Hi Ruth (and all tweeters) -

The transcripts we post are just that -- transcripts, that is, a verbatim
or near-verbatim written text taken from the voice recordings people leave
on the BirdBox. Transcribers do not "correct" the information and opinions
given by callers, or interject editorial comments. What we are trying to
capture, "for the record," is what was actually said, at what time it was
said, and by whom it was said. Transcripts are also posted to tweeters, as
a service to the birding community. However, BirdBox reports do not
constitute the "final" historical record. Instead, they are raw evidence,
which needs to be independently weighed by all who use it.

If BirdBox users want to add to the store of knowledge about a sighting, or
contribute new observations including corrections to previous reports, then
they have to call them in. We will not record, or incorporate into
transcriptions, any second-hand comments from tweeters or RBAs or any other
source. However, as always, if someone specifically requests by e-mail
that we record a particular report onto the BirdBox, on his or her behalf,
then we will gladly do that (for instance in cases where it would be a toll
call for observers to phone in their reports themselves).

Only a fraction of BirdBox users are on tweeters, so there's a lot of good
information (such as your observation about this hybrid duck having been
around for three winters) that will not be available to the majority of
birders because they are not subscribers to tweeters. This is especially
true of visitors from out of state. So, by all means, get your stuff onto
the BirdBox if you want the maximum number of birders to have access to the
full picture!

Hal Opperman
System Administrator, WA BirdBox
425/635-0503

At 6:59 PM -0800 03/30/1998, Ruth Sullivan wrote:
>Hi Franny,
> On Saturday morning i reported the Sighting of the Common Goldeneye
>xBuffelhead. This interesting Duck been there for three Winters.The message
>was posted by Paul Cozens.Smew NOT!!!!
>Ruth Sullivan
>GODWIT at worldnet.att.net
>
>----------
>> From: Franny Drobny <fdrobny at cairncross.com>
>> To: 'Tweeters Post' <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
>> Cc: 'raan' <raan at u.washington.edu>; 'sebnabgill' <sebnabgill at aol.com>
>> Subject: WA BirdBox 27 Mar - 30 Mar
>> Date: Monday, March 30, 1998 12:00 PM
>>
>> The Washington BirdBox is a voice mailbox sponsored by the Washington
>> Ornithological Society. To leave a report about a notable sighting or
>> to listen to the most recent reports from other birders, call
>> (425)454-2662 and follow the prompts.
>> Transcribed by Franny Drobny, Seattle, Washington,