maybe you need better sandwhiches?
Birding!
- Thread starter jjohnwm
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Now you're well and truly into the territory of my brother when you refer to game birds. Grouse, pheasant, partridge, oh, and the odd deer too! He's far more of a hunter than i. He goes on regular hunting trips to Scotland with a few hunting pals, it doesn't really interest me much tbh.
However, he also has a boat, and whenever he's planning a trip to Scotland to do a bit of inshore fishing, I'm totally on board with that, pardon the pun!
Yeah, fishing and birding, sort of the same you'd think, but yet totally different!
Oh, here he is, our little surfer dude buddy! You do realise the peril you have placed yourself in now butting into mine and John's conversation? Lol.
It's a shame about that damn pond of yours, I've heard they can be a major attraction for all types of birds. You've missed a trick there haven't you? Lol.
Ive already got enough herons around I dont need anymore
I normally do both at the same time. I go deepwater fishing for Rockfish a lot, and there will always be some sort of pelagic bird out there. I for some reason have not learned my pelagic birds, they all look exactly the same!!! Every single Shearwater, Jaeger, Petrel, Storm-petrel, look exactly the same!!!
I can totally relate to that. All those young surfer dude types with their bleached blonde hair all look the same to me!!
That way lies madness! I won't ever go fishing without a binocular or at least a pocket monocular, but standing in a boat with a rod in one hand and an optic in the other always ends up meaning that you are doing a crappy job of both tasks.
And developing the knowledge to differentiate various very similar birds from one another is one of the quiet joys of birding. Cooper's vs. Sharpshinned Hawks...the several Oporornis warblers...almost any fall-plumaged warbler...all the LBJ's (Little Brown Jobs) that make up the flocks of mixed shorebirds in fall...Empidonax flycatchers...the pelagics you mentioned...all represent their own challenges and require careful observation and plenty of time spent afield. You start to catch on to subtle differences in calls, in posture, in behaviour, in style of flight...the "GISS" of a bird (General Impression, Size and Shape).
If they were all as easy as Cardinals or Blue Jays...where would the fun be in that?
Right you are! And, worse still...they all sound and act the same, too!
At least the birds have some subtle differences...
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Guess I would be an Eastern Kingbird...
Still, out jogging and seeing the shadow of a great "v" passing over the landscape I looked up to see a flock of a dozen Trumpeter Swans in formation, or paddling around the corner of a group of cattails and seeing a Loon on her nest, the chance encounters are a joy. But I saw my first American Redstart enjoying a coffee on the back stoep. Also, the Western Kingbird. And, once a Tennessee Warbler bounced off the living room window and needed medical intervention. Home, is still one of my favorite places to watch for birds. And, if all I see are the usual: House Wrens, Chipping Sparrows, and Chickadees... it's okay.
Still, out jogging and seeing the shadow of a great "v" passing over the landscape I looked up to see a flock of a dozen Trumpeter Swans in formation, or paddling around the corner of a group of cattails and seeing a Loon on her nest, the chance encounters are a joy. But I saw my first American Redstart enjoying a coffee on the back stoep. Also, the Western Kingbird. And, once a Tennessee Warbler bounced off the living room window and needed medical intervention. Home, is still one of my favorite places to watch for birds. And, if all I see are the usual: House Wrens, Chipping Sparrows, and Chickadees... it's okay.
I just came inside after walking down to close and lock the gate for the night. While down there I took a few minutes to stand and check out the deep, wide ditch that borders my road, currently filled right up. Some years we get some surprising fish species in there, and right now the Boreal Chorus Frogs are just starting to tune up, preparing for the thundering tidal wave of sound when a few million of them are singing simultaneously in another couple weeks. I stood a foot away from the water's edge, peering down into the depths, watching water beetles and hoping for a glimpse of a Stickleback or Mudminnow.
After several minutes of standing motionless, I was stupefied when a Woodcock took off...from about 4 inches from the toes of my boots. It had been there the whole time, motionless, perfectly camouflaged, but it had finally lost its nerve. Woodcock flush with a thunder of wings, and almost always fly straight up for a dozen feet before fluttering off to the side. I could feel the breeze on my face when it shot upwards, and I'm pretty sure its wing hit my hat. It passed my face so closely that I couldn't even focus on it; I would have needed reading glasses. So cool.
C Chet E. , check your field guide carefully. I'm fairly certain that isn't a Tennessee; it lacks the required strong eyebrow stripe/supercilium, but it shows the very complete unbroken eye ring of something like a Nashville. Birds in the hand can be very tricky and deceptive when one is accustomed to seeing them at some distance.
I haven't had a Redstart yet this year, drinking coffee or otherwise, but I had a Yellow-rumped Warbler nursing a Guinness yesterday evening...
After several minutes of standing motionless, I was stupefied when a Woodcock took off...from about 4 inches from the toes of my boots. It had been there the whole time, motionless, perfectly camouflaged, but it had finally lost its nerve. Woodcock flush with a thunder of wings, and almost always fly straight up for a dozen feet before fluttering off to the side. I could feel the breeze on my face when it shot upwards, and I'm pretty sure its wing hit my hat. It passed my face so closely that I couldn't even focus on it; I would have needed reading glasses.
So cool.C Chet E. , check your field guide carefully. I'm fairly certain that isn't a Tennessee; it lacks the required strong eyebrow stripe/supercilium, but it shows the very complete unbroken eye ring of something like a Nashville. Birds in the hand can be very tricky and deceptive when one is accustomed to seeing them at some distance.
I haven't had a Redstart yet this year, drinking coffee or otherwise, but I had a Yellow-rumped Warbler nursing a Guinness yesterday evening...
