Birds noticed by non-birders (1 Viewer)

[JTweedie]

Birds seem to be invisible to most non-birders.

But one bird that I've noticed keeps catching their eye is the Grey Heron. I see people on social media posting messages and photos about seeing them as if they've found something exotic.

I can think of another small group of birds that catch non-birders eyes too, but what do you think?

 

[Richard D]

Kingfishers always attract comment from non-birders.

 

[Prestdj]

my partner always sees goldfinches and always sends bad photos of stonechats oh and cormorants but also treecreepers! but see has good sharp eyes and found a bittern flying on her 3rd visit to st aidens rspb and she found a manx shearwater last year at scarbourgh the thing is she does little commentries so the manx was '' whats this? its white then black white black ill have a flap no ill glide oooo black no im white flap flap glide wee this is fun oh a gannet see ya mate im faster than you flap flap time for a glide weeee'' then seconds later she found another and that was just through binoculars but great description of a manx shearwater

 

[maplekong]

my partner always sees goldfinches and always sends bad photos of stonechats oh and cormorants but also treecreepers! but see has good sharp eyes and found a bittern flying on her 3rd visit to st aidens rspb and she found a manx shearwater last year at scarbourgh the thing is she does little commentries so the manx was '' whats this? its white then black white black ill have a flap no ill glide oooo black no im white flap flap glide wee this is fun oh a gannet see ya mate im faster than you flap flap time for a glide weeee'' then seconds later she found another and that was just through binoculars but great description of a manx shearwater

That is a manx shearwater in a nutshell

 

[maplekong]

Birds seem to be invisible to most non-birders.

But one bird that I've noticed keeps catching their eye is the Grey Heron. I see people on social media posting messages and photos about seeing them as if they've found something exotic.

I can think of another small group of birds that catch non-birders eyes too, but what do you think?

Jays.

 

[MJB]

As the better weather and longer daylight hours arrive, there's also the seasonal avalanche of enquiries "What's this bird? I've never seen one like it before" about Dunnocks of female House Sparrows...
MJB

 

[Val35]

Here in Corsica : Red Kites, Mediterranean Flycatchers (often nesting on houses), flamingos, swifts, swallows, robins and bee eaters are probably the birds people notice the most

 

[01101001]

White Storks in most of Poland (this year they were even in the news after a purported holdup somewhere around the Middle East) and also Pheasants. Feral Pigeons, Swans, Mallards, Coots and Mandarins in parks. Bean goose sp. and Cranes in early spring. Singing nightingale sp., and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Collared Doves and Blackbirds for some people, but there's really lots of variation among non-birders: some people think all 'seagulls' seen inland are terns, while others espy and identify Penduline Tits, Hoopoes, Orioles and Rollers without equipment.

 

[Pinewood]

Hello,

Years ago, I was standing on the small pier at Turtle Pond, Central Park, when someone asked me if blue jays fish. There was a small bird diving from a tree to the water's surface, occasionally catching small fish. I said, "No, but kingfishers do!" It was a belted kingfisher, more gray than blue and rather smaller than a blue jay, but far larger and less colourful than European kingfishers.

Stay safe,
Arthur

 

[01101001]

BTW, birders are so rarely seen in many parts of Poland that when I walk down the street with my binoculars on, people keep approaching me, telling me about birds, showing me around the area, trying to invite me for tea, etc., and it's so crazy but so cool.

 

[Stonefaction]

Here in Dundee it is Magpies. They have only relatively recently (over the past 10 years or so) colonised the city and wider surrounding areas, but they are now literally everywhere, and as they are not exactly shy or quiet, everyone notices them and tends to comment on how there weren't any before but there are lots now.

 

[Kits]

Jays.

Oh yes!

Years ago on the old BBC nature boards, there were frequent posts about an “exotic” sighting of a “rare” pink and blue bird. The descriptions always matched a jay. Despite people posting photos of jays to help those claiming to have discovered a new species, there were always a few people convinced they’d found a new bird.

 

[MJB]

BTW, birders are so rarely seen in many parts of Poland that when I walk down the street with my binoculars on, people keep approaching me, telling me about birds, showing me around the area, trying to invite me for tea, etc., and it's so crazy but so cool.

I had much the same experience when staying just south of Zakopane in the 1990s.
MJB

 

[Strontium Dog]

BTW, birders are so rarely seen in many parts of Poland that when I walk down the street with my binoculars on, people keep approaching me, telling me about birds, showing me around the area, trying to invite me for tea, etc., and it's so crazy but so cool.

That's cool.

In Spain they look at you like you've got two heads.

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Can you be south of Zakopane and still be in Poland? Nice area; been a couple of times.

 

[angusmcoatup]

BTW, birders are so rarely seen in many parts of Poland that when I walk down the street with my binoculars on, people keep approaching me, telling me about birds, showing me around the area, trying to invite me for tea, etc., and it's so crazy but so cool.

In Turkey I sometimes get offered tractor/ wagon lifts if birding by the roadside on my bike as people presume somethings wrong with it. Twice this has come in handy as I’ve had punctures miles from anywhere.

 

[MJB]

Can you be south of Zakopane and still be in Poland? Nice area; been a couple of times.

We could walk into the southern part of the city in about 30 minutes...
MJB

 

[georgeonus]

Here in Dundee it is Magpies. They have only relatively recently (over the past 10 years or so) colonised the city and wider surrounding areas, but they are now literally everywhere, and as they are not exactly shy or quiet, everyone notices them and tends to comment on how there weren't any before but there are lots now.

I think those birds have just flown under the radar till now.
I get it, though. Lately, it feels like they're multiplying like crazy and taking over the place. But truth be told, we're just paying more attention to them these days. They've always been there, strutting their stuff and making a racket)
So, don't sweat it. The magpies aren't newbies in town. They're just getting the spotlight they've been craving.

 

[Stonefaction]

I think those birds have just flown under the radar till now.
I get it, though. Lately, it feels like they're multiplying like crazy and taking over the place. But truth be told, we're just paying more attention to them these days. They've always been there, strutting their stuff and making a racket)
So, don't sweat it. The magpies aren't newbies in town. They're just getting the spotlight they've been craving.

The wider local area - the northern part of Fife and Angus had a few isolated pairs (Guardbridge in Fife, Forfar Loch and Monifieth golf course in Angus had a couple and that was pretty much it. There were more down towards the Forth bridges, and up near Stonehaven and west around Cumbernauld. If you wanted to see a Magpie for your year-list that was where you had to go. They weren't hiding in Dundee. There really were none. Now there are more of them in my street than their were in the whole of the city previously. It is the same more or less across the city (and Fife and Angus too) and people of all sorts notice these loud, and very distinctive birds.

 

[YuShan]

Non-birders aren't paying attention.

Some years ago I was doing a multi-day hike (+ birding of course) in the Himalayas. In one of the lodges, I was studying my field guide to figure out the ID of one of the birds that I had seen but not yet identified. A curious man approached me...
Man: Are you watching birds?!
Me: Yes!
Man: But.... there are no birds here!
Me: So far I have seen 103 species during this hike
Man:

Or, when hiking the Torres del Paine O-circuit in Patagonia:
Man: I wanted to see condors but I haven't seen any
Me: I've seen them every day, usually multiple times. There was one overhead just 10 minutes ago
Man: