This is Scot Duncan, I’m the Executive Director of Alabama Audubon. I am
also disappointed that I didn't get to see the LEOW at Railroad Park last
week. However, I want to assure everyone that Alabama Audubon does not
control postings on eBird. We contribute to eBird frequently, both as an
organization and the staff as individual birders, but we do not control
what is shared on eBird. Those filters are set by the staff of eBird,
probably with input from the eBird reviewers, but not us. Below is a link
to an article on the eBird website about the filter for sensitive species
and why eBird does it. The large crowd that showed up to see the LEOW at
Railroad Park and the close quarters that were necessary to see the bird,
are exactly why the eBird staff do not allow postings of some species to be
public.
https://support.ebird.org/en/support/solutions/articles/48000803210-sensitive-species-in-ebird
I want to also address the misinformation posted that Alabama Audubon
controls what is posted on ALbirds. We are only in control of our own
accounts on FaceBook and Instagram.
On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 8:26 PM Grace via groups.io <larwood=
<aol.com...> wrote:
> I’m in a lot of listservs too. Very few report anything about birds. Very
> little activity.
>
> There are security risks in everything.
>
> I want instant information about birds.
>
> Grace
>
> On Dec 30, 2025, at 8:23 PM, Bob Reed via groups.io <bobreed1987=
> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>
>
> I have learned of serious security issues with WhatsApp. I removed it from
> my phone.
> I think ALBirds is fine. The issue, as I see it, is one group policing
> where they have no mandate to do so. I assume they would try the same
> tactic with any other platform as well.
>
> Bob Reed
> COL US Army, Retired
>
> 334-283-5886 Home
> 334-207-0985 Mobile
>
> On Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 20:18 Grace via groups.io <larwood...>
> wrote:
>
>> I’d prefer a WhatsApp or Telegram group to an email listserv.
>>
>> I’d be happy to set it up, etc.
>>
>> Has this been tried for Alabama in the past? I’m a member of several for
>> other states.
>>
>> I only saw the owl post on FB for a split second before it was removed.
>>
>> If I hadn’t seen the FB post - I would never have known. It feels very
>> much like information is being gatekept.
>>
>> Grace
>>
>> On Dec 30, 2025, at 8:08 PM, Bob Reed via groups.io <bobreed1987=
>> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>>
>>
>> So Alabama Audubon is controlling ALBirds now! The report is on Facebook
>> but suppressed by Alabama Audubon on eBird and ALBirds!
>> That really sucks.
>>
>> Bob Reed
>> COL US Army, Retired
>>
>> 334-283-5886 Home
>> 334-207-0985 Mobile
>>
>> On Tue, Dec 30, 2025, 19:50 Grace via groups.io <larwood=
>> <aol.com...> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I saw the owl last week at the park. My eBird report is suppressed due
>>> to it being sensitive.
>>>
>>> Grace
>>>
>>> On Dec 30, 2025, at 7:37 PM, Bob Reed via groups.io <bobreed1987=
>>> <gmail.com...> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> My daughter sent a Facebook page about a Long-eared Owl in Railroad
>>> Park, B'ham. I see nothing on eBird. Does anyone know anything about an owl
>>> in Railroad Park? Is it an old report?
>>>
>>> Bob Reed
>>> COL US Army, Retired
>>>
>>> 334-283-5886 Home
>>> 334-207-0985 Mobile
>>>
>>>
>
>
