Wayne et al,

I do see the point here. I am one of the compilers and I think that
having a site to track year lists might be a better idea. The note from
Nancy concerning the distribution information is very valid and as time
passes should serve us well and might change the way we see things. It will
be interesting to see how this evolves and the distribution information that
might be discovered.
Mike also had a good point in that a little fun and friendly competition
never hurt anyone. I have never attempted a Big Year in Grant County until
now. So it is official, I will be doing a big year in 2007 in Grant County.
Besides, I think that Grant County is far superior to Walla Walla and
Spokane county for birding ;-)
I was not aware that this information would be posted somewhere
else, I was simply asked to compile the information, so for the present I
will keep it off of Tweeters and will compile it on www.cbas.org (Central
Basin Audubon website).
I would also suggest that the practice of posting 54 replies to a trivial
post with no additional substance or additional content of any value, or
posting with nothing but a URL to some periodical or newspaper article is a
bigger problem than a few people posting a county list of birds. It is the
combination of these RE posts, and the insistence of some posters to put
nothing in a post but a URL to some newspaper or periodical article that
drive me crazy. Does this mean they should stop posting? Of course not.
The thing that makes Birding great is that you can follow your own
nose and participate in the way that you find comfortable and rewarding.
Personally I seldom chase rarities, preferring to find my own birds. That
doesn't mean that others are wrong to do so, in fact I encourage you to have
at it if that is your cup of tea, it is just not mine. Therefore, I find
little value in posts of rarities that others have located outside of my
geographic area. Does that mean they should stop posting, of course not.
Joe put it best. 'A judicious use of the delete button' is the best
way to sort through the stuff you don't want to see.
Thanks to Wayne for stimulating a good dialogue on a subject that we all
have some interest in.

Cheers

Doug Schonewald
Moses Lake, WA

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