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ABA Big Year 2016 (1 Viewer)

temmie said:
John and Olaf seem pretty good at avoiding each other.
I wonder how many times their paths crossed this year? I know only from the pelagic where they both were on, but didn't bother (?) to talk. I don't know how many people were on that pelagic, but I make sure on most both trips I get to know who is in the same boat :)
Click to expand...

Think they spent a couple of weeks in the same Alaskan location as each at one point (along with at least another BYBirder too) - but almost no mention of it on their respective blogs!

I think (stand to be corrected), that they were also on the same pelagic for which John was recently berated for hinting that there were some interesting storm petrels ...

It's interesting to see how the other two players (Christian and Laura) get along with seemingly everyone ...
 
IIRC they were on the same cruise ship pelagic as well

They have been around each other a lot this year, but clearly don't get along and don't reference each other (not that much a surprise given the first half of the year).
 
It would be better though if they would spend some time and effort into knowing each other.

I refer to Sun Tzu (The art of war): “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
 
temmie said:
It would be better though if they would spend some time and effort into knowing each other.

I refer to Sun Tzu (The art of war): “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Click to expand...

I sincerely hope they aren't going to descend to fisticuffs.....!

Such wisdom doesn't really apply to competitive listing, where a quick analysis will reveal that the "enemies" are not in fact other competitors but erratic birds, recalcitrant purveyors of travel and perhaps time itself. It would be perfectly possible to triumph without even knowing one has opponents in this game.

John
 
Well for what it's worth, Christian and Laura both seem to have birded alongside John and Olaf without too many issues. Maybe that is because they are fare enough "behind" that they are not seen as competitors by those two, or maybe (most likely?) John and Olaf just have personalities that grate against each other.
 
dantheman said:
Think they spent a couple of weeks in the same Alaskan location as each at one point (along with at least another BYBirder too) - but almost no mention of it on their respective blogs!
Click to expand...

Yes, both at Gambell together. Each birded and interacted (and got along, so I'm told) with John and Laura, but there was no interaction (nor love lost, as I understand) between J and O.

As 99% of birding in this country is a collaborative and cooperative endeavor, it's kind of too bad this year's big year game is representing that residual 1%.
 
From Olaf's blogs, he was a bit miffed at the ninja strategy employed by John early on. I can see his point.


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Probably rightly so. Although he has toyed with going "ninja" a few times this year himself.

To be fair, as I have stated in the past, I am not a huge fan of either of the top two birders this years. Kind of makes me glad that 2017 will see a slightly bigger ABA area and maybe encourage some new birders to take a run at the record, folks who are open about their big year, use ebird, and don't pepper there reports with rants and grousing.
 
vkalia said:
From Olaf's blogs, he was a bit miffed at the ninja strategy employed by John early on. I can see his point.


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Click to expand...

John was birding.

There was nothing ninja like, nor sneaky about his behaviour. He is a tireless, tenacious and intense birder. He had never planned to post blogs until later in the year when he had slowed down some.

John is a friendly, although slightly shy person. He was awarded the Order of Australia (similar to being knighted) and I had known him for several years before I knew that and I learned it from someone else. He never brings it up. He is generous to a fault with people and other birders, and shares information and resources freely. He is extremely well respected by the Australian birding community and many who know him in the international birding community.

In my opinion, the unfortunate nature of Olaf's early blogs (and comments) regarding John, set the tone for any relationship they might develop. But who knows. It is up to them.
 
r_bruce said:
John was birding.

There was nothing ninja like, nor sneaky about his behaviour. He is a tireless, tenacious and intense birder. He had never planned to post blogs until later in the year when he had slowed down some.

John is a friendly, although slightly shy person. He was awarded the Order of Australia (similar to being knighted) and I had known him for several years before I knew that and I learned it from someone else. He never brings it up. He is generous to a fault with people and other birders, and shares information and resources freely. He is extremely well respected by the Australian birding community and many who know him in the international birding community.

In my opinion, the unfortunate nature of Olaf's early blogs (and comments) regarding John, set the tone for any relationship they might develop. But who knows. It is up to them.
Click to expand...

RB

They were on the same pelagic very early on and John (apparently deliberately) avoided outing himself as a yearlister or indeed making any introduction despite the fact that Olaf was out from before the start. Further, it has also been referred to as a deliberate tactic by at least one person who has commented that knows John so I do have difficulty with reconciling it as one of those things that just happened.

http://olafsbigyear.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/what-bad-weather.html

http://olafsbigyear.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/free-nipple.html

Fantastic record. A shame about the fact that the boundary changes are happening so quickly.

All the best
 
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The two races that usually turn up in the west as vagrants (formerly considered separate species, but since lumped) assigned as White Wagtail (forget their names).

Can't be too many east coast records, but White (alba) would normally be the more migratory in W Europe so looks like a pretty interesting record tbh!
 
dantheman said:
The two races that usually turn up in the west as vagrants (formerly considered separate species, but since lumped) assigned as White Wagtail (forget their names).

Can't be too many east coast records, but White (alba) would normally be the more migratory in W Europe so looks like a pretty interesting record tbh!
Click to expand...

Indeed. Pied Wagtail wouldn't have been high on my list of birds to be found in North America, considering the small range and mainly sedentary population (though some do winter outside of Britain and Ireland).
 
Florida has two White Wagtail records, but from opposite ends of its distribution: the first was a nominate of western Europe bird in March 2007, the second was an Asiatic bird of the subsp ocularis in October 2008.

Andy
 
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