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IN-BIRD for Wednesday, January 2, 2002
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Subject: New Year's day count
From: Carl Henschen <cdhensch(AT)geetel.net>
Date: 2 Jan 2002 10:56am
After about one week of nothing but house sparrows, we lucked out for the
1st day of the new year.
New Years Day count at home:
Our very first bird was a White-breasted Nuthatch, not a bad start at all.
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Brown Creeper 1
Downey 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Mourning Doves 9
House Sparrows 18+
Song Sparrow 1
Crow 1
Tufted Titmouse 2
Dark-eyed Junco 7 +
House Finches 2 +
Gold Finches 2
Horned Larks 1
Cardinals 2
Red-tailed Hawks 2
Mary Henschen
Rossville
Clinton County
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Subject: Re: Birds & Backyard Industry
From: Judie Hansen <birdsong(AT)surf-ici.com>
Date: 2 Jan 2002 11:23am
Just in case you will be in the neighborhood -
* Here's one for your travel calendars. A new birding trade show, Birds
&
Backyard Industry Expo, will be June 16-17 in Madison, Wis. The event
will
focus on "bird and wildlife watching/feeding/housing, wildlife gardening
and
backyard habitat." http://www.backyard-birds.com
Judie Hansen
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Subject: Sandhill Cranes
From: Horticulture Staff <hortstaf(AT)INDYZOO.COM>
Date: 2 Jan 2002 1:45pm
a slightly late posting.
Last Friday we were discussing the fact that we hadn't seen any cranes fly
over yet. We are horticulture people so we are outside quite a bit, hadn't
seen any. Saturday we saw them. A whole mess of 'em flying over, more than
we were willing to stand in the wind to watch.
Katie Booth
Indy Zoo
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Subject: First time post; Observations and Question
From: Seth Keller <kellers(AT)CULVER.K12.IN.US>
Date: 2 Jan 2002 2:29pm
I just recently joined the Audubon Society, and have started my counts =
(Pulaski County, IN.) So far:
American Tree Sparrows: 50+
House Sparrows: 15+
European Starlings: 30+
Red Bellied Woodpecker (female): 1
White Breasted Nuthatch: 2
My question is regarding some characteristics of the sparrows that I am =
watching. I have spent about 10 or 12 hours trying to determine which =
type of sparrows I was observing. For instance, I was comparing the =
characteristics of the photos of sparrows in my books to what I was =
seeing. Each species I am observing will have about 80 or 90 percent of =
the features that it is supposed to have. But, it will aslo have some of =
the features of a different species. Do sparrows cross breed or do I need =
my glasses adjusted? Thanks in advance for any help that you can give.
Seth
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Subject: Birding Saturday in Morgan County
From: Greg Steffen <Gstefbird(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 2 Jan 2002 4:28pm
Happy New Year all,
On Saturday Jan 29th Lou Anne Barriger and I covered Morgan County
finding 45 species. Here are some of the highlights:
Sandhill Crane 12
Northern Harrier 4
Rough Legged Hawk 2
Long Eared Owl 1 (audible only)
American Pipits 50
Lapland Longspur 3
Common Snipe 17
Horned Larks
The Pipits, Lapland Longspurs, Common Snipe, and 3 of the Harriers were
spotted by those conducting the McCormicks Creek CBC just over the
Owen/Morgan County line, along Lingle Rd. Thanks to that group for spotting
some of the more interesting birds of the day. Good birding, Greg Steffen
[ << | >> | ^^ ]
Subject: Potato Creek State Park 1/2/02
From: James Spier <spier6565(AT)AOL.COM>
Date: 2 Jan 2002 8:18pm
Spent some time birding Trail 4 at Potato Creek State Park (St. Joseph
Co.). Among the highlights:
Red-shouldered Hawk (1 or 2) First seen near Osprey platform. Later seen
carrying food towards horse campgrounds.
Fox Sparrow (1)
White-throated Sparrow (2)
Eastern Bluebird (3)
Northern Flicker (1)
Mink (2) hunting in creek near beaver pond
Also, at our feeders:
Carolina Wren (1)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (2)
Pine Siskin (15)
American Tree Sparrow (3)
The lake (North Chain Lake)froze Saturday night, which means that waterfowl
season lasted about 1 day.
Jim Spier (South Bend)
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Subject: Re: First time post; Observations and Question
From: Liz Day <beebuzz(AT)KIVA.NET>
Date: 2 Jan 2002 8:30pm
>I was comparing the.. photos of sparrows in my books to what I was
seeing. Each species I am observing will have about 80 or 90 percent of
the features that it is supposed to have. But, it will aslo have some of
the features of a different species. Do sparrows cross breed.....
Well.......
(Comment: Comparative observation like you're doing is valuable practice!)
Likely explanation #1: Individuals vary.
I think hybrids are pretty unusual, so I don't think it's that. But
individuals do vary. The people who write the guide have to condense a
range of variation into a few simple rules that will fit in a
paragraph. If they described every variation ever seen on each species,
not only would the book be too long but it would be so confusing that
readers would give up. So instead they leave stuff out. The tradeoff is
that at least the reader will be able to identify most individuals and get
a few wrong, rather than being given so much information to process at once
that they're overwhelmed and can't be sure of *any* of their IDs. So
maybe the sparrows are legitimate variants that just aren't described in
the book.
Possible explanation #2: You're seeing things that aren't there.
I freely admit this makes no sense but I still believe it to be real. The
mind looks for patterns, and tries to fit everything seen into a pattern it
already recognizes. With something you've never seen before, your
perceptions have no reference point, and all kinds of things will stand out
to you at first glance, some of which are actually important field marks,
some of which are real but trivial, and some of which are simply wrong. I
can't explain the last part, which seems a trick of the mind. You can go
back and look at the same thing and it will look different next time. I
wonder if other people have had this happen. It's not a slam on the
observer, as I think it happens to anyone who is confronted with something
new to them.
?
I also have noticed - again this is not supposed to make sense - that when
looking at a large tray of specimens (insect, not bird, but the problem is
similar), at first glance you can pull out the mislabelled ones right
away. Then when you go to double check your IDs, suddenly they all start
looking the same and you can't be sure anymore where the boundaries
are. Then if you keep looking, after about 30-60 minutes all the
differences between species will start to stand out again and you'll be
able to sort them just as you could when you first started, only this time
you're sure. The brain is going through some weird process which probably
applies to birding but I don't know how.
Cheers,
-------------------------------------------------------------
Liz Day
Indianapolis, Indiana, central USA (40 N, ~86 W)
Home of budgerigar Tweeter and the beautiful pink inchworm (Eupithecia
miserulata).
USDA zone 5b. Winters ~20F, summers ~85F. Formerly temperate deciduous
forest.
daylight(AT)kiva.net
www.kiva.net/~daylight
-------------------------------------------------------------
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Subject: Sharp-shinned Hawk Report
From: "David L. Eiler" <dleiler(AT)EARTHLINK.NET>
Date: 2 Jan 2002 11:23pm
Had a good close look at a Sharp-shinned Hawk this afternoon about a =
mile north of North Manchester, the first one I have seen in a long =
time. =20
DAVE EILER
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IN-BIRD