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Great Novice Mistakes




I'll be the first to admit to posting many idiotic queries and comments 
(including the recent one about my suprise at seeing bluebirds wintering 
here), but I'm glad I never posted this one:  8 or 9 years ago, when I had 
just started birding in any sense of the word, I thought I saw a Chacalacha 
(sp??) flap into a tree in the NC mountains.  I excitedly consulted the 
guide and realized that was a *very* long shot, but thought instead more 
rationally that it was probably a wild turkey. It sure got me excited, 
though!

Cheers,
Paula Mangiafico
Durham, NC


--On Thursday, February 21, 2002 7:47 AM -0800 James Coman 
<hillshepherd@skybest.com> wrote:

> Dear Folks;

[...snip]

>
> Novices add a great deal to our sport and must be encouraged, even though
> some of the identifications are hilarious. In the early '90's I actually
> had a "Great Gray Owl" reported by an enthusiastic kid on a New River CBC.
> Turned out to be a gray-morph Screech Owl and the kid's poor field guide
> only showed a red-morph. Second best, on Mount Jefferson CBC years ago
> was a "Mountain Bluebird" reported by a elderly lady recently moved to
> Ashe County from Florida. It WAS a Bluebird, and, YES, it WAS in the
> MOUNTAINS.
>
> James Coman
> Alleghany County
>
>