Getting a mention in the bird report. (1 Viewer)

Jane Turner · Nov 28, 2003

I think the trick is to be endlessly optimistic. if you are expecting to see something you are more likely to.

Of course that needs to be tempered with a ruthless attitude to ruling rarities out too.

Edward woodwood · Nov 28, 2003

the same people find the birds because they go out looking at the right time in the right place and have a lot of field experience and know when to pursue something. There's lots of birders every weekend in Norfolk but the regulars are the ones who keep turning things up (on the same days as there are lots of visitors)

Point is I guess most vistors are after birds that are already there and hence don't actually look for much. I found my rares this year by not chasing what was there and finding similar stuff just down the road

just to wind u up a bit more Jase - I reckon luck plays a very small part in it. I used to think luck was the case until I started actively looking for the rares.

Oh, and bird alone or with one other - seems to work.

Surreybirder · Nov 28, 2003

This thread covers so many issues...!
Looking at our most recent bird report (Surrey 1999!), very few records are credited to an observer. But there is a list of observers near the end.
I do tend to submit records that I think are of interest but don't have the time to follow all the guidelines at the back of the report. (Perhaps this needs explanation: there is a list of all species likely to be seen in Surrey followed by the sort of records required for each species. So, for example, Buzzard (A) means that all records are required (Yes, they're still scarce here!) and rough-legged buzzard (A,D) means all records with a description. It's only quite recently that buzzard was (A, D), so obviously the guidelines must be revised regularly. blackcap (F&L,T,W) means first and last dates, territory counts and winter records--although, come to think of it, I'm not sure that F&L has any meaning for a species that winters!)
The place I fall down is on birds like bullfinch, green and great spotted woodpeckers (all A)--I just don't have the time or patience. So I tend to put in general comments such as 'common in TQ3444').
I have to admit that I do like to see my initials when I've found a county rarity--OK, I'm vain! But to some extent I think I've earned it by the time I've gone to the trouble of writing a description and telling other birders about it so that it can be verified.
I personally think it's nonsense to suggest that there is no scientific value in sending in records. The trend towards earlier egg-laying dates is one of the most telling arguments to show that global warming is affecting the UK, to take just one example. All sorts of things can be learned by analysing trends of bird populations.
But records of common birds may be more significant than those of rarities.
Thanks for starting this threat, Colin!

Surreybirder · Nov 28, 2003

PS
I wonder how many people submit mammal, dragonfly, butterfly, moth, cricket, spider records??
I tend to be influenced by how interested the county recorder is in my records!

cjay · Nov 28, 2003

PS
I wonder how many people submit mammal, dragonfly, butterfly, moth, cricket, spider records??
I tend to be influenced by how interested the county recorder is in my records!

Me. I spend many nights from October to December sending them into each recorder.

It is my obligation as a Naturalist to publish my observations & get them recorded for the future.

Edward woodwood · Nov 28, 2003

I do feel that although twitching is trivial in the nicest possible way birding on the whole isn't. Thru birds I've visited many countries and seen the way that we as individuals can make a difference - witness the Gurney's Pitta campaign run by the OBC - all dedicated volunteers. We have numerous other conservation initiatives that are making a positive contribution and raising awareness of conservation in many developing countries. I started watching inland reservoirs at about 10 and it went from there.

Aspects of the UK scene are trivial and tiresome but remember what it can lead to.....I met a young bloke from UK in Malaysia who shuns the UK birding scene for its petty squabbles and laughable debates but he's seen getting on for 4,000 species and he's still under 30 (doesn't mean anything in itself I know but shows a certain level of interest in birds!)

There are a lot of excellent birders out there you just don't know who aren't in the 'scene' and are opting out of it. I think a lot of UK birders judge others by their very insular outlook - if your not in the loop then 'who are you?'

Jasonbirder · Nov 28, 2003

just to wind u up a bit more Jase - I reckon luck plays a very small part in it. I used to think luck was the case until I started actively looking for the rares

Just can`t ignore `em can I - I rise to the bait like a Trout to a Mayfly!

I`ve argued this before in another thread - I still can`t help but feel that finding rare birds is mainly a product of being in the field -

being in the right place at the right time is important - but not rocket science, doesn`t take a genius to work out you`ll stand more chance of finding Rarities on the East Coast in October after Easterlies than in Shropshire on a sunny day in July does it! (I know theres more to it than that but the pattern of rarity & sub-rarity occurances is generally well documented and understood), as long as you keep your eyes and ears open then surely its a function of time spent out - thats more a function of work/family commitments and personal location than birding skill.

If all rarities were Blyths Reed`s or Humes Y-B`s i`d be tempted to agree, but the bulk of rarities are birds that the average birder should be able to ID without too many problems.....Just look through this months BB - for every Paddyfield Warbler there`s a White Stork or Desert Wheatear.

The example i`ve used before - the Hoopoe I found which flew in off the sea whilst I was Seawatching and right through my scope view - pure blind chance, no calculation or even observation needed!

Not to decry the guys that consistently find rarities, but its usually the guys who are out in the field regularly and/or live in good bird rich areas!

Maybe thats just envy - i`d swap my local patch for any coastal patch of scrub and I`d reckon i`d do better finding rarities than if God himself worked my local pool on a regular basis!!

Hehehe

pauco · Nov 28, 2003

Hi Michael.
After working in the NHS for nearly 30 years, I
think the state of it is very Important. peoples
health care being one, after all birding is just a
hobby!!! are have I missed somthing?
bert.

cjay · Nov 28, 2003

Spot on there Tim if you are not in the click, then who are you?

Michael Frankis · Nov 28, 2003

bert said:
Hi Michael.
After working in the NHS for nearly 30 years, I
think the state of it is very Important. peoples
health care being one, after all birding is just a
hobby!!! are have I missed somthing?
bert.

Hi Bert,

I'm not saying that the NHS isn't important - just saying that I consider the health of our environment is even more important. Without care for the health of the environment, we'd probably all be dying of DDT poisoning now. And birds were - to use a very accurate simile - the canary that raised the alarm

Michael Frankis · Nov 28, 2003

Tim Allwood said:
just to wind u up a bit more Jase - I reckon luck plays a very small part in it. I used to think luck was the case until I started actively looking for the rares.

The thing that makes more difference than anything else in the ability to find rarities, is possession of a car.

Second is having free time to go looking.

Third is having the finance to run the car.

Edward woodwood · Nov 28, 2003

lots and lots of birders with cars over here at the weekend - many more than the 'natives'
not many find much though......

logos · Nov 28, 2003

Michael,

Two of the finest birdfinders of their generation in the Uk are not drivers (actually one of them may be now, haven't seen him for a while, but he wasn't for decades when he was finding stacks of stuff). Between them they've found at least 6 firsts for Britain and countless other megas including numerous 2nd's and 3rd's.

Spud

Michael Frankis · Nov 28, 2003

logos said:
Michael,

Two of the finest birdfinders of their generation in the Uk are not drivers (actually one of them may be now, haven't seen him for a while, but he wasn't for decades when he was finding stacks of stuff). Between them they've found at least 6 firsts for Britain and countless other megas including numerous 2nd's and 3rd's.

Spud

Presumably they were lucky enough to live within walking distance of the coast? (the vast majority of people don't!)

logos · Nov 29, 2003

Both lived in or near London though one of them eventually moved to the coast.

Spud

Jasonbirder · Nov 29, 2003

On the same lines I would hazard a guess that family circumstances play a big part in someones rarity finding track record - don`t reckon that many Married guys get enough free time to spend all day out bashing the bushes when conditions look good!!

Surreybirder · Nov 29, 2003

Or if they do spend all day bashing bushes they don't stay married!

Jane Turner · Nov 29, 2003

Depends who they are married to!

HH75 · Nov 29, 2003

Hi Tim,
"Oh, and bird alone or with one other - seems to work."
That's odd:when I saw this comment I began to think of the rarities that I've been lucky enough to find.While I do go birding with 2 or more others at times,I was either alone or with one other birder for ALL my finds....

Find it also helps when one has an "understanding" with the other person(something along the lines of the football cliché of two strikers having a good partnership),haven't found much when I've been out with someone that I don't know too well.
Harry H

Steve Lister · Nov 29, 2003

Going back to the original subject, sort of anyway............

One contributor thinks that county reports are worthless, but most of us feel that they are of value, even if they soon get filed in boxes in the loft. I am currently wading through 62 years of county reports extracting records for a county avifauna; without the reports it would be an enormous job, accessing the original records, if they still exist. Five of us are doing the avifauna, and four of the five are involved in producing the latest county annual report, because nobody else has come forward to share the tasks. One of our neighbouring counties is lacking a recorder, a report editor and a club secretary and has not been able to produce a report for five years, so I suppose we should think ourselves lucky that we can get the jobs done.

Rather than just getting your initials in the report, why not put your name on the front ?

Getting a mention in the bird report. (1 Viewer)

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