Date: 4/26/24 6:54 pm From: Skip Smith via groups.io <Skipfly1...> Subject: Re: [ALbirds] RBA chat
To a large extent, for those that utilize eBird, the capabilities of *immediate
notification* for a RARE bird (or for that matter, a NEEDs bird) already
exists.
Let's use Jim's example of the Western Grebe that was found in Guntersville
recently. It was originally sighted on the morning of Mar 30, but not
listed until that evening until approx 10:30pm because the birder (Alison
Graves) wanted to confirm her sightings with her pics. It consequently
"hit" the eBird Rare Bird Alert (RBA) on the RBA's next *email* distribution
release which was at 4:02am, March 31. So, everyone who is *signed up* for
the RBA report would have received notification at 4:02am, which would have
only been 5.5 hours after it was listed. HOWEVER, the email for the RBA is
a rolling forward 25+ hour schedule (don't ask me why it doesn't come out
the same time every day... i don't know). So, had the RBA email just been
distributed minutes before the Alison had posted her sighting at 10:30pm
Mar 30, the next eBird RBA email capturing the Western Grebe sighting would
not have gone out until some 25+ hours later, thereby in essence delaying
notification to all by a whole available "chasing" day. BUT, there is a
work around for this delay. You can go into eBird and pull up the RBA *on
demand! *Just go into eBird "Explore", scroll down to "Alerts", click on
"Alerts", and if you are signed up, your RBA is available and is current up
to the last minute!! Utilizing the RBA in this fashion gives you all the
RARE birds since the last RBA email. *And it is updated within a minute of
a RARE bird being listed*. -- In Jim's examples of other rarities not
hitting the listserve (Shiny Cowbird, Cave Swallow, Western Tanager,
American Flamingo), *ALL of them* were reported in the daily RBA email, as
well as being captured *immediately* upon that list being submitted to
Ebird, and available *immediately* to view if you pulled up the RBA "on
demand".
So, how can one utilize this? One example could be you don't live on the
coast (Baldwin or Mobile counties), and you want to maximize your visit to
Dauphin Island, Fort Morgan, etc. Simply take the 10 seconds it takes to
pull up the RBA on demand, and you will see all the RARE birds that have
been submitted to eBird since the last RBA email, including all the ones
since you last checked, say just an hour ago! And you can utilize this same
procedure for your NEEDs alert.
For all out there, I'm not throwing shade on Jim's idea. We all utilize
electronic communication/social media in different ways, and simply tailor
our use to what we like. I myself haven't used What's App in years, and
have never even heard of Telegram (yes, I'm a dinosaur, I know!) But for
those that have never used this capability currently available in eBird,
it's there for the pickin' as they say.
Hope it helps someone.
Skip Smith
On Fri, Apr 26, 2024 at 1:34 PM Jim Holmes via groups.io <jfholmes=
<ucdavis.edu...> wrote:
> ALbirds is an email list serve (i.e. all the communication happens via
> email).
>
>
>
> A chat using WhatsApp, Telegram, etc are basically texts that go out to a
> group who have joined that chat group. When someone finds a rare bird, they
> put out a message on the chat about what species and the location (usually
> with GPS coordinates).
>
>
>
> For example, if I found a American Redstart in Sacramento, California (a
> rarity here) I would send a message on the chat about it and its location,
> people would then instantaneously get that information and be able to go
> immediately. It works really well for getting information out quickly (as
> opposed to an email which requires someone to check their email to get the
> information). People that chase would then send a chat that the bird is
> still present so that there is a stream of up to date information.
>
>
>
> I currently belong to the following chats here in northern California:
>
> - Sacramento Rare Birds - WhatsApp
> - Yolo Birding – WhatsApp
> - Rare Birds of NWCALI – WhatsApp
> - Solano Rare Bird Alert – WhatsApp
> - North CV Counties – WhatsApp
> - Bay Area rare bird alert – Telegram
> - Sonoma County birds – Telegram
> - ID Discussion (for the bay area) – Telegram
>
>
>
> I think this Alabama listserve gets a few rarities reported. A look back
> at the last month there was one post about the Western Grebe at
> Guntersville (a week after it was initially found) and one about the Bell’s
> Vireo at Dauphin Island (apparently wintered but nothing on this listserve
> when it was first found in November). Does not look like any posts about
> other rarities in Alabama in April (Shiny Cowbird, Cave Swallow, Western
> Tanager, American Flamingo (!)) made it to this listserve.
>
>
>
> Personally, I think these chats work best locally for those that in the
> area (not sure I would be that interested in a text about a Cave Swallow on
> Dauphin Island if I lived in Huntsville) but I would be interested in real
> time information on a Cave Swallow on Dauphin Island if I lived in Bay
> Minette.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Jim
>
>
>
> James F. Holmes, MD, MPH
>
> Professor and Executive Vice Chair
>
> Department of Emergency Medicine
>
> UC Davis School of Medicine
>
> Office (916) 734-1533
>
>
>
> *From:* <ALbirds...> <ALbirds...> *On Behalf Of *Bob Reed via
> groups.io
> *Sent:* Friday, April 26, 2024 10:52 AM
> *To:* <ALbirds...>
> *Subject:* Re: [ALbirds] RBA chat
>
>
>
> I'll show my ignorance. What's the difference between ALbirds and a chat?
>
>
>
> Bob Reed
>
> Tallassee, Alabama
>
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 26, 2024, 12:34 Jim Holmes via groups.io <jfholmes=
> <ucdavis.edu...> wrote:
>
> Does Alabama (or any region within Alabama) have a chat (WhatsApp,
> Telegram, etc) for rare birds?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Jim
>
>
>
> James F. Holmes, MD, MPH
>
> Professor and Executive Vice Chair
>
> Department of Emergency Medicine
>
> UC Davis School of Medicine
>
> Office (916) 734-1533
>
>
>
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