[Tweeters] Neah Bay trip report and rare bird alert

[H. Kappes]

First off, thank you to Jason for inviting everyone to sign up for the Neah
Bay WhatsApp alerts - I know there are many of these groups out there but
have rarely been invited to join one, even when inquiring about rare birds.

Technology is tricky and each of us has to choose our own comfort level for
using it.  However, we also have to accept that as technology moves
forward, there will be a segment of the population that moves forward with
it to optimize it's potential.  I do not think Tweeters is the best
platform to post about every movement of every rare bird in Washington - it
will be overwhelming to weed through all of those posts. As long as the
sighting is posted on Tweeters, we will all know the bird is there and can
choose how we go about finding it.

I think what we need to keep in mind is that the WhatsApp group and
Tweeters group are offering different services, with some overlap.

The WhatsApp group is offering the minutiae of rare bird movements so that
one can hone in on the precise location.  Tweeters offers the info that a
bird is in a location.  If you hear a rare bird is in the Safeway parking
lot in Bothell, for example on Tweeters, you can often go to that location
and find a group of birders also looking for the same bird - but Tweeters
are not going to get 50 emails about each time the bird hops to a different
tree or lamp post.  For that detail sign up for WhatsApp or use your usual
resources for locating the precise pin.

Happy birding,
Heidi B.

On Thu, Sep 8, 2022, 8:45 AM Penny L Koyama <plkoyama at comcast.net> wrote:


> Tweets,

> I’m wondering if Alex is aware of county birders, many of whom rely on

> Tweeters. He is correct in commenting that Neah Bay is remote, but many of

> us do rush to areas for a bird we “need,” and those who live closer to Neah

> Bay may very we’ll head there for, say, a Nashville Warbler, a bird that

> likely wouldn’t appear on an eBird alert.

>

> Then, of course, there was the 2016 Eurasian Hobby—scores (hundreds?) of

> birders rushed there for that that treasure. We were in Southern Oregon at

> the time, and where did we get the news?  On “real time” Tweeters! Speeding

> to Sequim that day and to Neah Bay the next, we scored the hobby, one of

> the state’s best rarities!

>

> Yeah, Tweeters,

> Penny Koyama, Bothell

>

> Sent from my iPhone

>

> On Sep 8, 2022, at 4:25 AM, Carol Riddell <cariddellwa at gmail.com> wrote:

>

> People who sign up for Tweeters or any other birding listserv do not get

> spammed. Of course there are many different birding interests among the

> Tweeters users. I don’t read every post because not every post is of

> interest to me. But I don’t consider those to be spam. Many listserv users

> subscribe to daily digests if they don’t want a lot of listserv posts

> directly coming into their mail in boxes. The point of my first post was

> just to make sure that Neah Bay rarities continue to get posted to Tweeters.

>

> Carol Riddell

> Edmonds, WA

>

> On Sep 7, 2022, at 2:19 PM, Alex Sowers <sowersalexander1 at gmail.com>

> wrote:

>

> The problem with continuing to post updates and notable birds on Tweeters,

> is that about 90% of those on the listserv don’t care about an update on

> the new location of a wintering Nashville Warbler or maybe a Western

> Kingbird that is rare for the area. Those that are in Neah Bay would care,

> but those who just signed up for WA Tweeters, likely couldn’t care less

> about constant updates for a regional rarity that’s in one of the most

> inconveniently located towns in the state. If you’ve ever been on a county

> RBA or group chat, you’d know that every time a bird moves there’s a text

> sent out about the new location. Every time a bird interesting for the area

> (but not necessarily for the state) shows up, there’s a notification. Every

> time someone sees a probable rarity for the region, there’s a notification.

> I don’t think most people would appreciate getting spammed with all those

> notifications.

>

> Also, there’s an extremely wide range of interests within the Tweeters

> community, so why subject the vast majority of people who don’t care, to

> constant notifications about Neah Bay? Some people are part of Tweeters for

> the interesting articles that are posted, some people like hearing about

> when the first Rufous Hummingbird shows up in spring, and some people just

> like commenting on the seasonal changes they’re seeing. I’d say that those

> who’re interested in regionally rare birds of Neah Bay are certainly in the

> minority. Does a backyard birder in Walla Walla really care if that Swamp

> Sparrow behind Butler’s moved or not? What makes a Neah Bay WhatsApp RBA

> great, is that you choose to join it based on your actual interest in the

> rare birds showing up in Neah Bay. I think WhatsApp is a great idea, but if

> you are anti-facebook i’m sure someone can create a spin off imessage group

> or something similar.

>

> If something that’s really interesting happens to show up in Neah Bay,

> there’s no doubt that such bird will be reported on Tweeters sooner or

> later. If missing out on a WA state Cassin’s Sparrow is a concern, I don’t

> think one would have to worry about it not being on Tweeters. Word will get

> out.

>

> Good birding, Alex Sowers

>

> On Wed, Sep 7, 2022 at 12:57 PM Carol Riddell <cariddellwa at gmail.com>

> wrote:

>

>> What’s the problem with continuing to post sightings to Tweeters? It will

>> get a better spread than a WhatsApp group. Some of us, perhaps many of us,

>> do not like to use Meta/Facebook products, due to privacy and other known

>> concerns about Facebook, and don’t want unnecessary apps on our phones.

>> Personally, the more places I have to check for information, the less

>> information I find because I won’t spend my time checking multiple apps and

>> web sites.

>>

>> Tweeters has served us well for many years and I hope it will continue to

>> do so, including timely reports of rare or just good birds that many would

>> like to see. Just my two cents.

>>

>> Carol Riddell

>> Edmonds, WA

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>>

>

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