Your silliest/most entertaining/unlikely birding accomplishments (1 Viewer)

[LaKu]

I had a pretty funny one with owls... a eurasian eagle owl in particular. I had heard it calling multiple times in my area, but just couldn't find the bird. Several nights out and searching with no success, I finally gave up. Nonetheless, this bird kind of bugged me.
Well, quite some time later, we had a little workplace-party and I drove home late that night, through the forest where I had been looking for that owl.
Suddenly, I noticed something big on the road in front of me. I hit the brakes and to my absolute surprise and delight, there it was! Sitting in the middle of the road, eating it's prey. I could watch it for what felt like an eternity, even took some photos with my phone.
I had never seen a wild eagle owl this close before, it was amazing!

 

[temmie]

This has probably happened many times before to other birders in S-America:

I was once on the trail above San Lorenzo in N-Peru with one obvious target: Pale-billed Antpitta. Considered a holy grail of Antpittas by many, but a very unfortunate dip during my first time in the area, 6 years earlier, when I only heard a bird on the Rio Chido trail before everything fell silent.

Not wanting to let this one slip this time, I was hyper-concentrated and I felt my heartbeat pumping in my throat () when I heard the beast answering my playback. ( This could also have had something to do with the altitude and the speed I had been running up that trail)

Minutes of anxious waiting followed. Another burst of playback. Nothing happened. Suddenly I heard a soft, high-pitched sound. I looked into the bamboo and there it was in all it's glory. Or not? I didn't see a pale bill! It turned out to be a juvenile... My happiness was a bit subdued, to be honest. I took some pictures and realized I had to settle with this bird, a +1 nonetheless. I slung my camera back around my shoulder and turned around to go back down. At literally 2 meters from me, in the middle of the trail and wide open, the adult bird was staring at me!

I freezed, didn't blink an eye and while trying to win the staring contest, I grabbed my camera slowly but in full panic mode.
Alas, before I could lift the thing, the bird quickly hopped in the bamboo, never to be seen or heard again (I admit I was running low on time, so I couldn't give it much longer).

So I only got a picture of the juvenile:

 

[Andy Adcock]

Many years ago in Borneo, I'd been trying to see Crimson-headed Partridge with no luck. Suddenly, nature called and as I sat, squatting, just off the track, two, very bemused birds walked past eyeing me, quizzically just a few feet away, can you guess what they were?

Having spent a whole day at Tapanti in Costa Rica, looking for Scaled Antpitta with no luck, on our last day, I'd promised my wife a day outside the forest where photgraphy was less of a challenge. We drove to the top of the road at a leisurely pace and turned around to drive back down. I needed to pee so we stopped the car, I opened the car door and just as I did so, a fat, tailess bird, landed on the road in front of the car.

 

[MiddleRiver]

We were in Alaska during Salmon run and hiking an area full of Eagles (and bears). As we were watching along a river drainage and hiking trail, we stopped at an interpretive sign. My wife suddenly had a not insubstantial stream of white crap - literally - land on side of head and stream down her jacket. The Bald Eagle was perched right above us and, I suppose, decided to let us know what it thought of tourists.

To this day, when in company of birder discussing memorable sightings, she'll say 'I was once shat on by and eagle!'

 

[pbjosh]

Having spent a whole day at Tapanti in Costa Rica, looking for Scaled Antpitta with no luck. On our last day, I'd promised my wife a day outside the forest where photgraphy was less of a challenge. We drove to the top of the road at a leisurely pace and turned around to drive back down. I needed to pee so we stopped the car, I opened the car door and just as I did so, a fat, tailess bird, landed on the road in front of the car.

I have still never seen one. I think I’ve heard it 30+ times and put in concerted effort a dozen times or so, including at Tapanti. Certainly, along with Hooded and Tawny-breasted Tinamous, my worst streak in terms of not seeing a bird that I am able to find. Tiny Hawk and Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon, on the other hand, I doubt actually exist at this point.

 

[KenM]

Many years ago in Borneo, I'd been trying to see Crimson-headed Partridge with no luck. Suddenly, nature called and as I sat, squatting, just off the track, two, very bemused birds walked past eyeing me, quizzically just a few feet away, can you guess what they were?

Having spent a whole day at Tapanti in Costa Rica, looking for Scaled Antpitta with no luck, on our last day, I'd promised my wife a day outside the forest where photgraphy was less of a challenge. We drove to the top of the road at a leisurely pace and turned around to drive back down. I needed to pee so we stopped the car, I opened the car door and just as I did so, a fat, tailess bird, landed on the road in front of the car.

I didn’t realise it snowed in Costa Rica 😮

 

[Mysticete]

I have still never seen one. I think I’ve heard it 30+ times and put in concerted effort a dozen times or so, including at Tapanti. Certainly, along with Hooded and Tawny-breasted Tinamous, my worst streak in terms of not seeing a bird that I am able to find. Tiny Hawk and Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon, on the other hand, I doubt actually exist at this point.

Meanwhile, I see Tiny Hawk at Summit Ponds on my very first trip to the Neotropics....

 

[pbjosh]

Meanwhile, I see Tiny Hawk at Summit Ponds on my very first trip to the Neotropics....

One of my good friends with whom I’ve shared some really great birding trips has seen Tiny Hawk a half a dozen times or so but never seen Bicolored Hawk. Meanwhile I’ve seen Bicolored Hawk about 15 times in about 10 countries… the vagaries of birding!

 

[cajanuma]

One of my good friends with whom I’ve shared some really great birding trips has seen Tiny Hawk a half a dozen times or so but never seen Bicolored Hawk. Meanwhile I’ve seen Bicolored Hawk about 15 times in about 10 countries… the vagaries of birding!

Same with me, five Tiny Hawks and a Semicollared but no Bicolored.

And while I heard Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon only once, I did see that bird, yet I have heard Lined Forest-Falcon on double-digit occasions but have yet to lay eyes on one

 

[pbjosh]

Same with me, five Tiny Hawks and a Semicollared but no Bicolored.

And while I heard Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon only once, I did see that bird, yet I have heard Lined Forest-Falcon on double-digit occasions but have yet to lay eyes on one

Hah yeah I have multiple Semicollared also. I’ve only seen Lined poorly, it’s still one I try to see better when opportunities arise but haven’t had as good an experience with it as with others. And goes without saying I guess but I’ve not even heard Plumbeous either. I think a lot of people don’t realize just how hard that bird is (and a lot of records are probably dubious).

 

[Mysticete]

Same with me, five Tiny Hawks and a Semicollared but no Bicolored.

And while I heard Slaty-backed Forest-Falcon only once, I did see that bird, yet I have heard Lined Forest-Falcon on double-digit occasions but have yet to lay eyes on one

I spent quite some time trying for Slaty-backed Forest Falcon in Panama. There was a calling one not that far from the Tower, but even though it was clearly moving around we could never find it

 

[Steve Babbs]

I've realised that most of mine are mammal sightings so I have started a similar thread there.

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Northern Fulmar seen through a periscope, North Atlantic.

 

[pbjosh]

Northern Fulmar seen through a periscope, North Atlantic.

Now that is awesome

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

Red-legged Partridge while I was at the controls of a helicopter flying over The Lodge, Sandy.

 

[raymie]

My lifer Swallow-tailed Kite was a near miss bird strike to an engine of a plane I was in somewhere over central Florida - just a slight change in position of that bird may have been an issue...

 

[Xenospiza]

The first Spanish Sparrow for the Netherlands was at the northern tip of the island of Texel. As this seemed like a nice day out, I drove there with my mother.
When arriving at the ferry, a male Black-headed Bunting had just been found at the approach road, so that was a stroke of luck!
Now this is not that silly or entertaining, but one twitcher who had just landed on Texel with his car decided to return to Den Helder immediately on hearing the news, again taking his car. He could have easily parked his car and walk the few 100 metres to the bunting... Now he had to buy another ferry ticket to get back to the Spanish Sparrow.

For anyone who hasn't seen it before, this video of the crowd arriving at the Northern Waterthrush on Vlieland (on its second day) is a classic.
I had driven back to the Netherlands from Harlow the previous day and can be seen walking by at 1:12. My mother (who had never been to Vlieland) is in the thumbnail. The twitch itself was also quite entertaining, with one Walloon (who I have also seen at an American Bittern in Cornwall) losing his marbles when he missed the bird on its first showing.

 

[pbjosh]

My lifer Swallow-tailed Kite was a near miss bird strike to an engine of a plane I was in somewhere over central Florida - just a slight change in position of that bird may have been an issue...

I think you are now winning this thread 🤣

Lifers while having near death experiences have to beat lifers while having diarrhea 🤣

 

[MikeInPA]

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away in a place called Holme in Norfolk I thought I had a first for Britain. I forget the year, 1976 maybe but it was probably August and Paul Lee and I had travelled from Leicester to Norfolk for the day. I forget where we started out birding but as it was very slow we started heading back home early afternoon but first we called into Holme. We pulled into the car park and started talking to some friends, just casual like leaning on the cars having a drink. I was just miles away sort of listening to the conversation but there was this irritating bird flying overhead. This carried on for a few minutes and it continued to bug the crap out of me. I interrupted the conversation and asked what the hell is this bird flying over head going "Zeep, Zeep, Zeep". Somebody just said "Oh it's a Tree Pipit" and carried on the conversation. This bird by now was really getting up my nose and I interrupted the conversation again and said that's not a Tree Pipit what is it. So everyone started looking and there it was overhead and one lad who had just come back from France I believe said "I think it's a Fan-tailed Warbler". Gulp. [insert expletive]. After much discussion I shot off to the Holme Bird Observatory and got Peter Clarke. I told him what we thought it was and after some disbelief he came along to the car park and sure enough he agreed. So we all thought we had a 1st for Britain but it turned out that a single observer had reported one from Cley just 2 weeks earlier. So it was just a 2nd. I remember Paul and I stopped off at Eyebrook Reservoir on the way back and Colin Towe was in there (Username on here, now deceased). He asked where we had been and what we had seen, "Oh not a lot about mate, there was this bird at Holme that was going Zeep, Zeep, Zeep all the time, what was it Paul? Oh yes a Fan-tailed Warbler". I nearly bust a gut at Colins reaction! It stayed around a while so many people saw it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if some of the other lads there that day are on BF. The Fan-tailed Warbler is now a Zitting Cisticola I understand.

 

[raymie]

I think you are now winning this thread 🤣

Lifers while having near death experiences have to beat lifers while having diarrhea 🤣

Can't quite say it was near-death, not a plane expert but pretty sure everyone would have survived in this particular case (it had multiple engines) - the plane would have needed significant repairs at the very least.