about the Warbling Vireo about 9:50am this morning, but if I had set up my alerts differently, I would've found out an hour after the bird was reported.
On the other hand, I found out about the Cerulean through this board and didn't get an email from eBird till about 10-11am.
Here's an idea, Toe. Maybe someone could scour though all those eBird reports and then publish a South Florida Rare Bird Update. It could list the last day each rare bird was reported, even include directions and links to a map and a photo of each rare bird. It could be updated several times a day, if necessary. A link to the update could be posted right at the top of the BirdBoard, maybe make the link bright orange so it would be noticeable.
Nah, forget it, that would never work, would it? No one would ever remember to look at it . . .
You wouldn't have to go through so much trouble is they would just post directly to the Bird Board. As for getting eBird alerts, I don't think they will come through on my flip phone.
Wally would call Ed and Bryant and Brian .Ed would call Robin or Paddy or Vince .Then Vince would call etc, Birding low tech .. How did we manage to see anything ??? LOL
Toe, you're making the false assumption that everyone who uses eBird is also familiar with the Bird Board. Many visiting birders likely (and sadly) have never heard of the Bird Board.
Also, how perfect that the person who specializes in "On this date . . ." posts still uses a flip phone!
Hey Toe, yes, I did receive a notice about the Warbling Vireo from eBird yesterday. You can subscribe to alerts (http://ebird.org/ebird/alerts) where you can specify hourly or daily emails with species you need (life list or year list) as well as rare birds.
Sorry for the duplicated information on eBird alerts. Personally I find the emails much more helpful than a website that I have to go to to look for updates. Even flip phones can be configured for email, but it's certainly not as convenient as a smartphone.
Yes, I received an eBird alert about the WAVI in mid-afternoon on the 14th -- roughly 4 hours after the sighting -- along with a link to the entire checklist, including three photos of the WAVI.
I'm not sure if the link will go through here, but here it is:
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31577808
Best regards,
Bill Pranty
Bayonet Point, Florida
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