Hi Pastor Al, Could not agree with you more wholeheartedly and thank you for sharing your thoughts. My main reason for being in MOU is to hear about birds so I can go view and photograph them at our area parks and refuges. I always respect private property. Holding back or sharing too late defeats the whole purpose in my opinion; thankfully there's also E-bird which has also been very helpful.
Thanks for sharing, and well stated. Fr. Paul -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU] On Behalf Of Al Schirmacher Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 11:57 AM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: [mou-net] Responsible to share? Find myself a bit disturbed today with my MOU brethren. Believe this topic warrants a bit of polite, if diverging, discussion. My position: if one joins MOU, if one derives benefit from MOU-Net & other reporting mechanisms, one should share one's sightings as well. I can understand withholding sensitive sightings, if rare birds are in peril of disturbance during nesting or roosting. However, if the rare sighting is of a migrant, vagrant or otherwise not in peril "good bird", it should be shared for the good of all. Sharing should be the default, rather than withholding. Sharing benefits others in the birding community, whether one looks at such from an educational, fellowship, mutual pleasure or variety of other viewpoints. Why hold back? Why share too late for others? Why share with only a few? I admit, I do not understand. Frankly I'd like to see a commitment to share be part of MOU membership and/or subscribing to MOU. Enough of my rant. If you respond, publicly or back channel, please do so with respect, and not naming others. Please note that I'm sharing no particulars. Good birding to all. Heading to the refuge, will share anything worthwhile:) Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Sent from my iPhone ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html