Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 08:38:22 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Sharon Schwemmer Subject: Re: Big Sit Results In-Reply-To: <000101c3b8ab$4b91f180$6400a8c0@NORM> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Norm, Where would one find that CD of flight calls? Sharon Schwemmer Hampstead, MD sharons@carr.org At 03:07 AM 12/2/2003 -0500, you wrote: >Bill Ellis asks: > > > I would love to hear an > > estimate of what proportion of the birds identified were seen only > > on-the-wing (not perched). I witnessed some of the sightings, and > > was more than impressed by some of the team members' field ID skills > > for warblers and other small songbirds in flight, on a less than > > bright day. OK - it was more like a humbling experience. > >This is a question better aimed at Matt Hafner, Jim Stasz, Zach Baer, >or Mark Hoffman. Last year Fran and I contributed coffee and donuts. >This year I felt that I was able to contribute nothing to the effort >and was as humbled as you (if not more so--I was there for a few hours >longer than you). > >I'm reminded of a situation Fran and I ran into a number of years >ago--we were attending the first or second annual Eastern Shore of >Virginia Birding Festival at Kiptopeake and we had gone out behind the >motel for an early morning stroll. We encountered Michael O'Brien so >we stopped to chat. As we talked he never stopped calling out birds >passing overhead to the guy right behind him with a clip board. You >want to talk about humbling experiences... This guy with the clipboard >didn't stop writing the whole time we chatted with Mike and we never >felt we were imposing on Mike at all--talk about multi-tasking! > >Anyway, I hope that one of the principals will answer your question, >Bill. My sense is that identification of passing migrants has been >notched up a few levels by the release of Bill Evans & Mike O'Brien's >new CD, Flight Calls of Migratory Birds. Thanks to that CD and some >help from Matt Hafner, we were able to add a passing Dickcissel to our >yard list in Ocean City this past year. > >Birding with Maryland's premier birders is a lot of fun but can indeed >be humbling. > >Best, >Norm > >======================================================================= >To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com >with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================