Also: if you absolutely need to eBird something that is sensitive, you can 1) use a county-level location (.e.g, Mono County). You can also hide your checklist from public view. You can also wait a few months (at least 2 weeks, anyway) after the sighting before submitting the list. Observations reported within 2 weeks of the event get broadcast to anyone subscribing to the county's Needs alerts (species they have not yet ticked) or Rare Bird alerts (any bird species flagged as rare when you submit a checklist).
There were recent reports of American Goshawk nestlings at Wildrose Canyon in Mono. A couple things on this. First, it is widely suspected that folks interested in falconry might be interested in goshawk chicks for their hobby. Please do not submit checklists of goshawk nest locations, or talk about nests in your notes. If you submit a list with more than 1 goshawk, that can draw attention to your location. I have no data for you on how often goshawk nestlings actually are taken, but it wasn't helpful to broadcast the presence of nestlings that showed the substrate (the plant holding the nest). If it is where I think it probably was, it was very accessible.
In addition, it doesn't seem to me that it was actually a goshawk nest. I leaned Cooper's Hawk, Hawkwatch staff leaned Cooper's Hawk, and Nora Livingston confirmed to me that she had observed an adult Cooper's Hawk at the nest.
There have been other cases of observers posting photos of grouse lek locations, fledgling owl locations, that sort of thing.
Please understand that 1) if it is a flagged species, though it does not show on an eBird map before I validate a record, it still will be broadcast on eBird alerts if you report it within 2 weeks of the sighting. I do not receive any sort of heads up if it is an unflagged species, or if the count is not above what I have set to trigger a flag.
Photos that show landscape views will help people triangulate to where you were. People chase reports, whether they are falconers, hunters, or just other birders, or people interested in photographing birds. Once you post it, you have no control over who chases it and how they behave when they get there.
Date: 6/5/25 3:32 pm From: Chris McCreedy <cristofolos...> Subject: ESbirds: Spring 2025 reports for Mono County for North American Birds
This is a reminder to all who birded Mono County during the Spring Season (1 Mar 2025 - May 31 - 2025) that reports, descriptions, and photos of notable sightings are needed by 10 Jun 2025. Please finalize your eBird checklists or email reports to me by that date. I can be reached at <cristofolos...> or <cmccreedy...>
When reporting a rarity, please specify in the species comments:
1. the initial observer 2. the author of the documentation
This information will be used to properly credit the observer(s) in the NAB report. Also, please take the time to properly document and describe a rarity so that the observation is worthy of becoming a permanent ornithological record.
In addition, please email me regarding observations of:
1. notable high counts 2. notable high and low elevation observations 3. out-of-range observations
Thank you for your diligence in reporting your records. Also, thank you to everyone that sent reports last season! Your reports were easy to understand and very helpful.
