Subject: North American Birds (Formerly Field Notes)
Date: Dec 11 18:48:32 2000
From: Ryan Shaw - rtshaw80 at home.com


Greetings All

There is a journal out there that needs you, and we believe that most Pacific
Northwest birders would also benefit from this journal. Its title -- North
American Birds, formerly known as Field Notes and American Birds.

Why does it need you? Subscription is lagging. Yes, it is up from the
magazine's final days with the National Audubon Society (when it was known as
Field Notes), but the circulation is not yet high enough to pay for the
magazine's production costs.

Why should you care? Because North American Birds (and its previous
incarnations) has been tracking bird status-and-distribution for decades,
providing an unparalleled source of information on North American bird
records. Many of the finding guides, state bird guides (e.g. Birds of
Oregon), etc. have relied heavily on this magazine for information. Indeed,
some of these books would have been extraordinarily difficult to produce
without North American Birds as a resource.

What is in it for you? Knowledge. Many of you are already subscribers. Others
probably have never subscribed, and then some have subscribed in the past but
are not doing so now. There have been a lot of changes recently, so please
let us update you.

The backbone of North American Birds is the Regional Reports. The United
States and Canada (plus the West Indies) are broken into 26 regions (one of
which is Oregon/Washington), and for each region there is a seasonal report
of unusual bird records. These Regional Reports are an excellent way to learn
of North American status-and-distribution, plus they can be just downright
fun. There are color photos of many of the more exotic vagrants and reading
about extraordinary finds can be a hoot, even if the bird was found 2000
miles away. But even from the OR/WA Region, you can learn a lot. We try hard
to put each sighting in context, so that you can really understand why each
record is unusual, which will enhance your knowledge and appreciation of
status-and-distribution in the Pacific Northwest as well.

But there is more -- For most of the time this magazine was Field Notes, it
was essentially just the Regional Reports. Now, however, articles have been
added back in. These articles have included such excellent topics as the
Bristle-thighed Curlew landfall and the explosion of Eur. Collared-Doves
across North America. With a new and excellent editor, Michael Patten, the
quality and number of articles will steadily improve.

So, we urge you to consider subscribing to North American Birds if you are
not already doing so. To subscribe, go to http://208.56.18.90/nabform.htm or
call the ABA at 800-634-7736. The cost is $28/year for ABA members, $30/year
for non-members. This magazine needs your support to continue its mission of
studying and tracking the status-and-distribution of North American Birds. In
return, your knowledge and appreciation of such will grow.


Best Wishes

Phil Mattocks Alan Contreras
Steven Mlodinow Jeff Gilligan
Dennis Paulson Gerard Lillie
Bill Tweit Paul Sullivan
Terry Wahl