dantheman
Bah humbug
BoBTaG Has just referenced this post again in another beginners thread - So I have done the decent thing and bought this to the top of the pile AGAIN
Please don't thank me , its not necessary
Si
Oh well, time for me to make comment I guess . . .
Just read the thread, interesting and relevant I reckon. As someone said, this wonderful thing called BF is for everyone, but maybe a little fine tuning wouldn't hurt . . . and these things are totally up for discussion.
On the opening page of bird id Q and A's, at this exact instant, a quick glance at the headings shows (out of about 25 threads), based on the heading;
6 UK based, 5 US based, 3 Rest of World and 8 Could-Be-Anywhere's
So those 8 immediately not clever (although sometimes they can be sorted by the species mentioned eg mistle/song thrush). And maybe we should think about a Europe/US/Other split also.
(Obviously I don't have the time so I'm not going to open them all up to analyse whether they are basic or frontiers type issues . . . but maybe someone else will . . .
)Some further points-
1)There are going to be those which initially will fall into both- eg 'Pipit inland in October' could turn out very interesting . . . .
2)The thread on a silhouetted passerine at the Gyr Falcon last year (Robin/Wheatear/Blackred/Bald Eagle) was both popular and highly amusing. You'd miss out ones like those Si . . .
3)A poor or unclear photo of a commoner bird often requires quite a bit of discussion from the experts to sort out . . .
4)A recent novice type question from UAE related to Collared Pratincole. Unless we do have a rest of world category, this would presumably go in the basic section. I learnt a lot trying to answer this, but it isn't a 'novice' topic- rest of world would be good.
5)Will people actually know where to post?- I think someone will have to spend a lot of time shifting posts. . . .
And on posting replies- (no matter if the original poster is lazy/doesn't have a fieldguide/is otherwise stumped), it should be taboo for responder (expert or otherwise) to reply with single line answer giving species name. In the first case giving hints is a nice idea (eg take a look at the Chats. Note your bird has a distinct white eyestripe and orangey chin . . . ) Secondly, when stating what it is REASONS should be given, help so that not just the original poster but OTHERS reading the thread can learn and take away from the thread.
eg recent Twite Id thread- some just posted yes it's a twite. But others gave reasons:t:
Si brought the points up, and yes, some may show impatience at having to wade through posts which are strightforward id's (for those in the know admittedly) to find those requiring more skill and so they can push themselves and learn at THEIR level, rather than at a lower levels. Another reason why this should be considered, given the volume of use this section gets-
Note the example above- Collared Pratincole- this will probably be lost now as no-one expert enough to differentiate (or use internet resources to find out) winter plumaged Collared and Oriental has posted (if it can be done of course
This is now 4 PAGES down the list of q and a's, and any World or S hemisphere birders who could resolve this are hardly likely to come across it and give their assistance now . . .This touches on another aspect of this; resolving of id threads, which I think is very important.
Wouldn't some kind of tick box for successful id be useful on the main page (eg wherethe stars go) (eg Y for success, X or ? for unresolved or consensus not reached) eg all the bunting ones Jane was bringing up elsewhere recently . . . new frontiersy type people can always trawl through these unresolved ones whenever they want either for the feather analysis type ones or the world mystery birds from wherever.
Some thoughts for this (good-humoured) debate . .
Last edited:
