Re: Mistakes, flubs, and other stomach-turners

Ellen Paul (epaul@dclink.com)
Thu, 24 Sep 1998 11:15:12 -0400 

Hmmmm.  You live in Bethesda, I live in Bethesda.  Maybe we should find
a quiet spot and work on our skills together.  I've got Thayer's and
tapes and books (boy, do I have books) and we could do indoor work over
the winter and then really get some great field work in next spring.  I
really need to work on my raptors.
Ellen

mdosprey@ARI.Net wrote:
> 
> I was heartened to hear that a birder I respect and admire (you know an
> awful lot more than I do, Ellen) has the same feelings as I do about birding
> in a group.  I am such an amateur that I wouldn't vocally identify a bird in
> a crowd of birders to save my life.  However, because of my fear I have lost
> out on the opportunity of learning more about my chosen hobby.  My dream is
> to go birding with someone, (or a group of someones) who guides me to a
> correct identity.  I guess that would be a birding 101 class, wouldn't it?
> Everything I know about identifying birds (and that is very little) I
> learned through reading.
> 
> You are lucky, Ellen, that your husband likes to bird too.  My husband likes
> to walk through the woods picking up sticks and banging them on trees,
> throwing stones in quiet ponds and whistling to make me think an unusual
> bird is around.  My children are the same, but lately they have begun to
> point out birds to me (crows are their favorites to show me).
> 
> Back to lurking--and learning-
> 
> Dona Patrick
> Bethesda, MD
> dona@gateway.net
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ellen Paul <epaul@dclink.com>
> To: mdosprey@ARI.Net <mdosprey@ARI.Net>
> Date: Wednesday, September 23, 1998 6:23 AM
> Subject: Mistakes, flubs, and other stomach-turners
> 
> >I have found that I do much better on my own because, while I don't have
> >the advantage of many pairs of eyes finding the birds, I am much more
> >relaxed, find more birds myself, and have an easier time identifying
> >them.  When I am around others, I freeze up.  On my first out-of-country
> >trip, this was a real problem.  My husband (much better birder) was
> >anxious that I see everything (not easy to do in the tropics to start
> >out with) and the more energetically he tried to get me to see every
> >bird, the more I missed.  Only after a blow-up did he finally leave me
> >alone.  And from that point on, I didn't dip on a single bird.  Even
> >found a few before him (want to know what they were?...I'll never let
> >him forget them....!) and even saw one that he dipped on .  BOOTED
> >RACKETTAIL!!!!!!
> >
> >For years, I have been meaning to really WORK on my id skills, rather
> >than just "winging it."  Life has interfered with those plans.  Now,
> >this winter looks very promising - with Thayer's, every field guide, and
> >a library full of books, plus two sets of sound recordings.  But, with
> >regard to gulls, I still say its spinach and I still won't eat it.
> >
> >I find that there are some extremely skilled birders who share their
> >knowledge and for them I am grateful, but most are highly competitive
> >and gloat when you make an error.  For them, I practice avoidance. I'm
> >out there because I love seeing the birds and if I don't get an ID
> >quickly, or don't nail it down until getting home and consulting the
> >various authorities, well, so be it.  That's how I learn.
> >
> >I've also found that my first impression is right 95% of the time, and
> >unless I get unusually good and/or long views (or hear the song), I
> >probably won't ever be able to tease apart the empids, catch every fall
> >warbler in bad light, and so on.
> >
> >Just my .02.
> >
> >Ellen Paul
> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >Ellen Paul           Chevy Chase,MD           mailto:epaul@dclink.com
> >

-- 
Ellen Paul           Chevy Chase,MD           mailto:epaul@dclink.com