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Re: Carolina RBA Sept. 5 Update



The way I understand RBAs is that they should inform people of rare, 
unusual, out of season, unusually high numbers or concentrations of, and
first arrivals and last departures of even some of the more common birds,
the location and directions to those birds, and maybe even who reported
them.

I think 35 White-rumped Sandpipers, 8 Wilson's Phalaropes, any Stilt
Sandpipers, in fact any shorebirds except perhaps Killdeer, anywhere in the
Piedmont, very noteworthy and very RBA-worthy. This Listserv makes it almost
unnecessary for the RBA to be posted on it.  However, some reports to the
RBA may not make the Listserv, being reported by phone (probably most
reports are made by phone) by non-subsribers.

I also think that many out-of-state people use the Carolina RBA to see
what's going on "over there" or, if they are planning a trip to the area,
much the same as I would to see what's going on in SC, NJ or Virginia. If I
were planning a trip up or down to one of those states and wanted to see
what's been seen there (say, Snowy Owls or gulls in winter) the local RBA
would be, or should be, a good place to call, or to check via Listservs
before making the trip.

If I were coming to town, to Raleigh, NC, for example, from up state New
York, I might like to know that the local lakes are low and there are a
bunch of shorebirds using the mud flats, pretty unusual occurence in the
area, "All I expected to see this trip was Summer Tanager and maybe a Blue
Grosbeak," not that that's bad, but hey, an a unexpected opportunity, "Good
thing I checked the carolinabirds Listserv, the RBA didn't have that info."

If I lived in Pittsboro, NC, (for those not in the area, Pittsboro is just
down the road from Jordan Lake) I still wouldn't have known all those
shorebirds were out there if I didn't subsribe to carolinabirds.  Of course
I could have gone out and checked the lake myself, but you get the point.
The shorebirds that have been seen in the area are not typical. Eight
Wilson's Phalaropes, a flock of peep, any peep, are much less common a sight
in central NC then on the Outerbanks, and I think, noteworthy.

Not to criticize, but I don't quite understand myself.

-----
Greg Dodge
Brownbag Productions
Hillsborough, NC
<http://brownbagproductions.com>
<http://geocities.com/cbirdpro>

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