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Comedy Birder behaviour (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Jane Turner
- Start date
stevo
Well-known member
What about the Fan tailed Warbler on Hengisbury hd a few years ago,it was flying about giving it`s distinctive zit call while the majority of birders were checking the surrounding scrub for it.Plus on Portland at the verne common naval cemetry a few years back a well known birder was convinced a Pallas`s warbler was calling ,only to find out it was a Wren!!.
Regards Steve.
Regards Steve.
pduxon
Quacked up Member
Tim Allwood said:
Sorry Tim never seen a Serin wouldn't have a clue what one sounds like either. Would like to see one though!!
Would hope that I would turn round and have a look if I heard something though.
Why with all that gear should they know there common birds? Why shouldn't they spend their hard earned dosh on a hobby they enjoy. I know people who spend alot of money on golf doesn't mean they are any good at it just that they can afford to and enjoy it.
Should they buy a 20 pound pair of bins until some "good" birder tells them that they've graduated to be able to buy something semi decent?
"Right laddie you recognised that Serin so you can buy x and when you can id a Pallas Warbler by its droppings we'll let you buy something really good".
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CJW
Hit-and-run WUM
It's a shame, but so many birders are reliant on the visual. I've been birding for more years than I care to remember and can honestly say that if it wasn't for being more aware of calling birds that I wouldn't have seen/found half what I have. It's a fundamental skill that has been lost by a lot (not ALL) twitchers who rely on their pack-hunting technique.
James
I'm losing it!
I think there is an equivalent to dyslexia only with sound. I am not afraid of hard work and study but for some reason sounds will just not stick in my memory. Am I the only one like this. To suggest you can't be a good birder without knowing calls is a little unkind especially on my good (deaf) friend Andrew whose keeness and enthusiasm beats most people I know!
James
James
Jasonbirder
Jason-occasional-twitcher
Part of the problem with calls is that there is no real substitute for field experience - By looking at Videos, Photos, ID articles & Guides it is possible to familiarise yourself to a large extent with birds you have not seen - with calls (and songs) field experience is paramount - whilst CDs can help to a certain extent they are not as helpful.
Consequently it is easier for people with alot of foreign birding experience - UK based birders might only hear a Serin singing (or a Dusky Warbler Calling or a Red-throated Pipit ) once or less a year - not frequently enough for it to "sink in"
Consequently it is easier for people with alot of foreign birding experience - UK based birders might only hear a Serin singing (or a Dusky Warbler Calling or a Red-throated Pipit ) once or less a year - not frequently enough for it to "sink in"
CJW
Hit-and-run WUM
I agree Jason, but surely if you're out in the field and hear an unfamiliar call, you would check it out? Yes, we only hear the vagrants calling occasionally, but a lot of them stand out as sounding different to the usual background noises (apart from Great Tits!).
Still, that's another thread. As an aside though, I am full of admiration for deaf-birders, I can't imagine how I would cope, being so reliant on sound as I am.
Still, that's another thread. As an aside though, I am full of admiration for deaf-birders, I can't imagine how I would cope, being so reliant on sound as I am.
Jane Turner
Well-known member
Me too. I can't bird in strong wind. I find and ID 95% of birds by hearing them first and find the rest by seeing movement. If the branches are moving I'm stuffed.
There used to be a blind birder at Spurn who stood at the narrowneck. He ID'd everything flying over, well everything that called
There used to be a blind birder at Spurn who stood at the narrowneck. He ID'd everything flying over, well everything that called
Jane Turner
Well-known member
CJW said:
At Marazion about 15 years back, there was (as ever in August) an Aquatic warbler. About 50 pack hunting birders were stood right on top of a patch of juncus that it had been seen in earlier. I wandered off and found another patch of juncus and sat down quietly next to it. About 3 minutes later an/the Aquatic warbler flew into it and started feeding, showing fantastically. I watched it for a few minutes and was about to let everyone else know, when another birder walked up behind me... he asked me if I had anything...so I pointed out the warbler. We watched it for another 5 minutes or so then he waved to the pack.
Within a minute there were birders all over this patch of juncus...and the warbler was nowhere to be seen. I wandered back to the original patch. Settled down and had fab views of a Spotted Crake and the same or another Aquatic Warbler.
Joern Lehmhus
Well-known member
I totally agree with James that there is something like an equivalent of dyslexia with sounds, because I know this phenomenon exactly-with myself...
And no doubt I missed a good number of good birds just because sounds sink into my brain very badly.
But I found if I really often hear a bird species I will learn the calls in the end-doesn´t help with the rare species though.
I found my first and only Aquatic Warbler visually-this spring in Spain...
And no doubt I missed a good number of good birds just because sounds sink into my brain very badly.
But I found if I really often hear a bird species I will learn the calls in the end-doesn´t help with the rare species though.
I found my first and only Aquatic Warbler visually-this spring in Spain...
Jasonbirder
Jason-occasional-twitcher
Blimey - never seen 50 birders at Marazion even in August! The most i`ve managed is about 1/2 dozen and that was for the Gull-billed Tern.
Visit Marazion regularly as we always have a holiday cottage for 2 or 3 weeks in West Cornwall in August - I don`t think the reserve is what it was even 5 years ago; water levels too high to attract waders and the number of Common Crakes it used to....
In all the times i`ve visited i`ve only ever seen 1 Aquatic Warbler I was happy with....seen plenty of Juvenile Sedgies tho
Visit Marazion regularly as we always have a holiday cottage for 2 or 3 weeks in West Cornwall in August - I don`t think the reserve is what it was even 5 years ago; water levels too high to attract waders and the number of Common Crakes it used to....
In all the times i`ve visited i`ve only ever seen 1 Aquatic Warbler I was happy with....seen plenty of Juvenile Sedgies tho
Hi all,
It often amazes me how birders,on discovering that a bird has moved on from its favoured location,will stay and look blankly at the very hedge that it was last seen in,despite the presence of suitable habitat in the immediate vicinity.While this makes sense in some cases,most of the time it would be best if those present split up and remained in contact by phone(in fairness,that is what happened at the White Stork twitch in Ballycotton in April 02,and the bird was relocated)
OK at calls,ID'd lots of stuff on a local bird race last Sat.before we saw them(didn't see all of them,either!).
Many rarities this autumn were vocal and had distinctive calls:while I wasn't familiar with most of these,I recognised them as being different to the "normal" bird calls.Picked up my first Irish Tawny Pipit on call(it then landed and showed well),was in Ballycotton 2 days after the second Citrine of the autumn was seen and located it on call,heard a few Pallas' Warblers(but found the two at Knockadoon visually) etc etc.
Harry H
It often amazes me how birders,on discovering that a bird has moved on from its favoured location,will stay and look blankly at the very hedge that it was last seen in,despite the presence of suitable habitat in the immediate vicinity.While this makes sense in some cases,most of the time it would be best if those present split up and remained in contact by phone(in fairness,that is what happened at the White Stork twitch in Ballycotton in April 02,and the bird was relocated)
OK at calls,ID'd lots of stuff on a local bird race last Sat.before we saw them(didn't see all of them,either!).
Many rarities this autumn were vocal and had distinctive calls:while I wasn't familiar with most of these,I recognised them as being different to the "normal" bird calls.Picked up my first Irish Tawny Pipit on call(it then landed and showed well),was in Ballycotton 2 days after the second Citrine of the autumn was seen and located it on call,heard a few Pallas' Warblers(but found the two at Knockadoon visually) etc etc.
Harry H
Jane Turner
Well-known member
Years back, I was putting up a mist-net at about 5.00am. I heard a familiar "chirrup" call. I didn't respond until about 15 seconds later my brain finally processed the call and came up with the answer Red-rumped Swallow. I had an "Oh S**t moment", dropped the net, a 60'ft into the marsh I was stood in and tried to see the bird. I got really brief and poor views, mostly of its upperparts as it disappeared. I did see one feature which helped get it accepted though. It was missing a tail streamer, just like the RRS that flew through the Obs garden on Bardsey later the same day!
