Hi I just penned a short article for the Lark Bunting, should be in the February issue, about a whooper of a mis-id I made many years ago. It’s taken me over 40 years to finally come to grips with that excruciatingly embarrassing call.
Stay tuned, more to come Cheers, Bob > On Jan 16, 2020, at 9:31 AM, Mary Kay Waddington <[email protected]> > wrote: > > OK, I don't really want to turn this forum into a list of everyone's > "NotABird" stories, because we've all had them -- but I couldn't resist this > one. When Charlie Chase was Curator of Ornithology at the museum (and I a > lowly bird-skinner) we were out birding one day and passed by a road kill. > We both agreed immediately that it was a Short-eared Owl! So we slammed on > the brakes and backed up the road to pick it up --- Sheep's head. > > Mary Kay Waddington > > On Thu, Jan 16, 2020 at 8:09 AM Sebastian Patti <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > Chlorox bottles hiding in corn stubble in mid-winter can closely resemble > SNOWY OWLS . . . > > Trust me . . . > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Sebastian T. Patti > 770 S. Grand Avenue > Unit 3088 > Los Angeles, CA 90017 > CELL: 773/304-7488 > > From: Joe Roller <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2020 8:08 AM > To: Colorado Birds <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> > Cc: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>; Bob's Email > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>>; Sebastian Patti > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > Subject: Re: [cobirds] Overeager, Arapahoe County > > Good photo documentation of the seldom seen hybrid, "Loon x Grebe". > Joe Roller > > PS Cobirds is chock full of serious bird reports, so it's refreshing to find > one like Tom's > that screams "Beware! I goofed! So can you!" > > Here's the tale of the worst ID I ever made. > A DFO trip to South Texas, led by the stalwart Bob Righter, found our group > on the ferry ride across Galveston Bay. > Bob had just told us to be alert, as this leg of the trip offered our only > chance for Brown Pelican. I was excited > and determined to be the first to spot one. > "Brown Pelican!" I yelled out, agitated and excited. "Two o'clock on the far > shore!" > Bob glassed the spot I pointed to and calmly asked, "Joe, where is it from > that German Shepherd?" > My meek reply, "Oh, well. Never mind. He was scratching himself and got into > a shape like a Brown Pelican. > I'll keep scanning." > > Roger Tory Peterson led a field trip to a Bronx shore one winter. He called > out "Mountain Bluebird!" > It turned out to be a half-buried Bromo-Seltzer bottle. > > I suppose that bone-head calls like that happen to most of us from time to > time, but who will admit it? > Who else has stories like those? > > > > On Wed, Jan 15, 2020 at 8:32 PM Sebastian Patti <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > Overeager and maybe just a tad too GREBEY!! > > . . . sorry . . . > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Sebastian T. Patti > 770 S. Grand Avenue > Unit 3088 > Los Angeles, CA 90017 > CELL: 773/304-7488 > > From: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> on behalf of Tom > Wilberding <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2020 8:59 PM > To: Colorado Birds <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> > Subject: [cobirds] Overeager, Arapahoe County > > Hi all, > This afternoon I was at windy Aurora Reservoir looking for the often-reported > Yellow-billed Loon. I went down to the beach and started scanning with my 500 > mm camera lens. I spotted three Common Loons way out there , but then > realized they were Common Mergansers. That should have been a warning to me. > > After a long while I feared I would dip on the YBLO, but suddenly, out of the > corner of my eye, there it was. Wow! Swimming along pretty close to shore > between the waves. It looked maybe a little too brown and the bill looked a > little small, but “WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?” I took about 100 photos and felt > triumphant. > > Later at Starbucks I zoomed my camera screen in close to appreciate the > subtleties of a Yellow-billed Loon. Below what I saw. Truly jaw-dropping. > > Better birding next time, > Tom Wilberding > Littleton, CO > > > > <_V6A1103.jpg> > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/0e701bbe-6186-40a8-a1e6-41b784ded427%40googlegroups.com > > <https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Fmsgid%2Fcobirds%2F0e701bbe-6186-40a8-a1e6-41b784ded427%2540googlegroups.com%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dfooter&data=02%7C01%7C%7C5dfb1d189069412976ff08d79a8d8e8c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637147805087363498&sdata=kSCt1TnFHgPZ%2FgRPnf0ZcD0NAw%2FkKfE%2FDgrZBZObQks%3D&reserved=0>. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > To view this discussion on the web > visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DM6PR11MB2763B5AADE699A2260B0F53EC3360%40DM6PR11MB2763.namprd11.prod.outlook.com > > <https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Fmsgid%2Fcobirds%2FDM6PR11MB2763B5AADE699A2260B0F53EC3360%2540DM6PR11MB2763.namprd11.prod.outlook.com%3Futm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dfooter&data=02%7C01%7C%7C5dfb1d189069412976ff08d79a8d8e8c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637147805087363498&sdata=w%2FUcMCMjNNX%2Bzq0zLYBu%2B%2B6M8XNHxjbssRoSt%2F1yiVM%3D&reserved=0>. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DM6PR11MB2763D16AEEB1DBD856F5A2FBC3360%40DM6PR11MB2763.namprd11.prod.outlook.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DM6PR11MB2763D16AEEB1DBD856F5A2FBC3360%40DM6PR11MB2763.namprd11.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. 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