I value the well thought-out questions that less- and more-experienced birders send to the chatline. We have had some excellent recent conversations as examples.
Puzzles come up time and again in the field especially when one is birding solo. It's very valuable to solve an obstinate puzzle, and also to see the questions others raise, and to read the replies they receive. It draws things into a clear context to hear all the different or converging views and to learn of the resources we can use to help in our own research.
However, the thought of receiving supercilious comment about one's birding nous is enough to deter many of us from venturing onto the chatline to resolve doubts.
Similar insecurities mean that many replies are not returned to the chatline but only to the one querying. This deprives other readers from gaining new knowledge and insights.
At the risk of putting myself in the firing line, I encourage all birders with an i.d. problem to think through it as best they can and, if they cannot find a solution, to put a clear question on-line. I also encourage those who reply to send their corro to the chatline as well as to the enquirer.
Those who find the questions tedious may simply ignore them.
