Brean down
This thread is useful as I was unsure about posting second hand reports. For example a friend in Othery had a great grey shrike intermittently in his orchard for a month last winter. Despite a number of visits I never saw it but I am sure he was correct.
Hi Jeremey. Please do post 2nd hand reports like that as long as you have permission from your friend and you think there wouldn’t be access problems. I’d love to have had the chance to try to see that bird last winter. All the best.
That sort of sighting should be sent to the county recorder - his details presumably somewhere on here (or may be quicker to Google)
This thread is useful as I was unsure about posting second hand reports. For example a friend in Othery had a great grey shrike intermittently in his orchard for a month last winter. Despite a number of visits I never saw it but I am sure he was correct.
I agree with Jeff, acknowledge the first finder if you can but so often we are not told who that was. I am another who does not look at Twitter or Birdguides so this is my main way to learn of interesting local birds.
I’ll second that.
I don’t get out as much as you guys and don’t use extensive social media.
This forum gives me an indication of what’s happening round and about, so updates from any source are interesting and useful.
I, for one Mike, am pleased that you post bird sightings here from other sources, as so few Somerset Birders bother to do so nowadays! And I’m sure most others that visit this forum are happy with your postings. Keep it up and thanks for doing so!
To be honest I hadn’t even considered that anyone might assume that I was trying to claim them, as most of the people who care already know who found them. I’m also not keen to put names on a public forum of people I don’t know very well, as it might come back to bite them if they were supposed to be somewhere else e.g. at work.
Howard and I found the spot fly at the same time, as we were coming from opposite directions along the track and I saw the bird before I saw him.
On WhatsApp I do try to attribute reports from those who aren’t in the group, but the system doesn’t make it easy, as forwarded messages don’t say where they came from, and some people haven’t entered a name, so all I see is their phone number - others I only see because I’ve entered their details on my own mobile, & I have no idea what info other people see for me!
I know there are still a lot of people who look at this forum but aren’t in other loops, but news often doesn’t filter down to here. I didn’t even know there was a link on front page of website to the Somerset twitter feed until last week (not that it seems to be working). The latest news hasn’t been updated since 2019 and last post on FB page was 2020, although at least the upcoming events are current…
MM - Is there a reason you post news of birds, that you have neither found nor seen, without attributing the finders ? The first Wryneck was found by James Packer and the second by Brian Hill - both outstanding Somerset birders. Please do them the courtesy of naming them - and letting your audience know that you haven’t either found, or seen, the birds. It is only polite to do so.
Presumably two different wrynecks in last two days, plus load of commoner migrants, including spotted flycatcher