Hello All,
I was stimulated by Dave’s well-written email to offer an anti-rant
😊. (And, Dave, please keep your rants coming, because I do enjoy reading
them!) Maybe the fact that I don’t have a cell phone and rarely carry my
little trac-fone with me says a lot about how I approach birding. Encounters
with birds, rare or common, are very personal for me. I think it is great that
others get so excited about chasing birds that others have reported, but that
is not for me. More importantly for me, I really don’t want to have a bunch of
other birders (even my friends) show up and interfere with that very personal
interaction. If that is selfish, then I guess I’ll wear that label proudly. I
am a scientists (both ecological and social) and a conservationist, yet I am
reluctant to submit my sightings to eBird because I don’t want my personal
experiences to be treated as data by others. I know I’m a bit weird about all
this compared to most people. I still have not chased the Tufted Duck, which
I’ve never seen in my life. There was a White-eyed Vireo on the other side of
the Lab of O pond for three days a year or so ago and I never trekked the 150
yards out to see it. Please don’t think I am an anti-lister, either. I
recently was in CA for work and passed the 500 species in the US mark
(Surfbird) pointed out to me by Brian Sullivan (along with my life Black-vented
Shearwater, Common Murre, Rhinoceros Auklet, and Pacific Loon -- see I do go
birding with others sometimes!). Soon after Brian left, I stumbled upon a bird
I did not recognize other than to know it was some kind of sandpiper-ish bird.
I sat for a half hour taking notes, drawing pictures, and taking a few
pictures. Then I had to go do work. Later that night I was excited to find
out that I had encountered a Wandering Tattler (#501 in the US for me;
California Thrasher was my last new one at #502 and California Condor had been
#489 ). I did send Brian and a couple other CA birders a couple pictures for
confirmation. But, I was thrilled and felt a real sense of discovery because I
encountered the bird on my own and had a half hour to really observe it by
myself. I know that is a very different experience than the ones desired by
other birders. And, I totally support Dave’s point of view and do encourage
others to share their sightings if they want to. Just please don’t expect me
to want to 😊!
Thanks Dave for stimulating this discussion.
Jody
Jody W. Enck, PhD
Public Engagement in Science Program
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
607-254-2471
From: Dave Nutter<mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2015 4:59 AM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L<mailto:[email protected]>
Hey, everybody!
I know seeing a rare bird is tremendously exciting, and I certainly wouldn't
have wanted Mark to miss seeing the chase & interactions or getting those
fantastic photos (plus congratulations on a fantastic life bird!). But please
if at all possible before leaving a rare bird try to get word out on the text
message rare bird alert system. If you are not on the text alert system, or
don't want to take your eyes off the bird long enough to text about it, call
someone else and have them put the word out. There were people in the field
yesterday afternoon who also had been trying to find the Gyrfalcon and could've
returned quickly. A Gyrfalcon was also seen two other times this winter with no
text RBA sent out. But when Tim Lenz did get the word out after a few minutes
of viewing at least 6 additional birders got to see it that morning.
Similarly the Tufted Duck has been quietly seen recently when there was a guy
from out of town who was asking about it. I know it may seem like old news, but
these are still rare birds that people would love to get a chance to see.
Thanks.
--Dave Nutter
607-229-2158
On Feb 27, 2015, at 12:29 AM, M Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
Just wanted to add that I first saw the gyrfalcon at 3 PM (thanks to the couple
parked on Stahl Rd with a scope set up on it). It quickly flew south to land on
the east side of Seybolt Rd (nabbing a duck dinner on it’s way) about 200 yards
south of Stahl Rd. It stayed there for about 20 minutes, then flew back north a
few hundred yards, and was still in the area when I left. Photos can be seen on
the Eaton Birding Society facebook page.
Mark Miller
From: Scott Haber <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Date: February 26, 2015 at 4:41:52 PM EST
To: "[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>"
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Gyrfalcon
Reply-To: Scott Haber <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
I neglected to mention that Mark got some awesome photos of the Gyr nabbing a
Mallard in flight, and then fighting off two Red-tailed Hawks trying to claim
the carcass on the ground. The photos can be viewed here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=881790955212707&set=pcb.720534001377417&type=1&permPage=1
On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 4:34 PM, Scott Haber
<[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
The Seneca County Gyrfalcon was relocated this afternoon by Mark Miller on
Seybolt Road in Seneca Falls. More specific locations/directions can be found
on the Cayugabirds list.
-Scott
On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 10:47 AM, <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>>
wrote:
Any signs of the gyr today?? If yes, I am planning to go there tomorrow.
Thanks in advance Claude
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