[SBB] SBB Annual Message

[Bill Bousman <[[email protected]]>]

Folks:

I send out this message each year in January.  It has more 
informatiion than anyone could possibly want to know about the 
history of SBB, the uses of the data, and basic etiquette.  But just 
in case you've not suffered through this before, here it is again.

The following information describes the background and operation of 
the South-Bay-Birds Mailing List.  This mailing list is supported by 
Chuq Von Rospach who used to run mailing lists for a living at Apple 
Computer as well as his own business.  Chuq, a long-time member of 
SBB, supports our list gratis and his generosity is appreciated by 
all list members.

The purpose of the South-Bay-Birds Mailing List is to communicate 
information on bird observations in Santa Clara County and adjacent 
areas in the South San Francisco Bay.  Suitable communications 
include reports of recent discoveries, information on plumages for 
rare or difficult-to-identify birds, description of local birding 
spots that are not available in the local guides, and summary 
information on birds in the local area.  Most of us have other 
interests beyond just birding and these interests, sometimes 
passions, lead us to believe that we should share some of these other 
interests with the people on this mailing list.  Please 
don't.  Please restrict your input to this mailing list to South Bay birds.

Some background and information on how the data submitted to this 
mailing list are used and retained may be of interest.  Prior to the 
formation of the South-Bay-Birds Mailing List there was an informal 
network of birders who communicated bird observations in the local 
area via the Internet using individually-maintained address 
lists.  In late 1996, Jeff Finger at Stanford University transformed 
the informal network into a mail list based at Stanford.  Jeff's 
initial shepherding work saw the list grow rapidly and we are 
indebted to him for his initial service.  When Jeff left Stanford, 
Les Chibana took over the list maintenance and his years of service 
are greatly appreciated.  When he no longer could support the mailing 
list, Chuq agreed to take it over which brings us to the present day.

Although the list has evolved over the years, the original purpose 
has remained unchanged.  Besides providing us all with rapid 
information on local birds, these records are also used as basis of 
the Santa Clara County notebooks that I maintain.  Information from 
these notebooks are the source material for the "Field Notes" column 
in _The Avocet_ that I write six times a year, and also as a basis 
for the quarterly submission of Santa Clara County records to the 
Regional Editors of _North American Birds_.

I will continue to use the records provided to this mailing list for 
the purposes mentioned above.  I offer the following comments to 
describe how this information is used and my own perceived needs as 
compiler of the Santa Clara County records.

1. A record is considered complete if it includes the bird(s) seen, 
the numbers observed, the location of the observation, the date 
(please write out the date in your header line or text), and the 
observer(s).  I will use records that are second hand if I am 
familiar with both the observer and the person passing on the 
record.  In this case I annotate the record with _fide_ which is the 
accepted way of noting that a record has not been directly obtained, 
but has been provided by the _fide_ source.  I rarely use third-hand 
records out of concern with the mischief that occurs during 
information transmittal as the number of pathways increase.

2. I am selective in which records I enter in the county 
notebooks.  For the more common birds I may record a report of a 
particularly large number of birds, an unusual behavior, or an 
unusual plumage.  For uncommon birds, or those that I feel are 
marginally rare, I may record all observations, although I rarely 
provide these in _The Avocet_.  These records are particularly useful 
for clarifying the temporal distribution of birds that are not 
permanently resident in the county.  I attempt to record all species 
that are listed as rare on the current Santa Clara County Checklist
<http://www.scvas.org/index.php?page=text&id=publications>.  For 
common wintering species or summer residents, I attempt to record the 
first arrival and last departure dates.

3. The "Field Notes" column that I write is nominally due on the 
first Friday in February, April, and subsequent alternate months.  I 
usually try to draft the column at the end of the month and then fit 
the last few records in before I transmit the column to the _The 
Avocet_ editor, currently Grant Hoyt.

4. Four times a year I provide a "quarterly" summary of records for 
_North American Birds_.  There are currently multiple Regional 
Editors and they each get a copy of my summary although they split 
the species up between them.

5. I entered county records in the notebooks by hand from when I 
started keeping the notebooks in late 1979, to the summer of 1993 
when I started writing the records to Word files on a quarterly 
basis.  I intend, eventually, to create a data base based on literal 
string recognition and I've designed my data entry structure 
accordingly.  But at this time the computerized aspect is a simple 
computerized echo of hand-entry.

6. It is not always obvious to people providing records to this 
mailing list when they should provide additional details on a record 
or even if they should provide the record at all.  There is no simple 
answer to this other than experience.  A useful example to consider 
is stimulated by the detailed plumage description that Mike Rogers 
provided for a December 1996 Ash-throated Flycatcher.  This species 
is a fairly common summer resident in the county, arriving in early 
April and leaving by the end of August.  First and last records 
within that range are of interest as are very early or late 
birds.  Wintering birds are so rare in the county that a detailed 
description is necessary.  In part this is not just because of the 
rarity, but also to exclude other _Myiarchus_ that may just as likely 
be here at that season.

7. When a rarity turns up and this information is passed on, many 
people obtain the opportunity to see the bird.  The very quantity of 
people seeing the rarity tends to encourage sloppiness in people's 
records after the initial observation.  If the bird is missed for a 
week and then found a mile away is it the same bird?  We may be able 
to answer these questions if people are careful to age and sex each 
rarity they see (if possible) and note any unusual 
characteristics.  Rarities frequently come in clumps and these 
descriptions are useful.  Please include these in your posts for the 
real rarities--it will help all of us.

8. In the past few years it seems to me that there has been an 
increase in vague reports that do not contribute to the keeping of 
local bird records.  These reports may be useful to others, so please 
accept my criticism as applying strictly to the keeping of the Santa 
Clara County records and nothing more.  First, I see no utility in 
simple lists of birds.  Second, when people say they saw a "few 
birds" or "many birds" this has little value.  If you are going to 
take the time to report birds that you have seen, please provide an 
estimate of their numbers.  An estimate can be of the form of "at 
least 20 birds" or "about "three dozen birds" or "100-150 birds," but 
please do not include such vague descriptors as "a few" or "many."

        The South-Bay-Birds Mailing List provides many of us 
immediate information on the occurrence of rare birds as well as the 
vicarious pleasure of birding and discovery.  That this mailing list 
has worked so well is a tribute to its many faithful contributors 
and, perhaps, to the mailing list rules that we've 
implemented.  There is some arbitrariness, however, in these rules 
and I invite anyone to communicate directly with me, at 
[[email protected]], if they would like to discuss any of these issues.

Bill Bousman
Santa Clara County records compiler 



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