Re: "a model of superb documentation"

[Mark Stackhouse <westwings at sisna dot com>]

This is an excellent post, and, along with the equally good commentary 
by Harry, should serve as a good lesson to all birders in Utah and 
elsewhere. That this bird is clearly a Louisiana (and certainly not all 
waterthrushes are as obvious as this individual, making me wonder how 
the "consensus" opinion could have been for Northern) is beside the 
point. The main point here is the importance of detailed observation 
and documentation. Harry's point that we are far too inclined to simply 
call a bird based upon what is expected is well taken. Experienced 
birders are especially prone to making this mistake. But the only 
reason hat we are able to have this discussion at all is because of the 
excellent photos and documentation by the observer.

As a member of the Utah Records Committee, I see lots of documentation 
of rare birds submitted by birders here in Utah. As you might imagine, 
the quality of the documentation varies considerably. At times it shows 
how poorly we really "see" the bird. Photos can help, and should be 
encouraged whenever possible, but should not be considered a 
substitution for detailed field notes. There is one record under 
consideration right now for a possible Blue-headed Vireo that is in 
danger of being rejected essentially because the observer submitted 
only photos, with little written description. It is likely that the 
observer saw a Blue-headed Vireo, but the photos submitted are not by 
themselves conclusive evidence of this. It is especially important to 
give detailed attention on why your bird is not any of the similar 
species. Again, detail is everything, never assume anything is obvious. 
The worst possible descriptions run along the lines of "see photos" or 
"I know what [similar species to the bird in question] looks like, and 
it wasn't that," or "the i.d. is obvious." These really don't say 
anything.

I would also second Harry's opinion that notes and sketches (or photos) 
made in the field, without the aid of a field guide, are the purest 
form of documentation. It's also great training in learning how to 
"see" a bird. It's always obvious when someone has written a 
description after consulting one or more field guides. While it's 
important to know what to look for, it's really easy to have our 
perception of what we see influenced by what we read in a field guide.

Enjoy "seeing" the birds!

Mark Stackhouse
801-487-9453 (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
011-52-323-285-1243 (San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico)

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