Moving from a lister to a finder (1 Viewer)

And the problem with rare and scarce birds.. they are rare and scarce!

On a more serious note.. I've spent much of the lockdown looking for rare flowers close to home..in many cases, the rare flowers don't seem to follow the rules and turn up slightly away from the optimum habitat.
Is the same true of rare birds? Do they turn up on predictable days in predictable places? Or should we throw the rule book away and expect surprises?

Lots of good advice here, and it all boils down to - more time in the field, keep studying common birds, and think about when/where to go.

One aspect that has been little mentioned but that I would suggest is hugely important, is to learn voice and to focus on it. Every time you hear something you don't recognize, try to track it down to learn what makes that noise.

I've found a few good birds over the years, though far fewer than many people who actively look for migrants and rarities, as I don't generally do that. However, ALL of the good tropical birds I've found were by voice, and what was by far my best discovery ever was due to recognizing that an alarm call didn't quite match up to anything I could possibly think of from the region.

I couldn’t agree more. I was at Barns Ness this morning and in the mist a birder looked up and said golden plover. We could hear them but not see them. I simply wouldn’t have known. To make this harder I struggle to hear many frequencies, as mentioned in my other thread

https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=392966

bonxie2003 said:

I couldn’t agree more. I was at Barns Ness this morning and in the mist a birder looked up and said golden plover. We could hear them but not see them. I simply wouldn’t have known. To make this harder I struggle to hear many frequencies, as mentioned in my other thread

https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=392966

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With a bird list such as yours, I'm slightly shocked that you can't vocally ID a Golden Plover.

Pariah said:

There's no such thing as luck. Seriously. As a bird finder, I despise when someone calls it luck when you find (yet another) good bird. As if you're flipping a coin when you ID that rarity you just found.

It's not luck that puts you on a headland at 6.30/7 a.m for a seawatch, when everyone else is in bed. That's effort.

It's not luck when you watch the weather forecasts and decide this weekend is going to be good for Hoopoe, or warblers, or yank waders etc etc and you end up finding one. That's forethought.

It's certainly not luck, when you find an American Herring or Caspian gull...that takes a long time watching gulls, reading up and learning your stuff. That's study.

Finding birds is about constant effort. It's about finding the impetus to get out there and look, every chance you get. Even if you don't think the weather is inspiring, or the time of year is right, or everyone else is saying it's not worth leaving the pub for.

It's keeping going, checking that next spot down the road, even if everywhere you've checked so far has been dead.

It's about seeing an influx of Laughing gulls or Wryneck and saying to yourself "No. I'm not twitching that one 10km down the road, I'm headed to site X to find my own".

It's about seeing a weather front in September that you know is carrying American waders, and instead of heading to Tacumshin like everyone else, you head to Kerry or Mayo because you know there's going to be mile upon mile of beaches, lagoons and estuaries completely unwatched and up for grabs.

It's about taking nothing for granted, so where every other birder in Cork isn't bothered looking at egrets, you find that Cattle Egret sat on a wall in plain sight.

People may call you jammy (or worse) when you score that mega seabird one time, unaware of all the days you put in with a few manx, sooties and stormies. They may call you jammy when you find a Lesser Yellowlegs, not thinking for a moment how many Redshank you had to go through to get that one hit.
But these are the things it takes to find birds consistently.

Regards

Owen

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Privilege also plays a very large part - far too large - in finding birds.

It's not effort that puts you on a headland at 6.30/7 a.m for a seawatch, it's the privilege of having a residence next to the sea, or the means to get there by then from further afield.

It's not about constant effort. It is privilege that enables you to get out there and look, when the weather is less than "inspiring" and getting there unaided is dangerous.

It is privilege that gives you the opportunity to check that next spot down the road.

It is privilege that enables you to go to Kerry or Mayo to visit "mile upon mile of beaches, lagoons and estuaries completely unwatched and up for grabs".

And so on . . .

andyadcock said:

With a bird list such as yours, I'm slightly shocked that you can't vocally ID a Golden Plover.

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To be fair - he can't identify what his ears can no longer detect!

bonxie2003 said:

However, when THE bird finally pops into my binocular’s field of vision, what is going to stop me saying, oh just a chiffchaff or a dunlin? And moving on

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Yes, that happens. Myself, I'm not a twitcher and not specifically looking for rarities or striving to be the first to discover something. But it has happened to me that something that I found and was puzzled about but concluded "it's probably nothing" a few days later got identified as a rarity by a reputable, more experienced birder. Not that I care (it's nice to know that it was not just my imagination) but it makes me wonder how much else I have missed over the years.

Apart from rarities at home, I know I'm missing some birds when birding internationally because I simply don't have the skills to separate for example some of the old world warblers. Perhaps I can narrow it down to two possible species but not knowing 100% sure which one means no tick - quite annoying, knowing either one would be a lifer.

Nutcracker said:

Privilege also plays a very large part - far too large - in finding birds.

It's not effort that puts you on a headland at 6.30/7 a.m for a seawatch, it's the privilege of having a residence next to the sea, or the means to get there by then from further afield.

It's not about constant effort. It is privilege that enables you to get out there and look, when the weather is less than "inspiring" and getting there unaided is dangerous.

It is privilege that gives you the opportunity to check that next spot down the road.

It is privilege that enables you to go to Kerry or Mayo to visit "mile upon mile of beaches, lagoons and estuaries completely unwatched and up for grabs".

And so on . . .

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I suppose such things could be considered a privilege...but hardly an unobtainable one. I've said it before, and will say it again, if you can run across the country to twitch a bird, you can do it to find one.

Owen

Pariah said:

I suppose such things could be considered a privilege...but hardly an unobtainable one. I've said it before, and will say it again, if you can run across the country to twitch a bird, you can do it to find one.

Owen

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Actually, for a lot of people (and more so now than in the past), a car is a very unobtainable item. And - with the coming climate crisis - perhaps one that people should not be seeking to obtain, either.

Nutcracker said:

Privilege also plays a very large part - far too large - in finding birds.

It's not effort that puts you on a headland at 6.30/7 a.m for a seawatch, it's the privilege of having a residence next to the sea, or the means to get there by then from further afield.

It's not about constant effort. It is privilege that enables you to get out there and look, when the weather is less than "inspiring" and getting there unaided is dangerous.

It is privilege that gives you the opportunity to check that next spot down the road.

It is privilege that enables you to go to Kerry or Mayo to visit "mile upon mile of beaches, lagoons and estuaries completely unwatched and up for grabs".

And so on . . .

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Too true. I've heard it said x is such a good finder of rare birds. It's back to that time in the field thing. Stick me on the east coast of Yorkshire, anywhere, between September and October, and my chances will improve compared to how I usually spend that time in front of a computer screen in Leeds.

Yes, there's field skill, technique, learning calls, picking the weather etc. but it's common sense, and maybe less of a mystery than you think.

Lawts said:

Too true. I've heard it said x is such a good finder of rare birds. It's back to that time in the field thing. Stick me on the east coast of Yorkshire, anywhere, between September and October, and my chances will improve compared to how I usually spend that time in front of a cmputer screen in Leeds.

Yes, there's field skill, technique, learning calls, picking the weather etc. but it's common sense, and maybe less of a mystery than you think.

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Yep!

Query: what's the earliest in the morning you'd be able to get to Flamboro' or Spurn? Transport is limited to foot, bicycle, or (in pre-covid times only) bus.

Nutcracker said:

Actually, for a lot of people (and more so now than in the past), a car is a very unobtainable item. And - with the coming climate crisis - perhaps one that people should not be seeking to obtain, either.

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My thoughts as well. And then there is work...often leaving a tired zombie in the evenings let alone being able to get up early in the weekends. Most avid, active birders I meet are pensioned, unemployed for whatever reason, have self-sustaining jobs (or otherwise established income) with choice of working hours or working in nature conservation etc. I often can't even find the concentration to study birds at home (sounds f.i.) after a full day's hard labor, let alone bike 15km to nearest nice-ish birding spot and back, when weather is kind enough to allow. Practical privileges are not to be taken for granted.

Nutcracker said:

To be fair - he can't identify what his ears can no longer detect!

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Thanks for your support. It’s a very sad experience watching a grasshopper warbler reeling away 20 yards from you and not hear a thing.

Nutcracker said:

Yep!

Query: what's the earliest in the morning you'd be able to get to Flamboro' or Spurn? Transport is limited to foot, bicycle, or (in pre-covid times only) bus.

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Crikey! It would be a nightmare. I'm in Wetherby, so for Spurn I'm really not sure how I'd get to Spurn without using a train. It would be bus from Wetherby to Leeds; that's about an hour, but there's one around 7am. Let's say I connect with an 8.15 train to Hull, another hour, (optimistic). I'd then get the bus to Withernsea, another hour. I'd probably then have to get a taxi. 10.30-11? In reality, probably nearer to midday.

As for Flamborough, I could cycle from Wetherby to Tadcaster, 20 mins. Connect with the Coastliner bus that runs from Leeds to Scarborough - an hour, (optimistic). There's no doubt a bus from Scarborough to Brid. and then maybe a taxi out to Flamborough from Brid. All of that another hour. Again probably late morning at the very earliest.

Best option would be Filey. Bus from Wetherby to Leeds. Train from Leeds right into Filey, and the NCCP is in walking distance. Having said that there's probably not a direct train.

Put it this way if I was doing all that there'd be zero appetite for finding my own stuff on arrival!

Look up often

JW

Jeff Woad said:

Look up often

JW

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That's a pretty good point. I reckon the bit of habitat checked most infrequently by most birders (including me) is the sky right above their heads.

John

Jeff Woad said:

Look up often

JW

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Farnboro John said:

That's a pretty good point. I reckon the bit of habitat checked most infrequently by most birders (including me) is the sky right above their heads.

John

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Particularly when you hear anything alarm calling - gulls are really useful for that. I jammed an Osprey over the house back in May, when I heard the local gulls go spare 8-P

Lawts said:

Crikey! It would be a nightmare. I'm in Wetherby, so for Spurn I'm really not sure how I'd get to Spurn without using a train. It would be bus from Wetherby to Leeds; that's about an hour, but there's one around 7am. Let's say I connect with an 8.15 train to Hull, another hour, (optimistic). I'd then get the bus to Withernsea, another hour. I'd probably then have to get a taxi. 10.30-11? In reality, probably nearer to midday.

As for Flamborough, I could cycle from Wetherby to Tadcaster, 20 mins. Connect with the Coastliner bus that runs from Leeds to Scarborough - an hour, (optimistic). There's no doubt a bus from Scarborough to Brid. and then maybe a taxi out to Flamborough from Brid. All of that another hour. Again probably late morning at the very earliest.

Best option would be Filey. Bus from Wetherby to Leeds. Train from Leeds right into Filey, and the NCCP is in walking distance. Having said that there's probably not a direct train.

Put it this way if I was doing all that there'd be zero appetite for finding my own stuff on arrival!

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Wow! Indeed! And have to hope there's secure parking for the bike at the station.


I'm not quite so badly off, but it's still an hour's slog for me to get to the coast (in Northumbs) on bike. Not something to do in wet weather, either - so it means a reliably dry forecast for the day, which means there's unlikely to be any good birds waiting to be found! In theory, I could get a bus, but not keen on the covid risks associated.

Nutcracker said:

Yep!

Query: what's the earliest in the morning you'd be able to get to Flamboro' or Spurn? Transport is limited to foot, bicycle, or (in pre-covid times only) bus.

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This has been a perennial problem for me in all my years birding if I wanted to go further afield but also wanted an early start. It also means you can’t move from site to site once you arrive in an area, so you are pretty much committed to making the best of one location. To get to Spurn for example, the earliest train I could get at the moment is 10.30am and I would have to go via Doncaster to get to Hull.(over £90!). I would then get a taxi to Kilnsea (£30). I would arrive in Spurn around 15:00hrs. If I had a car, I would leave around 3.30am and arrive at 7am obviously being able to return the same day. Fortunately, I have had enough income to pay for numerous B&Bs over the years for long weekends just so I can get early starts. The last time I went to Spurn for example I stayed in Easington for a long weekend where I met up with some birding pals to get down to the Obs and then just walked alone around Easington or to the lighthouse etc from first light to dark.

When I was in my late teens though and in my 20s I just hitched everywhere including around Europe.Now, due to a chronic health condition even that’s become much harder as using public transport/carrying optics on long journeys is exhausting for me and I not even sure I should be taking the risk of using public transport at the moment.

I’m so glad this was mentioned because I agree, it’s not always a level playing field if you are unable to drive and it gets harder as you get older even getting to a hotel or B&B. The other issue is a car allows you to follow the weather. So I agree a big key to finding rarities is mobility!

The other issue is forecasts are often wrong or wind direction can change on a dime. If you have a car you can be more spontaneous. Last September, I paid for 3 nights B&B within walking distance of Cley, Salthouse etc. It had forecasted Easterlies for that weekend with fine weather for days. The night before I left, the weather changed. It didnt stop raining for 2 full days along with kicking up a steady South Westerly all weekend. Not what you need for picking up rarities on the Norfolk coast but As I had booked in advance, paid for my train tickets in advance and booked Friday and Monday off work, I was committed. Needless to say, ‘interesting’ amounted to 2 Ring Ouzels, 3 YBW and 2 putative Sibe Chiffies and no rarities. The Easterlies that were forecasted started the evening I arrived home and I was too done in to go back. That little jaunt cost me about £300 even living on cup a soups all weekend to save money! BUT it was brilliant because I was birding from literally dawn until dark evey day. :-O

As a keen self-finder having an "always birding" mindset has paid dividends for me.

There are the special moments - like when Hong Kong's third Red-footed Booby flew past my 27th storey window as I looked out first thing in the morning, and the Hoopoe in the smoking area outside my office - but these come from trying to identify every bird from a car/train/dog walk with or without bins. This constant practice tunes you in to what the common birds look like, so the special birds stand out right away. As the golfer Gary Player famously said "The more I practice, the luckier I get".

I guess this would go down as "effort" in Owen's list - and I would agree with that, but my point is that you don't have to be out birding to be making the effort and learning how little you need to see of a bird to nail down an ID.

I would also highly recommend patch birding. Having a list for a particular site (or sites) will create a motive to search for and identify common and less common species all over again because the motive to add to the list can stimulate you try that bit harder. And now you're in a good location, in amongst them . . .

A top class Malaysia-based birder - Dave Bakewell also recommends sketching birds as a great way to learn taxonomy and the improve your close observation skills. Personally I draw like a thumbless drunk so this doesn't work for me, but I can see the logic.

Also not yet mentioned - take a camera. They need not be expensive and some entry digital bridge cameras (I prospered with the Canon SX range) have a terrific zoom and weigh less that half a kilo, but can make all the difference for nailing down a briefly seen bird you don't have time to study.

Cheers
Mike