WNY RBAs

Rare Birds

So, you have found an exciting bird. What should you do now?

The very first thing to consider is the ABA Code of Birding Ethics. Be sure to take good field notes as soon as possible. In the field is best. If possible, obtain physical evidence such as a photograph, video and even sound recording. Next, attempt to get another birder confirm the sighting: notify as many birders as possible. This can start through private phone lines, but should also include notifying the:

local rare bird alert HOTLINES
issuing a message on one or several of the electronic mailing lists

Once an adequate report has been completed, please mail a copy to the local bird club, and Kingbird editor.

If the bird is on the New York State Avian Records Committee (NYSARC) "want list", please send a copy of the completed report to:: Jeanne Skelly
Secretary for NYSARC
420 Chili Scottsville Road
Churchville, NY 14428
or email: jdskelly@frontiernet.net

Most importantly, enjoy the bird! That is what birding is all about.

Rare Bird Alerts

Buffalo and the Niagara Frontier / Western New York Birdline: 716-896-1271
The Buffalo hotline is sponsored by the Buffalo Museum Of Science and the Buffalo Ornithological Society.

Rochester and the Genesee Region: 585-425-4630
The Rochester hotline is sponsored by the Rochester Birding Association.

Finger Lakes Birdline (Ithaca): 607-254-2429

Syracuse Hotline: 315-668-8000

NYC Area RBA: 212-979-3070

The above hotlines are often transcribed and posted to BirdEast. The archived hotlines can be reviewed.

The Buffalo Audubon Society offers an online RareBird Alert service.

Pertinent Birding Electronic Mailing Lists

Several birding listserv's have been set up that may be appropriate for birding inNew York State:

Respectively, these cover Rochester and the Genesee Region, all of NYS, Cayuga Lake Basin (including Montezuma NWR), the Hudson-Mohawk (Albany) area, Syracuse and the Oneida Lake Region (including Montezuma NWR), and Ontario, Canada (including Niagara Falls).

Please refer to the GeneseeBirds-L web page for subscription information and on-line archives of GeneseeBirds-L posts. Please refer to the Birding on the Net for New York Resources of the above listservs.

The Rochester and the Genesee Region listserv comes as a courtesy of Bob Beason and SUNY Geneseo. Coverage is actually all of Western NY.

Please refer to the GeneseeBirds-L web page for subscription information and on-line archives of GeneseeBirds-L posts.

This page was last updated on 12 March 2003.