John, You bring up an interesting topic that hasn't been formally presented to the Colorado Bird Records Committee (CBRC) with respect to a submitted report that I'm aware of. The CBRC's bylaws state under Section VIII, C(10) that:
"A first state record is established by the acceptance of a record with at least two observers submitting reports, one observer photograph or audio record where the photographic or audio-recorded evidence support the identification, or a specimen record. A single-observer 'accepted' sight record cannot at that time be accepted as a new state record. However, if such a record is considered 'accepted' other than the fact that it is a first state record by a single observer, it shall be given a status of 'provisionally accepted.' It shall retroactively be considered the first state record upon the acceptance of a subsequent record of that species meeting the above requirements for a first state record." So, where does a remotely sensed bird fall into that paragraph? I don't know. The requirement for a first state record is either 1) physical evidence, or 2) multiple observers submitting separate reports. Does a transmitter signal constitute physical evidence, much in the way that an audio recording would? Does the receiver constitute a single observer (note tongue-in-cheek)? There are certainly records for heard-only birds. One could argue that satellite telemetry is just an "extension" of our ability to know the location of a previously identified bird. First state records are based on unequivocal information regarding species identification and location. I would support submitting a remotely sensed report of a potential first state record to the CBRC to review that 1) provided physical evidence (e.g., photo) that the bird was correctly identified in the first place, and 2) summarized the technology involved, including location accuracy specific to Colorado and associated bias/error rates. With that information, at least, the CBRC would be able to debate its status, including being considered a "single-observer record" and therefore at best only "provisionally accepted." Good birding (physically and remotely), Doug Faulkner CBRC Chair -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
