excited about rarities

GREGORY.B.MILLER@bge.com
Tue, 5 Jan 1999 11:50:09 -0500 

Howdy All!

     <caution: my opinions ahead!>

     Marshall Iliff brings up a wonderful thought in his most
recent post about Coastal Sightings:  Why don't we get as excited
about birds seen outside their normal date ranges as we do about
birds seen outside their normal geographical range?

     I do not attempt to diminish in any way the experience of
finding a geographical vagrant--last year I enjoyed finding
geographical rarities as much as anyone.  The thrill is immense.
It should stay that way.

     Unfortunately, the *way* we list bird species is only ONE
measure of actual birding experiences.  Finding a Worm-eating
Warbler in January in Maryland would constitute a life experience
for me--something in the birding world that I have never seen.  I
believe [my opinion only] that this is because many of us are
focused on a bird's plumage and its field characteristics--the
things that identify a species.  When a species is identified, we
record it on our lists (Life, State, County, Year, etc).  We are
ID-centric.  This is *not* a bad thing--it just doesn't complete
the whole birding experience.  This is why [my opinion again]
some people do not like listing.  It *is* a limited viewpoint of
the whole of birding experience.

     If we had a way of measuring the importance of the dates
that birds are seen during the year, we would be making strides
toward learning more about bird movements.

     In New Jersey, birders have a game to see how many species
they can see each month.  One of the spin-offs to this is to see
how many birds you can see in EVERY month of the year (I think
the record is close to 121).

     <caution: pure rumor ahead>  I do not know this to be fact,
but I heard...  The Brown-chested Martin in New Jersey in
November of 97 was found by a birder who originally ID'd it as a
Purple Martin.  When the report went out, NJ birders rushed to
see the Martin in November (very rare out of normal date range).
The bird was reidentified correctly as a Brown-chested Martin
from South America, which, of course, attracted national
attention.  Had they [NJ birders] not had their monthly games,
would the bird have gotten enough original attention to be
re-ID'd as a South American vagrant? <end of rumor>

     Although the story may be incorrect, it *does* fit my point
rather well. <grin> To list is important.  To know field ID
characteristics is important.  To be familiar with normal date
ranges will help us understand birds better and, in the long run,
may help us find more geographical vagrants as well.  Thanks to
Marshall for his note on this issue...

-Greg Miller
Lusby, MD