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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Recent content by Phalarope

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    Embarassing ID moment again!

    Oh, how my state ticks would increase if I could count that-- New Mexico: shoe on a levee (1 mile walked round trip to confirm) Minnesota: another ubiquitous plastic great horned owl atop a utility pole Kansas: white propane tank (4 miles away by car odometer), not a Whooping Crane Kansas...
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    New To Our Yard This Year

    Now, your next challenge: In Johnson Co., KS, one subspecies of Northern Flicker is most common, but another is possible. Your photo shows all that is necessary to determine which it is. Check out your field guide and decide which subspecies your have in the yard. Phalarope
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    Potentially Sticky Wicket

    There is a good deal of truth in this. I often bird with beginning birders. It is really difficult to get them to look beyond color. Once that hurdle is made, they have little difficulty thinking in terms of habitat or behavior, but the form--the actual structure of the bird is a difficult...
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    Audubon: local or national?

    Geez, Adam, I know I can be obtuse, but pray tell, just how does the statement below constitute self-righteousness or impugn your work in conservation? "At least look at the materials and discuss them with educators before you go yelling to Audubon donors half-cocked." Given that in your last...
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    Help with Bird Identification

    I am an old-fashioned person. I think in terms of books first. Even the most basic field guide can be a mine field for a beginning birder. I recommend as a beginning point the kind of book available at bird feed/feeders supply stores--a book about the common birds of Ohio, for instance...
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    Downy Woodpecker?

    The size of the red spot is not diagnostic. The "plumpness" of a bird is largely due to the degree of "feather fluffing" and is highly variable. The three most obvious distinguishing marks between Hairy and Downy were discussed above: relative size, bill size, marks on the tail...
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    Have you ever been doubted?

    I know of no birders who have not had an i.d. questioned. That statement holds true of every member of state records committes I have met, too. Sometimes it was a valid observation; sometimes it was in error. As stated above, it is to be expected. It is an essential part of birding. We are...
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    Magpie question

    Go for the Magpies. The geese will be there again and again. Of course, what your motivation is (world list/ABA list/ just like to see birds) makes a difference, but you used the word "need" so it must be assumed that you are listing. Phalarope
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    Potentially Sticky Wicket

    One explanation for the imbalance in the asking for help in i.d. matters could be that the Americans' desire to learn in a subject fairly new to them is not dampened by fear of ridicule. Another explanation is that the asking of i.d. help is often accompanied by a stunning photo. One may...
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    This Guy is a Regular Visitor To The Feeders

    Check out the forehead of the other one or two. Gray instead of red like this guy? Then it's a female. Phalarope
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    Yellowlegs?

    Yes, Lesser. The bill length relative to the head size is a good indicator, as is the size relative to the mallards. Additional points to note are lack of any upturn of the bill and the indistinct markings on the upper breast--that is, lack of definite streaking expected on a Greater. Phalarope
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    Which is the smartest bird

    Anyone inclined to touch paper, rather than a keyboard, might enjoy reading The Mind of the Raven or Ravens in Winter by Bernd Heinrich. Phalarope
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    i.d.-Sharpie and Red-Shouldered?

    Ahh, for clarity, that would be an American football (not round), as opposed to a European round soccer ball? Phalarope
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    Coopers or Sharp shinned hawk?

    Katy is absolutely right about those streaks. Many beginning birders concentrate too much on the tail shape as THE separator between the species. There are other distinguishing features that, together, are very reliable. Among them are overall size of the bird and size and shape of the head...
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    Audubon: local or national?

    I read the open letter. I understand his ire. He is berating the materials for sins of omission (basically, they are pretty darn good teaching tools--I've seen them first-hand.) Seems like one positive action would be to develop and distribute materials supporting his view (filling the the...
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