[wisb] Re: Counting after the fact birds
- From: Mike Ramsden <mcramsden@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <mikeduchek@xxxxxxxxxxx>, wisbirdn wisbirdn <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:13:23 -0500
I'll chime in on this one too. I don't think a bird should be countable in a
competitive comparitive listing situation unless that birder can correctly id
the bird on his own. Feel free to take pictures, make field notes, draw
sketches, record songs, and then consult any and all resources available,
including the opinion of experts on what the relevant field marks should be.
Then make the id yourself. If you are wrong, it has been a great learning
experience; next time you can get it right and then be able to count it.
The opposite of the above is sending a picture to an expert and having him tell
you what it is. Or going on a trip to Costa Rica and listing everything the
guide tells you even though you wouldn't be able to id those same birds an hour
later.
Luckily, I rarely find myself in competitive comparitive listing situations so
I don't need to worry about any of this :)
Mike Ramsden
Beloit, Rock County, WI
> From: mikeduchek@xxxxxxxxxxx
> To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [wisb] Re: Counting after the fact birds
> Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 09:26:04 -0500
>
> I'm still hung up on Greg's scenario. For **BOTH** birds (the western
> sandpiper and the stint):
>
> a) You saw both birds, but didn't/couldn't ID either correctly in the field
> b) You still didn't/couldn't ID it when you got home looking at your photo
> after further consulting your field guides, the Internet, etc...
> c) You even had to consult Mr. Expert, and neither bird was correctly
> identified UNTIL you received his assistance
>
> I don't get why Greg would count one and not the other in this case. Seems
> should be all or nothing to me. Does it matter for the western sandpiper
> whether you had it narrowed down to two birds? What if you narrowed it down
> to 5 species? How about 10? What if you narrowed it down to a particular
> genus? What if you narrowed it down to two species, but it turned out to be a
> third one you hadn't considered? Seems like the test is "did the bird strike
> my fancy at the time" which is a pretty wishy washy test. Regardless, I just
> can't see "counting" one and not the other if you needed someone else besides
> yourself to help you with both.
>
> In any case, my point was that if the question was "have I ever seen a
> red-necked stint" I think I could say yes. Certainly it probably wouldn't
> qualify under the ABA rules or the rules of a particular competition, and
> you'd put an asterisk by it on your list if you keep a physical one, but I
> could still say I've seen one (though with a caveat).
>
> -Mike Duchek, Waukesha
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