REPORT RARE BIRDS - REPORTING GUIDELINES
Reports should be submitted to: CTBirdReport'AT'flml.net (replace 'AT' with @)
Required information for reports and other formatting guidelines are below. 

Migration Notes: When appropriate, returning or migrating birds will be compiled and posted in Migration Notes at the bottom of the Daily Report. The species that will be included in migration notes are listed on the Common Birds>> page.

The guidelines below have been developed to help the compilers and to minimize confusion. We ask you to remember that the compilers are volunteers who are using their precious spare time to enhance your birding experience. Please respect the compilers and follow the guidelines as best you can.  While the guidelines may appear daunting at first, one good way of learning them is to submit your sightings and then watch for how they are posted in the compiled report.

FORMAT
Reports should be submitted in paragraph format per the 4 Ws of reporting listed below - WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHAT.  Here is an example:

From Dori Sosensky:
2/5 with Nick Bonomo - Madison, Hammonasset Beach State Park, Meig's Point - female KING EIDER near the red buoy off the jetty. 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS, 1 EASTERN MEADOWLARK.
Milford, Silver Sands State Park - 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS

1) WHO:
Reports should start with From your name (first then last): - When you don't include your name and it isn't in your email address we don't know from whom the email was sent. Additional viewers of the species may be included in the From portion or may be in the body of the report listed as With their names where ever appropriate in the body.

2) WHEN:
Include the numeric month and day. When reporting multiple days start each day on a new line.

3) WHERE:
The City or Town of the sighting is required. If it happens that we do not know the town, the sighting will not be included. Please start with the town, then a location within the town such as a park or street address, and where appropriate, and for less common birds only, a more specific location such as a part of the park. Each town may start on a new line.

Example:

From Dori Sosensky:
2/5 with Nick Bonomo - Madison, Hammonasset Beach State Park, Meig's Point - female KING EIDER near the red buoy off the jetty. 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS, 1 EASTERN MEADOWLARK.
Milford, Silver Sands State Park - 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS
2/4 Walllingford, North Farms Reservoir - female NORTHERN SHOVELER; farm fields at the corner of Cooke Rd and Northford Rd with Dave Provencher- 2 WHITE-FRONTED GEESE in with the CANADA GEESE.

4) WHAT - Rarities:
This list is primarily meant for Rare to Uncommon bird sightings. If you are unsure if a bird is reportable include it. We will be happy to do the editing.

Please help the RBA compilers by capitalizing bird names.

Migration Notes:
Since they are also of interest common returning or migrating birds will be compiled and posted in Migration Notes at the bottom of the report. Reporter names will not be included in this portion of the report. The species which will be included in migration notes are listed on the Common Birds page.

COMPILATION
We understand that there seem to be a good many rules. Please do not let that stop you from reporting a sighting. If you do not follow a guideline or two the bird reporting police will not be sent to your home in the middle of the night.

Since we are doing the work, the editing is done with our best judgment, which has been known to be faulty on one occasion (o.k. 2 {;>). Additionally, while we readily admit to having small minds, consistency is not our strongest point. So please do not be insulted if we edit a species out of your report and not someone else's. There may be a good reason for it, such as it is common where you reported it and uncommon in the other location. Or the only reason may be that we are going cross eyed while trying to get the report out.