[wisb] Spark Birds
- From: Lester Doyle <zzzlester@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:11:16 -0600
Several things Sparked my interest in birds.
1. My ornithology class at Western KY University in the late 1980's
"Sparked" me.
2. Two of the best Biology Professors ever:
Dr. Herb Shadowen...old school Biologist who studied under Louisiana's
legendary ornithologist Dr. George Lowery. Dr Shadowen birded with pair of
Zeiss 8 x 22 someone brought back from Germany after WW2....crystal clear,
but view was comparable to looking down the barrel of a .22 rifle. He also
taught entomology (yes I took the class).
Dr. Blaine Ferrell...3 classes under this guy;
Animal Behavior, Endocrinology, and ORNITHOLOGY...favorite and hardest
instructor ever.
Both of these guys invited me, a fledgling birder to participate on the
area Christmas Bird Counts one year. Even with my limited skills I was seen
as an asset instead of a hindrance and was encouraged to continue birding
with them and on my own.
My first Count was for Warren Co and one of the first birds I squeaked up
was a Rufous-sided Towhee (Eastern Towhee now)...a common KY bird, but a
great bird for a beginning birder. A few days later at Mammoth Cave
National Park we had CBC record 52 Red-headed Woodpeckers spread across the
Park. This was my first actual look at one and no picture or field guide
has ever done justice to the actual birds.
3. I lived 5 minutes from one of KY's premier hot-spots...McElroy Lake. The
Largest of a series of temporary/transient lakes that form when fall and
spring rains filled underground streams and the water came up and flooded
fields though sinkholes, caves and pourous limestone bedrock layers.This
was one of the best migratory stop-offs between the Great Lakes and the
Gulf. In 1998 (I think), we had 77 documented, shorebirds, waders and
waterfowl in area. And some of the highlights over my years of Birding in
KY include a Curlew Sandpiper, Tufted Duck, Little Gull, all 3 phalaropes,
all 5 peeps in single day, White and Glossy Ibis and my Peregrine Falcon.
The best part was the KY birders willing to take time to take time for new
birders, share looks and point out field marks so others can become better
birders.
Overall, I guess what Sparked me the most was the birding community in my
area.
Lester Doyle
Lodi
Columbia Co.
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