[reccom] Milt's End-of-year Analysis, Rick's "escapee" gull

[Mark Stackhouse]

mmmm . . . why?

Mark Stackhouse
Westwings, Inc.
www.westwings.com
mark at westwings.com
801-487-9453 (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
011-52-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico)

On Dec 12, 2006, at 9:00 AM, David Wheeler wrote:

> You're killing me.
>
> >>> Mark Stackhouse <westwings at sisna.com> 12/11/2006 3:47 PM >>>
> Hola from sunny Mexico!
>
> Sorry, couldn't help it, having heard this morning's SLC traffic report
> on KCPW radio (that I listen to every day over the internet when I'm
> home). Hope you enjoy the new snow. The MacGillivray's Warbler that
> chipped in the bush across the street wants to say "hola" to the folks
> in Utah (I think). I shouldn't be too smug about the weather, as I'll
> be back in Utah for the holidays next week (I promise to dig up the
> Tufted Duck photos ASAP). By the way - kudos to Larry for the
> state-first Gray Hawk; I just added Gray Hawk to my yard list here
> about half-an-hour ago when one flew down the street
>
> I'd like to comment upon Milt's end-of-year analysis, and commend him
> for a job well done and for an even more commendable effort to further
> improve the function of this rag-tag bunch of birders we call a
> committee (from one of the dysfunctional members).
>
> First, although everything can be improved, and it's usually good to
> continually seek improvement, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that
> this committee turns over records far faster than most, if not all,
> other state records committees, and in general functions better and
> more openly than our colleagues around the country. In an e-mail to
> myself and several other people about an article being prepared for
> North American Birds, Steve Mlodinow, of the Washington State BRC,
> referred to a record we reviewed and that he pulled off of our website,
> and made the comment "God, I hope the WA BRC ever gets anywhere close
> to this!" We are setting a positive example for records committees
> around the country, and we all deserve a pat on the back, and
> especially Milton, who really keeps this show in business.
>
> As far as timeliness of records review goes, I think the two-month
> deadline is more than reasonable, and probably among the fastest
> turnaround times of any committee. The fact that we actually make the
> two-month deadline so often, and that our average is just about
> two-months (what was the longest it took us to review a record?) is
> commendable, and again, I would suggest, probably among the best
> turn-around times in the country. With an all-volunteer committee, I'm
> not sure that a shorter time is reasonable.
>
> Although some votes are easier than others (though I wouldn't want to
> ever treat any of them as no-brainers), Milt's assumption  that records
> that received unanimous first-round votes were, in fact, easy or fast
> isn't necessarily true. Although it seems that any record that could
> get this motley crew to agree on the first reading would be
> straightforward, a review of the comments on some of these records
> indicates that the decisions weren't all easily reached. I, for one,
> don't like to decide my vote on any record the first time I read it. I
> think that thorough, thoughtful review of the records is more important
> than a fast turn-around.
>
> It would be nice, if the records came in evenly at one per week (which
> I doubt ever actually occurs), to be able to take a few minutes each
> week to deal with the new record(s). However, some of us  have jobs
> which aren't so regular. I often find myself without internet, or with
> internet so briefly each day that the time I have is barely enough to
> keep up with business and family contacts. Also, while traveling I
> often don't have all of the references I normally use while reviewing
> records. While an ideal situation would be to do one or a few records
> at a time and never "fall behind," I find that the only way I can
> review records is to block-off a few hours and do whatever records are
> outstanding. Occasionally, I find that it may be a month or more before
> I can find time to review any records. My point is that if we try to
> focus too much on forcing quick review of records (even as we have some
> of the fastest review times in the country), I think we may find it
> increasingly difficult to find qualified people to volunteer for this
> service.
>
> My other comment in this already too-long message is that I think we
> should try (by some mechanism - maybe an article in Utah Birds authored
> by the committee, implying coming to some agreement among ourselves) to
> deal with the twin issues of hybrids and escapees in records we review.
> This is, of coarse, prompted by Rick's amusing gesture with the
> Heermann's Gull record. But in addition to the issue of escapees, we
> have often struggled with issues of hybrids, especially with the
> Red-naped/Red-breasted Sapsucker complex. I think both of these issues
> could benefit from a more global approach, with some
> standards/guidelines for signs of hybridizations or escapees that could
> be useful for ourselves and for birders in the field (and who submit
> documentation). I think it may help in records review, rather than
> dealing with each record on a case-by-case basis.
>
> Just some thoughts, and I look forward to seeing the opinions of the
> other committee members.
>
> Hasta pronto!
>
> Mark Stackhouse
> Westwings, Inc.
> www.westwings.com
> mark at westwings.com
> 801-487-9453 (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
> 011-52-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico)
>
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