Why is it always left to me to disagree with people? I`ll end up being disliked in every corner if i`m not careful!
Still why change the habit of a lifetime
You have to be & prove to be an active birder
Not sure how you`d get people to prove they are an active birder - surely anyone that goes birding even semi-regularly is an active birder! Whose standards would we judge entry on? Would I get in? Would you?
keeping detailed notes & be prepared to submit records on a monthly basis to a series of county recorders
Why? I do keep notes, but it shouldn`t be compulsary - should be down to individuals likes and dislikes - why would submitting to a county recorder be compulsary, we`ve debated this one already and i`ve been the only dissenting view, but the truth is many, many observers don`t submit records for various reasons - effort, personal animosity, scepticism they`ll be treated equally etc - if you`re just "bolting on" to the existing county recorders structure you`ll have no control over what happens to the data when its been submitted - what if you live in a county where the recording structure is very poor (I know Lincolnshire hasn`t produced a report in years!)
This would leave the Pretty picture brigade & fund raising folk
Do you mean digiscopers here - I think thats got to be one of the biggest developments in birding for years! If you excluded them what pictures would you put on your website or Annual Report? As for fundraisers - how exactly would you fund the infrastructure of the BBA?
Yes. Keep a notebook , be seen around your local patch.
Seems overly prejudiced in terms of one particular kind of birdwatcher - would really be so keen to exclude everyone who didn`t regularly patchwatch? What about Photographers, Twitchers, World Birders? There are as many ways of enjoying this hobby as there are individuals, why try to force people into one particular mode?
recognise & correctly identify a selection of birds
What selection? Just how good would you have to be to get in? Am I okay if I can tell Robin & Dunnock apart or do I have to be able to seperate female Pied and Eastern Black-eared Wheatear? What if i`m only interested in Raptors or seawatching and have little knowledge outside my chosen field?
stop stringy reports sent in
Suprisingly enough the problem with records is not stringy records - very few dodgy reports get accepted, the real problems are with descriptions not being sent in - and that is a product of the time it takes for decisions to be made and some of the guidelines/decisions that stand in place by the BBRC/BOU
Get birders to be more proactive by getting even more records sent in
If you use the existing county recorder/BBRC infrastructure how can you encourage more people to send records in when you have no control or input over what happens - topic for another thread, but i can think of plenty of ways that would encourage people to submit their records (maybe even me!)