Rare Bird Alerts are a vast resource of knowledge and time, but are we
using them to their fullest potential? What are the opportunities for
help or harm, research, or increased effectiveness? I am researching
these questions for a Master's thesis on RBAs. I have found very
little information on this subject in the literature, therefore need
to generate it through a survey. Your responses to this survey will
become the major source of information for this thesis, and will be
invaluable to this research.
To help answer these questions, I, with the help of several compilers,
list owners, and professors, have created two surveys. The first
could be answered by any person that reads or listens to RBAs. The
second survey is directed to the compilers and transcribers of RBAs.
We have tried to standardize this survey, so that we will be able to
generate scientifically valid conclusions. To maintain the
standardization, please respond with the format provided. Push the
"reply" button on your computer, with the survey and your answers, or
e-mail directly to rosnrbn@earthlink.net. Please pass the survey along
to other RBA users or compilers, that might be interested in
participating. The information will only be used for the thesis document
"Rare Bird Alerts: Current and Potential Utilization," as well as any
subsequent journal articles created from the results of the research by
the author, Robin Reynolds. I will respect the confidences of those
responding, and not give the geographical origin of the responses, or
the names of any of the respondents (if any choose to tell me their
names). I will post a summary of the results of this survey on this
lister-board.
Thank you in advance for your help in this matter! Without you this
research will not be possible.
Sincerely,
Robin Reynolds
SURVEY QUESTIONS FOR RBA USERS
I. Background information
1. Sex
a) male ___ b) female ___
2. Age
a) under 20 ___ b) 20-50 ___ c) 51-80 ___
d)above 80 ___
3. Education
a) Grade school (K-8) ___ b) High School (9-12) ___ c)
Bachelor's ___ d) Master's ___ e) PhD ___
4. According to the following scale, how would you categorize
yourself as a birder? If you feel that more than one category
applies, please rank from 1 (applies the most) to 4.
___a) achievement oriented: interest in achieving a goal,
such as adding to a list,photography, etc.
___b) aesthetic oriented: enjoy the aesthetic qualities of
birds.
___c) behavior: primary interest is in the behavior of birds.
___d) affiliation-oriented: main goal is the
strengthening of personal relationships while accompanying
another *adapted from categorizations created by
Kellert (1978) and Butler and Fenton (1986).
5. Approximately how many years have you been birding? ___
6. What is the name of your primary RBA?
RBA__________________________________
7. How frequently is your region's RBA updated, on the
average?
a) 1 to 3 times/month ___ b) weekly ___
c) 2 to 3 times/week ___ d) 4 to 5 times/week ___
e) 6 to 7 times/week ___
8. How frequently do you read/listen to your region's updated
RBAs?
a) 1 to 3 times/month ___ b) weekly ___
c) 2 to 3 times/week ___ d) 4-5 times/week ___
e) 6 to 7 times/week ___ f) other _____________
9. How do you receive your (primary) RBA?
a) telephone ___ b) e-mail from Birdwest/east/center ___
c) e-mail from another e-mail list/list server ___
d) WWW site ___ e) e-mail from the local RBA compiler ___
10. How frequently do you report your sightings to your local
RBA?
a) never call in ___ b) 1-3 times a year ___
c)4-8 times a year ___ d) about once a month ___
e) almost weekly ___ f) other _________
11. Please check all of the reasons which have, or
potentially could, deter you from calling in a sighting to be
publicized. A rank of 1 would deter you the most, 5 the least
a) a vagrant endangered or threatened species ___
b) raptors and their young ___
c) bird was nesting/breeding___
d) bird was on private property ___
e) habitat was sensitive or contained rare plants ___
12. If you do not report your sightings regularly, why not?
13. Do you ever choose to tell the compiler not to put a bird
on the weekly list because of concern for it's safety, or the
habitat the bird is found in?
a) yes ___ b) no ___
c) the situation has not occured yet, but under the right
circumstances I would ___
14. Have you seen a negative impact to a bird/habitat because
people came to see a bird after it had been listed on a RBA?
a) never ___ b) 1-2 times ___ c) 3-4 times ___ d) 5-6
times ___ e) 7-10 times ___ f) more than 10 times ___
Please expand upon your answer if you answered 'yes.'
15. Do you think that it is appropriate for a compiler to edit
sightings, versus reporting every sighting that has been called
in to them?
a) strongly agree (that sightings should be edited) ___
b) agree ___ c) somewhat disagree ___
d) strongly disagree ___
16. Have you ever called in a sighting and not had it reported?
a) never ___
b) please state the approximate percentage of sightings not
listed ___
II. Information
17. As more RBAs go online and are read on the Internet, do you
think there is a potential for the information to be saved, and
possibly used as a resource for those looking for information on
rare birds or bird migration patterns?
a) strongly agree ___ b) agree ___ c) somewhat
disagree ___ d) strongly disagree ___
18. Please expand upon your reasons, for your answer to the
above question.
19. In your experience with your RBA, how accurate do you feel
the weekly summary is, in regards to the accuracy of the bird
identification?
___ a) not very accurate (anyone could be calling in with any
level of birding knowledge)
___ b) fairly accurate: the compilers screen the information,
and the sightings are often verified by another birder (or else
shown to be wrong and then corrected in the RBA)
___ c) very accurate
20. Would you agree or disagree with the idea that RBAs
sometimes detract from viewing enjoyment? (for example,
encouraging people to hunt down another bird so that it can be
added to a list, versus birding to enjoy observing birds and
appreciating the aesthetics of birding?)
a) strongly agree ___ b) agree ___ c) undecided ___
d) disagree ___ e) strongly disagree ___
21. Why do you call into RBAs? Check all that apply, and rank
from the most applicable, 1, to the least.
a) plan your birding activities ___
b) see which birds are coming through the area ___
c) I enjoy seeing my sightings reported ___
d) I enjoy seeing my friend's activities ___
e) other ___ (Please explain if answered e)
22. How did you receive this survey?
a)Birdchat ___ b)Orn-l ___ c)Rec birds ___
d)friend ___ e)other ___
SURVEY QUESTIONS FOR COMPILERS
I. Background information
1. Sex
a) male ___ b) female ___
2. Age
a) under 25 ___ b) 25-50 ___ c) 51-75 ___
d) over 75 ___
3. Education
a) High School ___ b) Bachelor's ___ c) Master's ___
d) PhD ___
4. Which of the following functions do you fill?
a) compiler ___ b) transcriber ___ c) both ___
5. How long has this RBA been in existence? __________
6. How many years have you been the compiler/transcriber for
this RBA?
a) 1 year or less ___ b) 2-3 years ___ c) 4-5 years___
d) 6-7 years ___ e) more than 7 ___
7. What is the main geographical area covered by your RBA?
________________________
8. How many years have you been birdwatching? __________
II. Running the RBA
9. On the average, how many hours a week do you spend working
with the RBA?
a) 1-2 ___ b) 3-4 ___ c) 5-6 ___ d) 7-8 ___
e) 9 or more ___
10. Briefly describe how you run your RBA. Please include
such issues as:
a) equipment used to record calls, process and relay
information, etc.
b) approximate cost to:
1) set up the RBA
2) run the RBA/month
3) who is paying for the set-up, up-keep?
c) where is the RBA equipment housed?
d) staffing
e) frequency with which you update the reports, on the
average.
f) do you include the observer's names?
11. Please describe the best feature(s) of your RBA.
12. Please describe any particular problems you have
encountered while running the RBA.
13. How many people do you consider to be your core
respondents (the ones leaving the majority of the messages
with sightings) ? __________
III. Making decisions regarding incoming messages
14. Please choose and rank the reasons affecting your choice
of which calls to list on the RBA. 1 is most likely to list,
5 being least likely to list.
___a) are familiar with the birder and their ability
___b) are familiar with what types of rarities can be expected
in certain areas at certain times of the year.
___c) person sounds very hesitant on the phone
___d) person verbally states that they are new to birding
___e) a very unusual sighting which is not verified by another
birder
15. Do you ever choose not to post a sighting because of
concern for the bird's safety?
a) yes ___ b) no ___
16. If yes, how frequently
a) once a week ___ b) twice a month ___
c) once a month ___ d) once every few months ___
e) maybe once a year ___ f) other ______________________
17. In your opinion, how much potential for harm exists as a
result of these species being advertised?
1) endangered or threatened species
a) high ___ b) moderate ___ c)low ___ d) none ___
2) raptors and their young
a) high ___ b) moderate ___ c)low ___ d) none ___
3) breeding birds (excluding raptors)
a) high ___ b) moderate ___ c)low ___ d) none ___
4) bird is on private property
a) high ___ b) moderate ___ c)low ___ d) none ___
18. As more RBAs go online and are read on the internet, do
you think there is a potential for the information to be saved,
and possibly used as a resource forthose looking for information
on rare birds or bird migration patterns?
19. How do you handle sightings on private property?
20. How do your reports come in? 1 is the most sightings come
in through this method, to 6, the least sightings come in
through this method.
a) phone calls ___ b) e-mail ___ c) fax ___
d) voice mail___ e) Internet postings ___ f) letters ___
21. How did you receive this survey?
a)Birdchat ___ b)Orn-l ___ c)Rec birds ___
d)friend ___ e)sent directly ___ f) other ___
Thank you so much for your time and assistance in this matter. It is
greatly appreciated!
Robin Reynolds
Graduate student, Calif. State University, Fullerton
rosnrbn@earthlink.net