Timiskaming Birds Forum

Hi folks. Just thought I'd put a thought here for you all to consider. The purpose of the "First Sightings" forum is to track our earliest observations of the year for two reasons.  The first and foremest reason is for the sheer joy and excitement of doing it. The second is to create a data set from which I will compile our annual cumulative year list and to hone the arrival dates in the species accounts.  This latter purpose would be more easily met if we tried to post to a single or a few threads only, rather than starting a new thread for each sighting.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not complaining. And I love seeing all the activity. But if you have a choice between starting a new thread and creating a new post on the end of an exisiting thread, your preference should be the latter choice unless it is truly a new topic of conversation, as this will decrease the effort it will take me to collate all your information at some point in the future.

Hi Mike,

I would love to help you out here...not only for your work load but so that I , at a glance could see what's being seen in Temiskaming, however I am a bit lost in how you want me to post.

If I go to First Sightings, there is a header that allows me to 'write a new post'..if I then go to Spring Arrivals...i can't find where to post  that new sighting ..unless I hit a reply...

 Could you please humour me and post an example easy  for me to follow...

Thanks Mike.. ;-)

Gert

Hi Gert. You've got it exactly! Go into the thread you want to add a new post to, go to the last post in the thread, and then hit the Reply button.  Your new post is then added to the end of the thread, just like the one you added above this one.  When you are editing your new post, the subject line will default to "Re: " and then add the subject line of the post you are replying to.  Just erase that subject line and type in whatever you want the new subject line to read as.  For example "Fox Sparrow in Gowganda" would replace "Re: Administrative workload reduction".

If you use the "Write a new Post" button in the "First Sightings" forum page, it will always start a new thread.  In that sense, it is a poorly named button.  It should say "Start a New Thread" instead of "Write a new Post", because it doesn't give you the option to add your new post to the end of an existing thread.

Hope this all makes some sense.  Cheers for now, and keep those reports coming!

Mike,

If it is strictly a matter of limiting the number of posts, and keeping observations as a long string of replies, instead of a long string of posts then: I suppose that all I have to do is hit the reply button to the last sighting I’ve just read, then: delete the heading RE: (Example) “Boreal Chickadee” and insert: (Example) “Purple Finches seen in Englehart”, and add my specifics.  Is that what you mean? (Variation: navigate to & reply to first post)

To help in later collation, perhaps start a post with something like “Post raptor Observations Here” Post Waterfowl… etc. Might lose some flavor, but, just a thought.

I love being first to spot & report on some bird I’ve just seen.  But, for the purpose of “First Sightings” what scope of observations are you hoping for: Is it sufficient that one of a species has first been spotted in Gowganda or Englehart on such and such a date?  Is there value to further reportings? Do you want to base things on multiple sightings over a variety of geographic locations?  Am I doing the site a disservice if in my enthusiasm, I report on that Boreal Chickadee again?

If some of us have a little too much enthusiasm, channel that enthusiasm to where it’ll be useful to the site.

 Whoops, sorry Mike, I just saw your reply to birderbabe after I posted this last one.  I tried to read way too much into your message. 
 

Thanks Mike,

You do not know how many times I tried to figure out how to get my sightings on the correct thread...I should have written before.

Serge, I get just as excited racing to see who gets the new arrival posted first. For years, it was between Murph, Barry, Rick and I...now, thanks to Mike, we have lots of great company  with eyes peeled to the sky and woods , gleefully anticipating BEING FIRST!! Love it. Birders are big kids!!!

Hope to meet ya one day...we should all meet for lunch!!

 Gert

Hi Serge. Thought I would try to respond to some of your questions about what to post.  In general, I don't want to have a lot of rules here.  This site belongs to all of us, so if you think something is worth reporting, then by all means report it.  Someone else may want to know. In my opinion, for what it's worth (keeping in mind that this is a community we're building here, and I'm just one voice in this community) the First Sightings forum is for capturing first reported occurrence in Timiskaming, or the first particularly large and impressive flock.  That said, it's nice to know when a species shows up in different parts of the district, so the first observation in your particular "neck of the woods" is OK too.  After that, all observations are still encouraged, but might be better suited to either the "General Bird Talk" forum, the "Rare Sightings" forum, or as additional notes and commentary added to a post to supplement a first sighting.  Something like "First Vesper Sparrow" might throw in a side comment like "Oh, yeah -- the Song Sparrows are really abundant now, I have 40 in my yard." or something like that.

Keep in mind that some of our new birders who have not seen a particular species may want to go see one, and the closer to their residence it is reported, the more likely they would be to want to try and find it to add to their life list.  Keep in mind, too, that some species, like Fox Sparrows, have a very short window in which they pass through our area. Unlike other species that have long lingering waves of migrants over a period of time, species like Fox Sparrows and Snow Geese might all pass through Timiskaming in only one week, depending on weather, so to some extent the level of interest in multiple reports of a species will depend on the species.  Your Boreal Chickadees are one of our species of local interest, and I for one like to know if there's a place where they regularly hang out for an extended period of time.

How's that for a whole lot of words to not really say anything?

 Thanks Mike, that helps.