Thank goodness there are still people prepared to take a chance in the glare of public scrutiny and publish instant bird news and sightings without waiting for the popular band wagon, thereby giving others a chance to form their own opinions. Far preferable to the people that do not post threads and appear to make no mistakes, drip-feeding and whispering bits of INFO to a band of loyal cronies, thereby insuring their own reputations. Exactly the same thing could be said for discrediting a fellow birder's records, if done in the glare of public scrutiny it at very least gives the accused a chance to reply.
I totally agree with your first sentence Colin, especially when it comes to rarities and tricky species to identify. I'm also quite happy to take a chance, the other year when I found what appeared to be a Buff-breated Sandpiper which was distant and looking straight into the early morning sun, I immediately put the news out as a "possible" and then phoned in confirmation when I had the time to get closer with the sun behind me.
However, I think you have got it wrong for the remainder of your post, but am open minded and happy to be corrected if you can put forward a convincing arguement. If I find any birds that are newsworthy I immediately put this information out into the public domain via a bird news service, this is done via my mobile while I'm still watching the bird. Surely this is far preferable to wasting time by having to go home and post it on a forum like this. Bird forums aren't designed for this information services are. That way people, should they want to, can check out my sighting at the earliest opportunity and correct me if I've got it wrong. I am not in the least bit interested in building a reputation I just want to watch birds and share them with other like minded people. It seems to me that by posting all ones observations on a forum like this is just drawing attention to yourself and whether intended or not, building yourself a reputation. Yes I do phone my friends (cronies in your emotive words) but not before I have phoned out to the news services. I can't believe you don't phone your friends/cronies as well? The only times I haven't done this was with this winters Gyr which I first saw at Sennen whilst I was on the phone to another birder and the second time was at Marazion when I saw it flying over a birders house and then over anothers office, both of whom managed to see it thanks to my prompt calls.
As I have said in an earlier post I was careful not to discredit Paul's identification of his 3 Mergansers, but the coincidence of 3 Goosanders at the same locality was striking and I would hope that if I hadn't asked the question then the county recorder would have. It was only after Paul accused me of casting aspersions that I mentioned his past history and even then I tried to be sensitive by mailing him privately. The fact that he chose to make the contents of my private mail public was his decision and as he himself admits he had made a mistake and my criticism was based on fact, not rumour or innuendo.
He has now broadened the issue out to other public mistakes he has made, both here and on his website and I am deliberating how to respond. At present my thinking is that as he has made the mistakes (in my opinion) in the public arena then perhaps it is more suitable to discuss them publicly. Then as you say people can judge for themselves if my criticisms are fair and he himself will be able to justify his identifications.
As I have also said we all make mistakes (even the so called experts of which I most certainly am not and have never claimed to be) but those who choose to splash their (or other peoples) sightings across the internet have a far greater responsibility to make sure that what they publish is correct, otherwise it just drags the name of all cornish birders through the mud.
Hope this clarifies things.
Dave
