skip spectacle for more ticks? (bird trip) (1 Viewer)

[earlytorise]

On a birding holiday,
would you or did you forego a beautiful sight or scene
(the sort that makes a good wildlife documentary)
because the task of ticking more species is more interesting?

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For example, I am actually a bit wary of getting close to a Komodo Dragon, but also because one photograph of one individual is adequate for me. If I were there, I'd tell the guide to move on and focus on birds from thereon out. No need to get up close, or to wait for several of those dragons to exhibit interesting behaviour, or whatever...

In PNG, I might only go for those spectacles that are easy to twitch. The rest I'd be content to tick as mere birds. So for example, the best way to find a bowerbird is at its bower: one may as well film its bower maintenance. But I think I've seen trip reports where the only views of Blue Bird-of-Paradise or King-of-Saxony BoP were scope views of one perched on a tree and then taking off. I'm okay with that - I wouldn't then go the extra mile to watch the mating display, as beautiful as it may be.

There are exceptions, e.g. a portion of a wildlife documentary that grabs my attention for reasons particular to me, so that I decide that I really want to see it for myself. But mostly not.

 

[Farnboro John]

Birding trips are not just ticking exercises but sometimes time pressure does require choices to be made. In general on a self-designed trip I would tend to put scenic/cultural/spectacular places or events towards the start of the trip so that one is still clearing up the common stuff while spending time doing the non-bird thing. (Incidentally my trips are often mammal-focused but birds still count as well!)

However that doesn't always work on a long-distance trip for which some of the spectacles are towards the end of the route. Not only that but sometimes you fall over something you weren't planning to visit. For example, on a circular route from Colorado through Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska then back into Colorado, in addition to planned visits to the Old Faithful geyser and Mount Rushmore we bumped into the Little Bighorn battlefield, the Devil's Tower (as seen in Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and Carhenge, stopping at all of them. All well worth it.

John

 

[earlytorise]

Birding trips are not just ticking exercises but sometimes time pressure does require choices to be made. In general on a self-designed trip I would tend to put scenic/cultural/spectacular places or events towards the start of the trip so that one is still clearing up the common stuff while spending time doing the non-bird thing. (Incidentally my trips are often mammal-focused but birds still count as well!)

Ah, I hadn't thought of landscapes and such. I would have to be in a poetic or artistic mood if I wanted to enjoy them.

I was thinking of wildlife spectacles. Since you mention mammals, would you let go of a few bird ticks to make time for any mammal spectacles (e.g. the great wildebeest migration - as opposed to just ticking wildebeest once, which is simpler)?

 

[Farnboro John]

Ah, I hadn't thought of landscapes and such. I would have to be in a poetic or artistic mood if I wanted to enjoy them.

I was thinking of wildlife spectacles. Since you mention mammals, would you let go of a few bird ticks to make time for any mammal spectacles (e.g. the great wildebeest migration - as opposed to just ticking wildebeest once, which is simpler)?

Probably yes (in particular I can't be bothered with endemics, especially if they are LBJs).

I started overseas listing too late in life and with too low an annual budget to make great inroads into the wealth of mammal and bird species, so my objective in going abroad is to see the things I really want to see. I have a top ten list of animals and another for physical features/human culture, and I generally try to knock off at least one item from one of the lists list on a trip (Tiger, Blue Whale, Taj Mahal, Old Faithful are all under the belt: outstanding targets include e.g. Great White Shark, Steller's Sea Eagle, Everest).

But I still go on trips that don't include any!

John

 

[foresttwitcher]

I don't think they necessarily need to be separate things. In terms of wildlife spectacle I have seen the Wildebeest migration in Kenya and picked up many new and good birds at the same time. In the same way a recent trip to SW USA included life-time target landscape locations such as the Grand Canyon & Yosemite plus notable trees like Methuselah & General Sherman and at all the sites I saw great birds and many were lifers.

 

[Farnboro John]

Incidentally, I just want to see Everest - I have absolutely no ambition to climb it!

John

 

[earlytorise]

Steller's Sea Eagle

By the way, you probably know that the most famous location for this is Hokkaido, Japan.

Just to let you know, though, I recently spoke to a birder who is originally from South Korea. Apparently they winter every year very near Seoul (the capital of South Korea) at a point along the Han River - in a twitchable way. You can look for the location by searching for records of that species on the eBird species map.

Of course, if you also want Blakiston's Fish-Owl, you would then have to do Hokkaido.

Cheers!