Subject: Dennis Paulson's Statement
Date: Jul 24 07:31:54 2001
From: Korpi, Ray - RKorpi at clark.edu


Tweets,
I have been lurking as usual, and read with interest Dennis Paulson's
statement about the shorebird reports. He's right on target here--in our
quest to be open-minded about sightings at times, we probably haven't called
some records into question. On OBOL, such discussions at times have become
contentious, but they are an important part of the learning process in
birding. In order for our reports to maintain their legitimacy, we need to
ask questions and police ourselves; otherwise, the contributions of
"amateurs" that have been criticized in political circles as biased and in
error will become less and less legitimate, even though they are more often
than not true.

Hopefully, one day, I'll get back out in the field (or even just out of the
damned office) and be able to defend a report of my own. Good birding to
all,
RK

Ray Korpi, PhD "In March, with the cliff swallows
in Mexico
Clark College headed north, the committee
meetings
Vancouver, WA will not even be put on the
calendar."
--John Janovy, Jr., Keith
County Journal