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Hello, I feel it is necessary to set a few things straight -at least from my point of view- that came up in postings made in the past few days here on NatureNS. 1) NatureNS is not a public website, its a mailing list people have to subscribe to. Even if everyone can sign up it is not what I consider public. That posts to NatureNS are harvested (poached as I see it) for a web site is a totally different story. 2) As one of the seasonal editors of NSBirds, the record keeping publication of bird sightings in our province for over 50 years, I want to point out that NatureNS as well as NSRBA are currently the most important sources of information about the whereabouts and well being of "birds of interest". Mailed in sightings are increasingly less common in our days, and the entry form on the Bird Society website is not used by a lot of people to enter observations and data on a regular basis. If someone is considering to hold back future sightings and observations to avoid the possibility of subsequent interogation and unwanted visits of "keen" birders providing us with information via the Bird Society's web site is an option. The delay of several month between sighting and publication in NSBirds and the limitation of the spatial description to community level (e.g. Dartmouth, HRM) almost ensures 100% privacy if this is a concern. We need your information! 3) As a birder I am interested to learn about birds visiting the province and how they manage here over time. Even if I don't get the chance to the see most of them. Hosts of uncommon and rare birds are in general very welcoming if it comes to accommodate birders interested in seeing their guests. Maybe we got spoiled by this wide spread generosity and hospitality and take it now for granted? But not everybody is equaliy keen to have his home or neighborhood swarming with birders, and I understand and respect that exact locations are held back for this reason. And no, I don't feel like a donkey with a carrot dangling in front of me that I can't reach, even if I get to see daily updates. This may be a bit harder to accept for those that miss out on another tick or have to wait a bit longer to add a lifer to their line-up. Observers, please keep the reports flowing with as much or as little detail and frequency as you consider appropriate using NatureNS (preferably), NSRBA, or the above mentioned NSBS website. On the receiving end we should be content with what we get. In the past our birding community has done very well with what we have in place to spread information fast and reliably. It would be a shame if NatureNS would become silent and we go back to learning about "good" sightings from past June when the Fall issue of NSBirds with the birds of Summer gets published several month later -if sightings are reported at all. Ulli
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