Now that everyone may be completely confused about reporting birds to the Voice of the Naturalist, I'd like to add what I can (not to the confusion, I hope). First, let me elaborate on what Norm and Les have already told you: It is nearly impossible for the Voice's compiler to separate out the bird reports from among the many message titles on MDOsprey. Therefore, to have your reports considered for inclusion in the Voice, you should send them to: voice@capaccess.org Please don't take this as a rebuff; we need and welcome your reports. Second, I'd like to request that you consider the needs of the Voice in making your reports. When I compiled the Voice on Nov. 11, I had 28 pages (yes, 28 full pages) of e-mailed reports that I printed out to take with me to the Audubon Naturalist Society (of course, I also had them on floppy). When I got to ANS, there were also phoned and faxed messages. This is a typical volume of reports (except for certain quiet times such as mid-summer), and sometimes there are considerably more. The compiler has to distill these into about two pages. So, preparing the Voice is a lot of work--it takes about four hours at ANS, and that's not counting the time we spend at home. I hope you can see why it's important that we get the reports as efficiently as possible. Please also understand that all of your reports are useful, even though they may not be included in the Voice. They are passed on to researchers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and to Audubon (soon to be ABA) Field Notes. So, be assured that your reports are valued. To help make your reports most useful, Jane and I offer the following guidelines: Reporting birds to the Voice of the Naturalist The Voice of the Naturalist is written and recorded on Tuesday mornings. If you e-mail your reports, please post them to the Voice mailbox, voice@capaccess.org, by Monday midnight to make sure they are received in time. If you should miss the Monday e-mail deadline, or for some other reason wish to report nonelectronically, either FAX your report to ANS at 301-951-7179 or leave your report on the ANS answering machine at 301-652-9188, ext 3101. (Note that if you report electronically or by fax, there is no way for errors to creep in due to transcription of a phone message by a nonbirder.) Only reports of birds seen in the preceding seven calendar days are considered. The area covered is (with rare exceptions) DC, MD, VA, and southern DE; all other reports should be sent to the appropriate rare-bird alert for the area in which the birds were observed. Be sure to report only those birds that you actually saw, not ones that someone else told you about. And please remember to include a phone number where you can be reached on Tuesday morning; if you can't be reached to verify a rare bird, your report will almost certainly not be used. There are two main circumstances in which a bird sighting will not be reported on the Voice as a matter of policy. The first is if the report would jeopardize the bird's welfare: Reports of species that are threatened or endangered at the state or federal level are generally not used, especially during nesting season--local Loggerhead Shrikes are an example; similarly, owls are not listed, with two exceptions--Snowy Owl and Short-eared Owl; and rails are also generally not mentioned; the rails at Huntley Meadows Park, VA, are an exception because birders stay on the boardwalk. The second circumstance concerns private property: If the property owner does not want birders, the sighting will not be reported. Please keep your reports concise (no lengthy trip reports, please), and provide the following information: 1) Full SPECIES NAME. 2) NUMBER of individuals of each species (estimates for big flocks are fine). 3) Age and sex, if relevant (important for gull observations, for example). 4) Location, including COUNTY and STATE (there are four Middletowns in MD). 5) DATE of observation ("today", "yesterday", "Saturday", etc., are not as helpful). 6) TELEPHONE NUMBER where you can be reached on Tuesday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. 7) DIRECTIONS to little known places (your favorite local hotspot may not be familiar to the Voice compiler or to other nonlocal people); page numbers and map coordinates from the DeLorme atlas/gazetteer are extremely helpful. 8) Access limitations, if any; and, for birds that are on private property, whether the owner does not want birders, if you know. 9) Unusual behavior seen. 10) For RARITIES, a description of features YOU ACTUALLY SAW (not what is in the field guides). Thanks in advance for your reports. You can be sure that they will be read. Don't be disappointed if your sighting isn't mentioned; when there are a lot of reports, summary comments sometimes have to be made. There are times, however, when every report is used in writing the Voice, especially during the hot days of summer. --The Voice of the Naturalist