[Birdtalk] Sending hotline messages

[Cliff and Lisa Weisse]

I posted to you personally because I don't feel this
discussion belongs on Birdtalk and my post specifically
should not have appeared on this list.  Since you insist on
bad-mouthing me in public I am going to respond.

As I recall Norm Saunders put you on administrative
oversight on the MD Osprey list.  That means he reads your
posts before they make it to the list.  Your senseless
diatribes stopped immediately after that.  (Milt?)  That's
awfully unfriendly of those easterners.  Have you noticed
that everywhere you go (NY, UT, TX, MD) everyone is
unfriendly except you?  Odd isn't it?  You quit MD Osprey
because they cut off your ability to post crap like this so
now you're back here because you haven't been booted from
this list....yet.

You only have S-I-X years of birding experience and you
already know everything?  Here are a few beauties you came
up with that I can remember:

-The famous Western Gulls (yes plural, you told me that you
saw more than one) at Bear River during breeding season.
No, there were no Western Gulls breeding at Bear River.
Mark suggested the same thing I did, California Gull.  I
even told you that yellow legs could appear pink or orange
in bad light.  What an odd coincidence that Mark and I both
chose the same species to suggest that you might have seen.
That's right, I didn't declare that you didn't see them I
asked you if you could possibly have seen CA Gulls.  I did
so off list so it didn't make you look bad.  Do you remember
your response?  I do.  It was "Nope".  How smug of me.

-You identified basic plumage dowitchers in a photo posted
on the Birdtalk list as Short-billeds because "they're in
salt water", and you suggested that that was an under used
field mark.  You later suggested bill to head ratio as a
possible field mark for dowitchers.  You're probably the
only one that's ever thought of that.

-How about the Connecticut Warbler you reported in MD before
migration even got started?  You'll ignore this but
Connecticuts are very late migrants as warblers go.  Next
time pick a more likely candidate if you don't like it when
someone calls you on it, which of course someone did.

-And my all time favorite.  You posted a request for help
with ID of a hummingbird you photographed.  I told you I
thought it was a Black-chinned.  You insisted that it was a
Broad-billed and even sent a photo of a Broad-billed for
comparison which I have to admit didn't look the least bit
like your bird.  Since I don't know hummingbirds very well I
forwarded the photo to a bander who in turn forwarded it to
Sherri Williamson, author of Peterson's Field Guide to
Hummingbirds.  She said the bird is not a Broad-billed and
explained in detail why it isn't.  She thought it was a
Black-chinned.  So what did you do?  You submitted the photo
to UBRC as a Broad-billed Hummingbird.  You know, those
field guide authors don't really know as much as they think
they do.

Finally, I never told you that you couldn't see Whimbrels at
Bear River.  You made a comment out of the blue in one of
your posts about the Western Gulls dated 5/25/2005.  In
response to my assertion that WEGUs are extremely rare away
from the coast you said "Why are there Whimbrels in Utah?"
My response, in my next note to you after I figured out what
you meant (which takes some doing for uneducated folk like
me), was "I see the connection now but I disagree.  There
are records for Whimbrel in Utah at this time of year.
Idaho too.  They aren't common but they do occur."  Keep
your mouth shut if you're not sure of the facts.

You once asked me a question that I chose not to answer
because I thought it would be insulting to you if I did.
After you whined about how you knew you'd seen Western Gulls
you said "Do you think I'm an idiot?"  Since I no longer
care if you don't like my response I'll answer it now.  On
second thought maybe I better not.

Have a nice evening.

Cliff