Rest in Peace, COLORADO RARE BIRD ALERT!

[Joe Roller]

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, Denver

[Dick Filby]

Joe, Joyce, all volunteers who have done the RBA, a hearty thankyou is the least that you deserve. Much appreciated and avidly read over the years by hundreds, nay thousands of birders, in state, and from far beyond. 

E-bird offers a replacement of sorts, and I won't go into the benefits, nor the downsides of it at this time, other than to say I that I find it exceedingly time consuming wading through piles of e-bird rare bird alert emails in the hope of finding a timely update on an interesting bird to maybe chase, or wondering what may have been seen in general.

Meanwhile, I sincerely hope that birders will continue to post their most interesting observations to this Cobirds group for a long time to come. I am sure they are very popular and well received by many.

For those interested in western colorado birds, please be aware that 'wsbn' is an active Google Group for sharing bird sightings and observations for the 'Western Slope'

Thanks again to all for the statewide RBA. I for one will miss it.

Good birding

DickFilby

Carbondale, CO

Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S® 6, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

--
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+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAJpZcUB_zBCS3mmZrKb8G9%2B%2BETDA2p2LG2dUN2XA0JbyMAWcmA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Diana Beatty]

One suggestion I might offer to those missing the RBA and not finding eBird rare bird alerts quite a perfect substitute - 

You might consider your local birding community starting a WhatsApp group.  Someone graciously started one awhile ago for my area and people share interesting sightings there and answer questions, etc.  It may not be perfect, like anything else,  but it can cover a different area than county level, if you wish, and allows for reports of more birds than those deemed rare by eBird.  If you don't like your phone pinging at you often, you can set it up not to alert you and instead you need to go in to the app at your desire to read the posts.  Does require a smart phone, though.

Diana Beatty

El Paso County

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/VI1PR10MB159893BA94B4D5507AA82FA1B2B00%40VI1PR10MB1598.EURPRD10.PROD.OUTLOOK.COM.

--

******

All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.

[mblackford]

Thanks to all who have contributed in the past to RBA reports.  It was a great source of information for the sightings within Colorado.    And, it was greatly appreciated.  

I understand, that without volunteers,  its impossible to continue.  

So, I would like to thank all those who contributed their time. 

Maureen Blackford

Boulder County part-time resident

-------- Original message --------

From: Joe Roller <jrol...@gmail.com>

Date: 5/26/20 8:26 AM (GMT-07:00)

To: Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [cobirds] Rest in Peace, COLORADO RARE BIRD ALERT!

--

[John Rawinski]

Yes thank you Joe and all who contributed their time to keeping the RBA current, and easy to use. It was a concise summation of birds happening in our State. Even though I rarely chase any more, it was so helpful to know what was being seen around the State. 

During the pandemic, I took it upon myself to become more familiar with eBird. I am getting better, but not so much as using it as a rare bird alert yet. I think things will fall through the cracks for me. If someone posts on our cobirds messages, I may see it. But if someone posts something in my area that is rare on eBird, I will likely not know about it until maybe weeks after.  Guess I will hope folks will continue to use cobirds as a forum for bird observation and discussion. 

Changing times for sure...stay well friends. 

John Rawinski

Monte Vista, CO

[Diana Beatty]

John, you may want to set up an eBird rare bird alert for your county on your account.  When you login from a computer, click on My eBird, and scroll down until on the lower right you see Manage My Alerts.  Click on that.  Type in your county on the Rare Bird Alerts and/or Needs Alerts and other counties desired.  As you enter each one, you click Subscribe.  You will then get messages to the e-mail of your eBird account whenever an eBird report is made - so it won't be months later, but rather will be quite timely.

Diana Beatty

El Paso County

--

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+u...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/cec31da6-0a35-4282-9bf7-a9542d4c903f%40googlegroups.com.

[John Rawinski]

Thanks Diana. I will check it out and see if it works for me. 

John R

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cob...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/cec31da6-0a35-4282-9bf7-a9542d4c903f%40googlegroups.com.

[Larry Modesitt]

Lynn Willcockson, when I began birding in the 80’s, was the voice on the DAILY telephone Rare Bird Alert. Daily might not seem special now, given the hourly alerts by e-Bird we now enjoy. When my business took me to different places, I was fortunate to spend weekends in such hotspots as Miami, Florida and McAllen, Texas. I would call the local RBA and hear the rarities as of a WEEK ago. In a HOTSPOT. Meeting other birders, I several times heard, “You are lucky, living in Denver. You have a DAILY report. We don’t.” And three times I heard, “You have the best RBA in the country.” 

At that time, Lynn listened to reports birders had phoned in to be tape-recorded. If I reported a bird that hadn’t been seen north of Mexico, Lynn, or Dick Schottler, would call and ask, “Can you tell me more about that sighting?” With Cobirds and an exponential (there’s that word again) increase in the amount of reports, the RBA compilers had a lot more work to do. And EARLIER. 

We’ve evolved again to the up-to-date and filtered-by-area e-Bird. Yes, there are losses in progress, and I admit being slow to adapt, but we have much more information when we dig deeper into individual eBird reports. I’d like to add my thanks to all the compilers who brought us neophytes to the joy of birding. Also, remember Cobirds has many other advantages.

Larry Modesitt, Arvada

 

 On Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 9:26:00 AM UTC-6, Joe Roller wrote:

[Dave Hyde]

I am saddened that the RBA is defunct and, wish to add my thanks to the compilers like Joyce Takamine,  David Suddjian and Joe Roller and others who have done the compilations. For me, the daily emails give me an idea of what is coming my way in Larimer County and the rare birds reported always perk my interest so I go outside to see what pops up here at home. My best wishes to all the bird watchers in Colorado and good luck to us all in spotting those rarities. And thanks again to all those involved in the RBA and CObirders – Dave Hyde/nr Storm Mountain/Larimer Cty.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAM-_j9uy9q%2BR-bFf38N4JgmvJN0JaNYmsnjt%2BZk%2BHcP73Q9TRA%40mail.gmail.com.

 

[Andrews Robert]

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 Andrews

Yekepa, Nimba Co., Liberia, West Africa

--

[Norm Lewis]

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 Lewis

Lakewood

-----Original Message-----
From: 'Andrews Robert' via Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
To: Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>; Joe Roller <jrol...@gmail.com>
Sent: Fri, May 29, 2020 4:09 am
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Rest in Peace, COLORADO RARE BIRD ALERT!

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/1280995345.1036921.1590746973510%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Adam Vesely]

Well said, Norm! Posting rare/uncommon birds to this forum has slowed considerably the last few years (

I blame the blasted eBird Top 100 obsession), but is still the quickest way to get the word out to the masses. I appreciate the birders who still make an effort to post a timely note to this forum about interesting species.

 

Many of you probably know about this site, but Kurt Radamaker (Arizona birder, I believe) has a slick site that compiles all eBird rare/uncommon sightings and puts it in a map format. You can search any state and define how many “days back” you wish to go. Very easy to navigate. Data is updated very quickly and may be another option for those not wanting hourly/daily e-mail alerts.  

 

http://birdingthecloud.com/ebirdApi/ebirdUnitedStatesWithDropdown.html

 

Adam Vesely

Thornton, CO 

Lakewood

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cob...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAJpZcUB_zBCS3mmZrKb8G9%2B%2BETDA2p2LG2dUN2XA0JbyMAWcmA%40mail.gmail.com.

--
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 cob...@googlegroups.com.

[rosanne juergens]

Hello Norm,

I just posted on Cobirds about a Scarlet Tanager at a well known eBird hotspot at Deer Creek Canyon Rd and W. Buckhorn. However, my cell phone service was not working there, so I had to pull over a little ways down the canyon to post it, giving the cross streets rather than the GPS info. And you're right - after posting it to eBird it is not yet showing up in the alerts.

I will always defer to Cobirds!

Rosanne J.

Centennial,CO

On Saturday, May 30, 2020 at 11:37:44 AM UTC-6, birdernorm wrote:

Lakewood

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cob...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAJpZcUB_zBCS3mmZrKb8G9%2B%2BETDA2p2LG2dUN2XA0JbyMAWcmA%40mail.gmail.com.

--
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 cob...@googlegroups.com.

[John Rawinski]

Hi Norm:

I am trying to learn eBird. It seems to me that on rare species, there is a delay until someone doing quality control, gives it approval. It happened to me on a number of rarities here in the San Luis Valley...like the Scarlet Tanager we also had here. So if someones sighting goes into a "hopper" then even if those birders posted it to eBird, it may not be on the next alert. I have heard there was quite a backlog of rare sightings needing approval. It makes me question how good eBird will be as a RBA kind of tool. 

John Rawinski

Monte Vista, CO

On Saturday, May 30, 2020 at 11:37:44 AM UTC-6, birdernorm wrote:

Lakewood

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cob...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAJpZcUB_zBCS3mmZrKb8G9%2B%2BETDA2p2LG2dUN2XA0JbyMAWcmA%40mail.gmail.com.

--
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 cob...@googlegroups.com.

[Joe Roller]

Good points, John.

eBird was not intended as an RBA, due to the reviews for quality control, etc. These

can happen at once or after days or even weeks. you point out some of the flaws in the 

process, but without quality review, we'll find reports of Yellow-billed Magpie from Araphaoe County.

The way to get the word out about a rarity to the Colorado birding public is to post on eBird AND COBIRDS,

mentioning what you observed, field marks, location, all the details. Then birders can make

up their minds about the ID. I trust your ID's, John, but review is necessary and reviewers are

swamped at times and are only human.

Joe Roller, Denver

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/8aea9fc1-d750-4008-b73c-4184db2f2074%40googlegroups.com.

[Caleb A]

Hi John!

That's interesting to hear...I'm subscribed to the Larimer RBA through ebird, and as long as people report a checklist before a certain time each day, it will appear in the next alert. Subscribing to the hourly alert is the "safer" way to go, if you don't want to miss any reports throughout the day. I don't know if sightings go into a "hopper" at all...what ends up happening is that a rare bird report will show up on the RBA email, but then it will be shown as an unconfirmed sighting. If a rare bird report is confirmed, then the email will show that it is in all caps like this: "CONFIRMED."

I've never encountered the problem of rare birds not making it onto the RBA, but who knows--the ebird computers may still have a few bugs.

The birds are happy, and so am I

~Caleb Alons, Larimer County