Hi John and all, Instead of a can of worms I'd call this a useful conversation.
Shawn is correct that nine Ross's Geese were recorded at Montezuma on 24 Oct 2008, and I'd like to point out that this information was published very prominently in the March 2009 issue of "The Kingbird," Volume 59, pages 74-77. Both Tom Johnson in his Finger Lakes quarterly report and Andy Guthrie, in his statewide "Highlights of the Season" essay (page 48 of the same issue) refer to the record as a "Regional high count," meaning a maximum for NYSOA's Region 3 (Finger Lakes). I would guess that they stopped short of calling it a statewide maximum because they wanted to check records from other Regions carefully first. In this regard, Kevin is right that eBird has not scratched the surface of 20th Century (or earlier) ornithological history, and he describes well the publications that form the backbone of New York State ornithological knowledge. Someone wishing to research the history of records of a particular species in NYS must, at a minimum, check the following sources: Bull 1974, Levine 1998, and "The Kingbird" Volumes 1 through present. "The Kingbird" includes at least three categories of data review and analysis: (a) individual records vetted by expert Regional editors in their quarterly reports; (b) review of some particularly unusual records by the NYS Avian Records Committee in their statewide annual reports (Ross's Goose reports were reviewed by NYSARC through 2004, but not since); and (c) dedicated articles assessing all potential sources of data, and evaluating these according to explicitly stated criteria (John recently performed this service in his review of vagrant hummingbirds in the June 2010 issue of "The Kingbird"). Thanks to the hard work of many people at the New York State Ornithological Association, "The Kingbird" is now available in a searchable online archive (except for the most recent two volumes), as noted recently by Berna, in reference to a query regarding unusual dates for Blue-winged Teal, at: http://nybirds.org/KBsearch.htm What about eBird? This is an immensely powerful and useful tool, and I would suggest using it to guide your searches through the three primary sources named above. But I would never use it as the source for a noteworthy record not otherwise corroborated by a primary source. If a noteworthy report is to be accepted by others, it ought to be treated as noteworthy--beginning with the observer! In my experience, eBird's "lurkers" (= exceptional records not otherwise reported to the broader ornithological community) are too often erroneous to simply accept them all at face value and include them in scholarly reviews of, for instance, wintering Blue-winged Teal or Ross's Goose expansion. The solution is easy: if you see something unusual that you'd like other people to take seriously, take it seriously yourself! Don't just click a box on an online checklist; take a moment to explain it to the people you'd like to accept it. To close, I'd suggest that the extraordinary recent events in Orange County deserve a prominent platform and could be the catalyst for a critical re-assessment of the status of Ross's Goose in New York State. (Hint: deadline for text to be included in the fall 2011 issue, covering the spring 2011 season, is 15 July.) Shai Mitra Editor, The Kingbird ________________________________ Think green before you print this email. -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
