Hello, Birders. This post has NOTHING to do with the Clear Creek County Rufous-collared Sparrow... ;)
Without further ado, here are 10 tips for the nearly 200 of you (wow!) who have signed up for field trips for the upcoming CFO convention in Grand Junction, May 20th-23rd: 1. Know which field trip(s) you are on. Click on cfo-link.org/events/field_trips.php to find out. This superb website (thanks, Mark Peterson! thanks, Brenda Linfield!) tells you what trip you're on, who your field trip leaders are, and whom you're carpooling with. 2. Be prepared! If you're on one of the owling trips, it's going to be cold; bring an extra layer or two, pad your boots with foot-warmers, make sure the heater's working in your car, etc. If you're heading into the canyons and shrublands for Gray Vireo and Black-throated Vireo, it's going to be blazing hot; bring sunscreen, lots of water, and a snakebit kit. And if you're on a Saturday field trip, remember that the world is scheduled to end at 6am on that day; sorry, no refunds. 3. Know where your caravan is meeting (probably at the Grand Junction Double Tree hotel, but find out for sure), and get there fifteen (15) minutes early. Find your field trip leaders, and listen to whatever they have to say. Get the carpooling and caravanning organized, and get on your way. Buy gas *before* you head out; we don't wait for folks to stop for gas on the way to field trip destinations. And go to the bathroom *before* assembling with your group; we don't make "pit stops" until a little later on in the morning. 4. Seriously, listen to what your leaders have to say. Info on bathrooms, safety issues, driving times and distances, restrictions on access...all that stuff is important, and all of it will be dispensed with pretty quickly during that 15-minute period leading up to your departure. 5. Carpooling is strongly encouraged! If you are a rider, that's great, but do not, under any circumstances, stiff the driver for gas money. All riders pay the driver. No exceptions. Even if the driver says no; just stick a wad of cash in the driver's pocket, and all will be well. How much to pay? If in doubt, overpay. 6. For maximum enjoyment of your birding experience, know a little about what you're getting yourself into, birdwise and habitatwise. Click on coloradocountybirding.com/county/index.php for great descriptions of most of the field trip destinations. At the same time, it's not a good idea to get too hung up on seeing a particular "target bird." Know what to expect, more or less, but enjoy everything that's out there. 7. At all times, know and abide by the ABA Code of Birding ethics. Click on http://www.aba.org/about/ethics.html to review the ABA Code of Birding ethics. An emerging issue for us at CFO is excessive use of playback. Use of playback on field trips is entirely at the field trip leaders' discretion. When in doubt, always act so as to promote the welfare of the birds we all enjoy. An important secondary consideration is courtesy to all the other folks on the field trip! Don't hog the scope, don't be loud and obnoxious, don't whack someone in the face with your tripod, etc. 8. The field trip leaders call the shots. Always. But don't take that the wrong way. On the best field trips, participants are active, well, participants in the process. Help other folks get on the bird. Point out an interesting bird that the leaders may have missed. Point out the rattlesnake your birding buddy is about to step on. You get the picture. 9. Have fun! 10. Thank you! On behalf of the CFO board of directors, and on behalf of the other field trip leaders, I am delighted that we appear to have achieved record attendance for our upcoming convention in Grand Junction. If you have any questions, concerns, suggestions, or--perish the thought--complaints, please tell me or any other board members or field trip leaders. We are constantly striving to promote all persons' enjoyment of birding in Colorado. ------------------------------- Ted Floyd Editor, Birding Blog: http://tinyurl.com/4n6qswt Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/2ejzlzv Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/2wkvwxs ------------------------------- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
