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Re: Getting started birding; conservation action alerts



On Tue, 18 Jun 2002, Alex, the Appalachian Naturalist wrote:
>
> I have seen many new birders, and took the liberty of making a small page
> for beginners. It is on my web site, just go to http://alexnetherton.com and
> click on "Mountain Birding, and when that page comes up click on "Getting
> Started". This is in no way a didinitive guide, just a place to start. If
> any one would be so kind as to critique it, and let me know. Thanks

Hi C-birders,

I've replied privately to Alex about his comments on field guides, optics,
etc.; things that didn't merit public discussion. However, his comments at
the end about identification and rarities seem like they could use some
supplementation. If we were writing a website like Alex has, what advice
would we give beginning birders?

My first thought: stress that YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY EVERY BIRD. There are
hybrids. There are mutants. There are half-second glimpses of birds flying
away from you. There are optics with scratched or smudged lenses or mold
growing inside, and conditions of poor visibility for even the best
optics. I think one of the hardest talents for a birder to aquire -
especially once they're bitten by the life-listing bug - is the ability to
shrug and say "I'll never really know what species that bird was". And
many early misidentifications stem from attempts to pin a species name on
a bird that should remain nameless.

Another: don't wait until after you see a bird to read your field guides!
This is where the Audubon guides are probably better than any other, as
guides to read *before* you go birding, to learn details about habitat,
behavior, etc. Makes it easier to know what to expect, and less prone to
misidentify a common, expected species as a rare vagrant. Knowing what's
expected and what's rare allows you to apply the proper extra scrutiny
when you think you've found something unusual, maybe even get a photo or
three, rather than scrutinizing your memories after the bird's flown away.

Thirdly: don't start listing too early! Don't go up to the mountains
looking for a Black-capped Chickadee before you've seen 10,000 or so
Carolina Chickadees. Don't try to pick out an immature Clay-colored
Sparrow when you've only seen one or two immature Chipping Sparrows. Don't
cry "Greenshank" or "Redshank" if you're still getting the hang of telling
Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs apart. Get familiar with how variable birds
can be *within* species before looking for the rare ones. (of course,
don't let this stop you from getting excited and reporting or chasing
obvious, impossible-to-mistake rarities like Green-tailed Towhee or
Fork-tailed Flycatcher; you may have to wait a decade or longer before you
get another chance!)

Anyone else have thoughts on this subject? Veteran birders, what do you
see beginners doing wrong most often? Novices, what do you wish you'd
started doing sooner?

On an unrelated front: a friend forwarded a couple of "action alerts" to
me with relation to birds and items being considered in Congress. The
first is a proposal to exempt the Department of Defense permanently from
environmental regulation, whether we're at war or not. This could have
major impacts in NC, for instance on Red-cockaded Woodpeckers: Fort Bragg
hosts one of the largest and healthiest populations in the state. For more
details, see
http://ga1.org/campaign/bushadministration05152002?source=action_index

And another proposal threatens to gut the Antiquities Act, making it
necessary for Congress to approve protection of any land tracts over 50K
acres within 2 years of designation. I don't think the Act applies much to
the Carolinas, but it was used in the protection of eventual national
parks like Grand Canyon, Denali, Bryce Canyon, Glacier Bay, Death Valley,
Joshua Tree, and Olympic NP. For more on this, see
http://www.wilderness.org/takeaction/index.asp?step=2&item=1614

Good birding,

Josh


Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/