I, too, would like to thank the originators and compilers of the RBA from over
the years. I have checked it virtually every day that I have been in town for
years. Thanks again for all your efforts. I will miss it.
Now for the suggestion: since the RBA is kaput, and there are lots of folks
who do not care to manipulate their way through eBird (which is not that tough,
by the way), it would be nice if those observing a rarity in the field,
particularly one that is within easy reach of other birders, to post it from
the location. I have eBird alerts running for numerous counties, but I don't
get those reports until the next day. My only immediate access to interesting
sightings is Cobirds. There have been several instances recently when an
unusual species appeared but no one informed the birding community at large.
For example, a scarlet tanager was recently seen at Harriman Lake, just a few
minutes from my house. There were fifteen eBird reports filed, which means
there were no doubt twice that many observers, yet no one took a moment to post
the bird to Cobirds. I found out about the bird the next day, and it was a
one-day wonder. Either I missed any reports, or I don't have many friends.
Perhaps both. But at any rate, it would have been nice to have had a chance to
pop over there for a look.
Just my two cents. As they say about the pandemic, we're all in this together,
and I have always found that one of the great joys of birding is the sharing of
birds with others who like them just as much as I do.
Norm LewisLakewood
-----Original Message-----
From: 'Andrews Robert' via Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
To: Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>; Joe Roller <jroll...@gmail.com>
Sent: Fri, May 29, 2020 4:09 am
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Rest in Peace, COLORADO RARE BIRD ALERT!
Hello all,I would like to join others in showing appreciation for the
compilers of the RBA we see on Cobirds. Since I spend most of the year
thousands of miles away from Colorado in West Africa, I don’t get any direct
use of the RBA for birding. But I did enjoy seeing a compilation of the most
interesting or unusual bird sightings from Colorado as a way to keep up with
what is happening in Colorado. Many thanks to Joyce and then Joe and his team
of volunteers and all of the other compilers who have provided this service.Bob
AndrewsYekepa, Nimba Co., Liberia, West Africa
On Tuesday, May 26, 2020, 09:26:03 AM MDT, Joe Roller <jroll...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Daily updates on rare and interesting birds in Colorado have been shared via
Cobirds for over 14 years as the "Colorado Rare Bird Alert" (or Report). For 13
years, Joyce Takamine tirelessly compiled this list of rarities from all over
the state, posting it with dates and places on the Cobirds listserv and into
your email inboxes.After Joyce retired at the end of 2018, a few of us
continued to compile the report. But our team of volunteers is no longer large
enough to continue this informational service, which has been sponsored for
years by the Denver Field Ornithologists. In the past we invited volunteers to
join the RBA team of compilers, but we are no longer seeking those, as the RBA
is over now.By way of history, the RBA continued the early notification work of
dedicated birders like Dave Martin, Norm Erthal and Dick Schottler, who phoned
in daily field updates to a DFO voice recorder. Local and visiting birders
could dial in to hear these daily messages and keep abreast of the changing
parade of rarities moving through Colorado.Even before that, DFO sponsored a
"telephone tree" notification list in the 1960s and '70s. Each birder in the
tree would get a a call from an excited birder up the list: "Hey! Bruce Webb
found a Little Gull at Union Reservoir today. First state record! Call the next
two birders on the list to let them know!"Before that? Perhaps birders used two
tin cans and a string -- I don't know. In any event, the joy of sharing goes
back a long time and will continue beyond the RBA. As many of you already know,
eBird provides free updates of Colorado rare bird sightings as frequently as
hourly. (Sign up at www.ebird.org/alerts)The CFO website has a section where
bird reports appear the moment a checklist is sent to eBird. (cfobirds.org)On
behalf of the current team of RBA compilers, thank you for allowing us to share
the joy of discovery through the decades . . . and good birding! Joe Roller,
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