CTBirds Listserv Posting Rules

1. CTBirds is a mailing list dedicated to the discussion of wild birds and birding in Connecticut. It is intended to be a forum for reporting bird sightings, listing bird walks by local clubs and organizations, listing speakers on birding topics appearing in the state, posting legislative alerts on bird habitats and conservation, facilitating discussion on bird behavior and identification, sharing requests for Citizen Science volunteers related to birds, and discussing topics of general interest that relate to Connecticut birders.

2. The most efficient way to communicate news about rare birds in Connecticut is to post to the CTBirds list in a timely fashion. If you are not able to post directly from the field, please make an effort to contact someone who can post the information for you so that other birders in the state who are interested may be able to view the bird.

3. The need for an ethical approach to birds and birding extends beyond the rules of the list and members are encouraged to follow the American BirdingAssociation’s Principles of Birding Ethics, available at https://www.aba.org/aba-code-of-birding-ethics
 

4. This is a text-only list. Special fonts and most formatting will be lost when they appear on the listserv. File attachments and photographs are not permitted. If a photograph or article is to be shared, a link to an outside server needs to be attached.

5. Exact locations of day-roosting owls (Great Horned, Barred, Barn, Long-eared, Eastern Screech, and Northern Saw Whet) should not be posted to protect the owls. Open-country owls such as Short-eared and Snowy, as well as rare owls such as Great Gray, Northern Hawk Owl, and Boreal, may be reported as to specific site location.

6. Civility and decorum are to be maintained in all postings to the CTBirds list. No personal attacks, vulgar language, or comments of a racial, religious, or sexual nature are allowed. Personal disagreements should take place off-list, but civility should be maintained. Please be careful when posting humorous comments, as they can be misconstrued without proper
context. Complaints about the list or list members should be sent to the Moderator and not discussed on the list. Any infractions will result in being put on review by the Moderator, and may also include being removed from the list.

7. Directions to nests of any birds in the state should not be posted to protect our breeding birds.

8. Format of postings is important. All postings should include the date of a sighting, the town and location of the sighting, the time if it is a rarity, and the name and resident town of the poster. Do not use abbreviations and codes. Posts should be brief and informative. If a rarity is being reported, please put it in the subject line of the email along with the location. A
sample posting looks like this: 

Subject: Snowy Owl, Hammonasset SP, Madison
11/25 – Hammonasset SP, Madison. – Snowy Owl, Lapland Longspurs. 
A Snowy Owl was seen on the moraine trail at 8:30 am. It was sitting on rocks at the end of the trail. It is a very white bird with little barring. Also seen at
Hammonasset were 12 Horned Larks, 2 Lapland Longspurs, 3 Snow Buntings (all in the Nature Center parking lot), and 3 Northern Gannets flying off-shore.
Roy Harvey 
Beacon Falls 

9. Commercial advertising of any kind is prohibited. Non-profit organizations may post their meetings, field trips, and other events once per month. In addition, if a IRS 501(c)(3) organization, well-known birding organization, or a Connecticut tax-paying registered commercial entity would like to post a trip or event that is located in Connecticut that requires a
fee for participating, they may do so with a link to their website where the cost of the event and other information can be found. Mentioning the cost of the event in the CTBirds posting is prohibited, and a contact person must be included in the posting to keep additional discussion off the list. Oneposting per month, or every two weeks, is permitted. Pelagic trips offered in New England or nearby areas are permitted to post their trip schedules. Special exceptions will be considered. Any infringement of the terms stated in this paragraph by any of the entities may result in being put on review by the Moderator and can include termination of posting rights to the list.

10. Posting on eBird does not take the place of posting to CTBirds. All birders are encouraged to use eBird to list their sightings to enhance the database of Connecticut birds, but a rarity should also be reported to both lists. Copies of eBird lists should not be posted to CTBirds, rather a link to the eBird list may be posted.