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I'm kind of infamous on another board on here for my bird adventures. So I'm glad to see this thread!!! I recently got to see a Painted Bunting in the state of MD and that was fun. I've birded since I was a kid but have recently decided to step up my game and become a better birder. But one thing I can't stand is PEEPS!!! These things mess with my mind. My brain won't let me understand them in the field. I know Least Sandpipers have yellow legs but you can't always see that. I try and try but my brain says no. It drives me bananas. I feel like you need the best spotting scopes to even begin to do this crap with these. Doing shorebirds this summer almost destroyed my birding confidence. But it was worth it to see stuff like Red Knot and Marbled Godwit. Last winter when we had the big finch irruption I was going birding every week before the Ravens playoff game since I just knew they were going to lose. So the birds would help me deal with it. I saw Redpolls and Crossbills in MD before each game but then the Ravens kept winning. Then on the Superbowl I went and saw some more Crossbills and went to a parking lot to see a Black-headed Gull. Then the Ravens won the Superbowl so it made it a really cool experience for me. Kawalimus fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Aug 21, 2013 |
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Aug 21, 2013 01:48
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Birds also often become more active in the evening. I remember when I was in Oregon that's when I would hear those Swainson's Thrushes start going off. I love their song!!!
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Aug 21, 2013 01:56
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Even if you have no camera, as long as you give decent field notes about what you saw people probably won't shoot you down, in my experience. Usually there's someone that lives close by that can check fairly easily to see if they can find the bird and if they don't it's no big deal since that sort of thing happens all the time. Lying about birds is pretty pathetic and pointless, so I don't think many people do it to begin with.
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Aug 21, 2013 12:56
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What do people think about stuff like using screech-owl tapes to scare out birds? It seems like more and more people are doing this. I find it kind of cheap and also discourteous when there are a bunch of other birders around. In the spring myself and a couple other guys were birding at a good warbler area and one of us thought we had a bay-breasted and I was getting a glimpse of a Cape May. Then someone right near us started doing a screech-owl tape and all the birds went bananas and we never got good looks. It was just annoying. But it seems like so many of the top birders do it. So I don't know.
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Aug 28, 2013 02:34
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Declan MacManus posted:Is being a top birder considered a high honor? In my experience nobody really cares though some of the good ones are respected. Nobody talks and says stuff like "oh man Joe Kawali is the top in the county for five years straight, do you think Franky B is gonna give him a run this year??" unless I'm just not in the in crowd and people actually say this. It's mostly a personal thing. There's some people who are "bird magnets" who find rarities on what seems to be a weekly basis. I am lucky if I find one every couple of months. I don't know how those people do it. I guess I respect those people the most. I also constantly miss rarities, meaning I was in the location where one was seen when it was seen and I just didn't see it but someone else did. Those piss me off. I'm just not a good birder when it comes to finding rarities. Kawalimus fucked around with this message at 02:46 on Aug 28, 2013 |
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Aug 28, 2013 02:43
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I end up having to relearn the common bird calls and songs all the time. I learn them, then I kind of forget about them until I hear one and I think "now what was that again? drat it!!".
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Aug 29, 2013 12:03
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I have always been so mad about the Carolina Parakeet. The thing about those too is apparently they were seen year round. So you could see these parrots in the snowy winter even! Just hanging around. One day I hope someone who makes a movie about US history puts those Carolina Parakeets in just to confuse people.
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Aug 30, 2013 21:36
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I went to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge this morning, my first trip there. Such a cool place! And I finally got to see American Avocet in great numbers after missing a few nearby chases of these lately. Also even had a couple Least Bitterns. I thought it might rain on us and ruin our day today but I ended up doing really well for a non-shorebird guy. Only thing I regret is not going out back to the entrance around 8AM when a few rare sandpipers were being seen. But they were pretty much specks out in some field so not worth it anyway. Man was that a lot of fun and I got to show some of my non-birder friends what my hobby is all about and we had a fun time.
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Sep 2, 2013 19:13
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There was an incident in MD some months ago where a Common Snipe was believed to have been seen on private property, but the roads were public. But the guy didn't even want people looking onto his property from the public roads and it turned into some big brouhaha of ethical questions. I don't know that it was ever determined if it was a Common Snipe or not either. My least favorite part of birding?? TICKS!! 
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Sep 4, 2013 15:38
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^^are there any local bird walks in that area? Try going along on one of them and they will introduce you to the common birds of that area. And check Ebird and see if other people are posting lists in that area to see what they are seeing. Then look em up and see if you recognize them. It can be really tough at first but just get it bit by bit. BeastOfExmoor posted:
Likewise, when I was out in western Oregon it blew my mind when I read there were little to no ticks out there. What a relief!
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Sep 5, 2013 19:05
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Often in urban areas you will get places that are great during migration. Routes that have been used for over thousands of years that don't have much green left on them but the little spots that do pretty much get everything that comes through. These are referred to as "migrant traps". There's a good birding documentary I saw on HBO called "Birders: The Central Park Effect" that goes over this. I know a guy who lives in Baltimore City near an area like this, and in the spring he will get between 15 and 20 warbler mornings sometimes. I know a couple near me as well. So if you live in Chicago there might be a place near you like that if you ever don't mind staying in or near the city. But I'm not familiar with Chicago's stuff obviously since I don't live there. I know mostly east coast stuff.
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Sep 5, 2013 19:54
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Ha ha!! That's amazing. Wish I knew of a magic hedge around here. Though that almost sounds too easy! 
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Sep 5, 2013 20:42
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Great warbler migration today in Baltimore MD. Cold front, clear skies last night with NNE winds was a recipe for an amazing day and it didn't disappoint. With limited time to work with I managed 14 warbler species(there were much more than this) plus Least Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager, Baltimore Oriole, Brown Thrasher. Had absolutely tons of some kinds of the warblers. I don't think I can ever tire of migrant warblers. They're just so much fun to find and look at.
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Sep 6, 2013 22:02
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There's also Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion, if that's the sort of thing you're looking for. It's got no pictures and is all based on behavior, cohabitants, habitat.
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Sep 6, 2013 22:25
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Finally saw a Connecticut Warbler after trying what seemed like a hundred times. So elated right now!!! That was a tough hunt that almost broke me mentally. The only eastern Warbler I have left to add to my life list is the Swainson's Warbler, which doesn't come up this far. Also I guess Orange-crowned, but I've seen that one out west. Just never east.
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Sep 10, 2013 01:28
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I see all sorts of birders. But it seems to me like there's less young women than anything else. It's very popular among young males especially. Older men, older women, middle aged of either. But not many young women like teens and twenties.
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Sep 10, 2013 18:00
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BeastOfExmoor posted:
I still need Townsend's, Hermit, and Black-throated Gray. These occasionally show up east so hopefully one shows up near my chasing range. I actually think I had McGillivray's once in Yosemite a few years ago, but my group was in a rush and didn't have time to ID it  . Warblers are my favorite aspect of birding. I love the migration seasons. There's nothing like it. That hunt for the Connecticut Warbler was peak birding pretty much. Next year I'm going to go for 36 of 36 regularly occuring warblers you can see in MD. This year I'll get 35 at most(at 34 now) since I've most certainly missed Golden-winged . But I wasn't even going for that this year. Would've had it too but a trip to western MD got canceled due to a bad illness. Maybe I'll even get 37/36 or better if another rarity shows up. A couple years ago there was a drat Virginia's Warbler(nothing to do with the state) in eastern MD!! I wasn't reading listservs at the time though or I would've been all over that.
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Sep 11, 2013 17:02
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InternetJunky posted:The warblers are apparently migrating through my area right now. Currently the only one I have ever seen is the yellow warbler so I have a long list of ones I'd like to see. What's the best way to observe them? Should I park my butt in front of a tree and hope for the best? I find small birds like these almost impossible to notice if I'm moving around. Well what I do is find a spot or a park where you know they come through. And then I try to get there at around first light when the sun first starts hitting the trees there and gets the bugs moving. Then the warblers will start moving and you can get some good stuff if you know a good spot. Going on the day a cold front moves through, or after a clear night or a night with NE winds(for the fall, you want the opposite in the spring!) will increase your odds of having a good day that morning. Also you can look at weather radar and see if there was a movement the previous night. You can tell birds/insects from weather pretty easily but I don't often do this for some reason. You can also get good warbler activity in the evening too, and if you're in a really good spot sometimes it's just good all day though if it gets hot during the day it usually shuts down for a while. The spot I usually visit has been fantastic this year and everyone else I talk to is saying the same thing. Last year in this spot in the fall if I got 10 warbler sp in one day it was a real good day. This year I'm getting that without even trying. What I usually do is start at a spot I know is good when the light hits it. Then I do that for a while then start moving around. When I'm doing that I watch for movement and if I see some I stop, and try to see if there's a bigger flock in the area. You can hear the warblers calling sometimes even if you can't tell one chip from another. Also listen for Chickadees. Chickadees are often good indicators of a nice mixed flock in the area and you can usually find some warblers near them. I'm sure others have more and maybe better suggestions on finding warblers too. And can explain the winds and such better.
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Sep 11, 2013 17:55
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You can also use this to find bird spots and notable sightings, which uses Ebird data. http://birdsearch.org/
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Sep 11, 2013 19:33
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If I go to Texas(the right part anyway) I want to see a GREEN JAY!!! Among many others of course.
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Sep 12, 2013 11:07
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RustedChrome posted:When I went there the first time, I was so excited to see the Green Jays and was taking pics like crazy. The local birders pretty much treat them like pigeons and were much more excited by a Lincoln's Sparrow nearby. I've heard as much!! Same thing with me when I go out west and see Steller's jays and Scrub-jays. That's the fun of seeing birds when you travel. Even stuff that people there see every day you can take great delight in. And nice pics! I want to see a Pyrrhuloxia so bad just for that name alone. I remember as a kid looking through the bird books wondering how to pronounce that. Also for the person asking about Ebird hotspot info I just saw this on my Facebook today. http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/hotspot-explorer/ So there's more about the hotspots themselves in this feature. I hope it helps people.
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Sep 12, 2013 20:48
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I saw the most Cape May Warblers I've ever seen in one day today. Very nice bird, and good mix of bright and dull ones. Also got to see pretty much every flavor of Tennessee Warbler. Those green ones are beautiful!!
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Sep 14, 2013 19:53
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Not a great shorebirder but Pectoral Sandpiper looks just right. Semipalmated Plover also looks correct. And the Golden-plover might be too but not as familiar with that and the Black-bellied. Or the Pacific one for that matter...The gull looks like what I would see as a Laughing, but don't take my word for that. Also when you post pics of birds asking for ID, you should include where the pics were taken because range will help narrow down what you're seeing. The shorebird guide linked to me earlier is a good one to help you with the different shorebird plumages and what have you. Shorebirds are tough!
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Sep 15, 2013 17:24
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That's another reason location is important. If I had known the location I could have had a better idea of Franklin's Gull which is rare out here. Not trying to pick on the picture poster just showing beginning birders why these things are needed info 
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Sep 15, 2013 21:43
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Remember to read the text in these guides. Don't only look at the pics. The text in guides can really help you out.
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Sep 15, 2013 22:03
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Got to see a Nelson's Sparrow in Baltimore County MD this morning. Wow! Was a life bird for me too. At the same park on the same day a Nelson's, Le Conte's, and Clay-colored Sparrow showed up. I only got the chance to see the Nelson's but that's the toughest one to get around here. The other ones show up from time to time. There was another lady there who had over 300 birds life in this county who had never seen one of those here. What a pretty bird. Hope the other two hang around a little while longer so I can get another shot.
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Oct 1, 2013 00:10
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Wind is the biggest pain in the rear end when birding. It's one of the only things that will get me to cancel a birding outing.
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Oct 1, 2013 10:56
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Oh yeah I can see it being like that if you're doing water birds. But I mostly do stuff that hides in the meadows and woods. So wind makes it hell, pure hell. It's tough to see movement up in those trees when the wind is blowing everything and like has been said it also keeps birds down. I only get to do water birds from time to time when I am in those areas.
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Oct 1, 2013 17:10
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If you're sure it was, report a possible Yellow-billed Magpie on a local list-serv or what have you and I am sure plenty of people will be on the case and try to find it.
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Oct 15, 2013 05:03
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It is!! I hope to catch one of these in MD sometime this year if they're here again.
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Oct 20, 2013 14:07
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It's that sad time of year again. Where the warblers are just about gone and the only ones left are yellow-rumps by the dozen and palms, and a few yellowthroats. It's not gonna be till april when warbler movements are seen again through the area. And it makes me sad . I hope we have a better spring migration this year. Last year it didn't really even get in full swing until the 8th of May.
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Oct 22, 2013 15:04
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BeastOfExmoor posted:I pulled up eBird records to point out all the great winter birds you get out there, but it is pretty meager. I can at least look forward to watching multiple Short-Eared Owls hunting in broad daylight if I drive to the right place. Oh I know we can get some great winter birds. Loch Raven Reservoir had a Eurasian Wigeon last year and there's some other great places like Swan Harbor Farm Park not too far away. I also like Marshy Point for waterbowl. Swan Creek down past the Key Bridge can be a good spot too but it's only open on weekdays. I've been there once and it's nice but some stuff is tough to see. But a lot of it is just "dark-eyed Junco", "White-throated sparrow", "Song Sparrow" over and over again. There are Fox Sparrows though which are great. And Swan Harbor is a fantastic spot for American Tree Sparrow. I haven't seen SE Owls but I do plan on driving to see them this year on Bullfrog road. Last winter was so amazing with the big finch irruption. Every winter after that one will seem sub-par. It was so exciting never knowing when you might run into a Crossbill flock. I even hit it big when I chased Common Redpolls. Wow!! I never thought I'd see those here in MD.
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Oct 23, 2013 03:09
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Yeah that's a reason I want to see those owls. And I love owls. Harriers are also cool because they have owl faces. Probably no winter in our lifetimes will ever be as good as last winter. And that makes me sad. But at least I got to experience it. Northern Shoveler is my favorite duck. They're not hard to find in the winter but I love those goofy bastards. Very pretty too.
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Oct 23, 2013 13:20
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Send some Harris's Sparrows out this way! I'd love to find one of those out here. I wish we got more diverse sparrows around here. I like them but the problem is there are just so many of certain types and it wears you down mentally after a while. I like the distribution of species better with warblers and there are more species around in general. With sparrows there's a bunch you can see but lots are rare. And god drat if I am sifting through all those Chippers to try to find a Clay-colored. There's a big roost of grackles that is often right around here and when they come through MAN is it noisy. For some reason when it snows is when they come through. Usually mixed with some Starlings, RWBB, and Cowbirds. I always try in vain to find a Rusty Blackbird mixed in with them but never any luck. Kawalimus fucked around with this message at 22:21 on Nov 8, 2013 |
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Nov 8, 2013 21:28
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BeastOfExmoor posted:^ It might be harder in a place that actually has multiple Buteo species that can be seen in the summer, but I haven't had any issue seperating Swainson's from Red-Tailed Hawks in the field. In flight they have longer, thinner, more pointy wings. Palm Warblers are one of the common ones around here when they come through. I like that about birding how when you're in one place something is common but if you see it in another place and/or time then it's rare and a great sighting. I can't imagine that few warblers though. At some of the good warblers spots here on migration I can get in the 20's. Some guy got 29 in one day one time at that place this year. I'll trade you some warblers for a Varied Thrush!!
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Nov 21, 2013 04:17
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Anyone know any good places within reasonable driving distance of St Petersburg, Florida area in mid February? I am looking for places mostly within two hours of that. There's some places I would consider driving 3 hours to if my friend will help me drive but not by myself. I already have done research and have a bunch of ideas but if someone is around with better knowledge maybe I could incorporate it. Everything is gonna change too depending on what rarities might be occurring around the time I am there.
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Nov 26, 2013 20:10
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BeastOfExmoor posted:When I was there 18 months ago (in June) I really enjoyed Lettuce Lake Park near Tampa, but I suspect there's plenty of places just as good a lot closer to where you're going to be. I know you say you don't care, but the fact that you're just a few weeks too early to see a Swallow-Tailed Kite breaks my heart. I'm a little nervous about the MacGillivray's since it's been there for a week. And it's also an immature female(last I've heard) and not an adult male. But for a warbler I just can't resist. I was in the Sierra Nevada some years ago and think I saw one of these foraging down low but my family wasn't keen on letting me stick around and get an ID on it. So I want to erase being upset over Mac's once and for all. There's also a Ross's Goose hanging around that area according to the listserv I read, and I missed one that had been hanging around for weeks in Baltimore County by ONE DAY!!! this past March. So I hope to correct both these! I know I am a little early for Swallow-tail but in the end not too upset because they are occurring more and more in MD. There was one this past week a couple counties over that stayed for quite a while. And I just barely missed one fly over at North Point State Park this past spring, it did so about 3 hours after I left that day. I think I read from someone that they are expanding their range northward, so I am fairly confident that I will see a Swallow-tailed Kite in the next couple years. I could also get an early one down in FL, who knows The only thing I am upset at being too early for is Swainson's Warbler. One of these years I'm gonna have to go to the Great Dismal Swamp. I have a certain list of birds I want to see so really only I can plan this thing I guess. I have four days to work with. And some of the birds aren't necessarily what you'd think I'd be going down to see. Yeah I want to see a Spoonbill and should have no problem with that. But another bird on my list of birds to see? Sedge Wren!! And I know where to go for this at this time. Also I want to try for a Red-Cockaded. Leaning toward going for Burrowing Owl too. Hopefully a Vermillion(MALE!) and/or Scissor-tailed is hanging out nearby. Kawalimus fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Nov 27, 2013 |
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Nov 27, 2013 20:05
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BetterLekNextTime posted:Central Florida makes me think Florida Scrub Jay, Limpkin, Crested Caracara, Wood Stork... Maybe there's an ebird hotspot that has all of those close to Tampa? Last time I was there I flew into Tampa, but didn't start birding until closer to Sanibel/Naples. I've looked at Ebird and pretty much know where I am going to go. I was just wondering if anyone had any more "secret"-ish ideas. But like I said really only I can plan this because I have my own little weighted scale. And things could change for example if there's a Whooping Crane occurring nearby I will probably go after it. Limpkin I actually saw around Disney World when I was a kid. This is one of what I call my "lost birds". Birds I saw when I was a kid I don't have a date for and haven't seen since so they're not on my Ebird life list. I look forward to recovering this lost bird when I go there. Crested Caracara I thought would be easy but according to ebird research it's probably unlikely. Wood Stork I've seen before in pretty big numbers at this place called Huntington Beach in SC. But I will be happy to see them again. Snail Kite is possible, if maybe unlikely. Hope to find a Purple Gallinule or three. Florida Scrub-Jay is on my list for sure. Bachman's Sparrow if one is occurring. If I do this right I can bag a ton of life birds. I just gotta be careful and not overreach or stress about certain ones.
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Nov 28, 2013 02:33
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BeastOfExmoor posted:
Definitely on the lookout for the Snowy Owl sightings. I wonder will this go on through the winter? If so I won't rush it. I'm invited on an eastern shore CBC late next month so hopefully they're still around then. But hopefully one comes even closer than that. Regarding your "lost birds", you can get them on your ebird list if you have any dates of when you were there. I actually "recovered" a bunch of these by finding records of the dates of past trips and listing sightings as incidentals(which is part of what that selection is supposed to be used for). So I was able to put in for those past dates and places what I saw. You could get your Nene on there if you can remember/find the dates and remember where you saw the bird on that day. I saw my MacGillivray's today!! It was so cooperative it was unbelievable!! At first when I heard about this I was kind of disappointed cause I'd like to see the adult male of course, but this bird is beautiful in its own right. Glad I made the trip. Kawalimus fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Nov 28, 2013 |
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Nov 28, 2013 18:08
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 10:55 |
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John Cenas Jorts posted:Did you get a burrowing owl yet? I grew up in FL and when I we ran track against a neighboring school we couldn't do long jump there because burrowing owls had moved into their sandpit! I haven't yet, but I hopefully will when I go to Florida. Looks like I might have to drive a ways to see them(unless people don't report them which is understandable and often done with owls) but I've also read they're one of those grassland birds that just isn't doing so well. So I'd better see these guys while I can. Loggerhead is another one I should be able to get down there.
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Nov 30, 2013 11:22
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