Hello all, In the ongoing response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Ontario, the OFO Board has mandated the following changes to the Ontbirds posting policy, effective immediately. These changes are in support of local, provincial, and federal policies related to COVID-19.
1. In addition to the existing suppression of rare bird reports, Ontbirds will no longer distribute reports of any bird sightings, including first-of-year reports and regional reports. This policy has been adopted to discourage travel for birding. At the same time, OFO recognizes that it is extremely important to continue to report sightings in eBird, provided that you are following all local, provincial and federal guidelines while birding. 2. Ontbirds will continue to publish communications from OFO. Other birding organizations are encouraged to use Ontbirds to communicate with Ontario’s birding community. For the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, however, the Ontbirds Moderator and OFO Board will review communications prior to posting. This is a difficult time for all of us, and we appreciate your support. I want to thank Mark Cranford, our long-serving Ontbirds moderator for the many hours he devotes to Ontbirds and for working through this rapidly changing situation with patience and humour. Lynne Lynne Freeman OFO President -- Lynne Freeman lynnef...@gmail.com "Be bold, be brave, be amazing...." Simon de Pury, Work of Art _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO) - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide Visit the OFO Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/OntarioFieldOrnithologists
