I just penned a short article for the Lark Bunting, should be in the February issue, about a whooper of a mis-id I made many years ago. It's taken me over 40 years to finally come to grips with that excruciatingly embarrassing call.
Stay tuned, more to come
Cheers, Bob
On Jan 16, 2020, at 9:31 AM, Mary Kay Waddington <waddingtonmk@gmail.com> wrote:OK, I don't really want to turn this forum into a list of everyone's "NotABird" stories, because we've all had them -- but I couldn't resist this one. When Charlie Chase was Curator of Ornithology at the museum (and I a lowly bird-skinner) we were out birding one day and passed by a road kill. We both agreed immediately that it was a Short-eared Owl! So we slammed on the brakes and backed up the road to pick it up --- Sheep's head.Mary Kay WaddingtonOn Thu, Jan 16, 2020 at 8:09 AM Sebastian Patti <sebastianpatti@hotmail.com> wrote:Chlorox bottles hiding in corn stubble in mid-winter can closely resemble SNOWY OWLS . . .
Trust me . . .
Unit 3088Los Angeles, CA 90017
CELL: 773/304-7488
From: Joe Roller <jroller9@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2020 8:08 AM
To: Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Cc: twilberding@comcast.net <twilberding@comcast.net>; Bob's Email <rorighter@earthlink.net>; Sebastian Patti <sebastianpatti@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Overeager, Arapahoe CountyGood photo documentation of the seldom seen hybrid, "Loon x Grebe".Joe Roller
PS Cobirds is chock full of serious bird reports, so it's refreshing to find one like Tom'sthat screams "Beware! I goofed! So can you!"
Here's the tale of the worst ID I ever made.A DFO trip to South Texas, led by the stalwart Bob Righter, found our group on the ferry ride across Galveston Bay.Bob had just told us to be alert, as this leg of the trip offered our only chance for Brown Pelican. I was excitedand determined to be the first to spot one."Brown Pelican!" I yelled out, agitated and excited. "Two o'clock on the far shore!"Bob glassed the spot I pointed to and calmly asked, "Joe, where is it from that German Shepherd?"My meek reply, "Oh, well. Never mind. He was scratching himself and got into a shape like a Brown Pelican.I'll keep scanning."
Roger Tory Peterson led a field trip to a Bronx shore one winter. He called out "Mountain Bluebird!"It turned out to be a half-buried Bromo-Seltzer bottle.
I suppose that bone-head calls like that happen to most of us from time to time, but who will admit it?Who else has stories like those?
On Wed, Jan 15, 2020 at 8:32 PM Sebastian Patti <sebastianpatti@hotmail.com> wrote:
Overeager and maybe just a tad too GREBEY!!
. . . sorry . . .
Unit 3088Los Angeles, CA 90017
CELL: 773/304-7488
From: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Tom Wilberding <twilberding@comcast.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2020 8:59 PM
To: Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Overeager, Arapahoe CountyHi all,
This afternoon I was at windy Aurora Reservoir looking for the often-reported Yellow-billed Loon. I went down to the beach and started scanning with my 500 mm camera lens. I spotted three Common Loons way out there , but then realized they were Common Mergansers. That should have been a warning to me.
After a long while I feared I would dip on the YBLO, but suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, there it was. Wow! Swimming along pretty close to shore between the waves. It looked maybe a little too brown and the bill looked a little small, but "WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE?" I took about 100 photos and felt triumphant.
Later at Starbucks I zoomed my camera screen in close to appreciate the subtleties of a Yellow-billed Loon. Below what I saw. Truly jaw-dropping.
Better birding next time,
Tom Wilberding
Littleton, CO
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