All,
Chris Wood forwarded these thoughts about eBirding, related to his coverage
of his local "patch" (Myers Pt, on Cayuga Lake, near Ithaca, NY). I share
many of his thoughts about the benefits of intensely birding a local
"patch", which for me has been by family's yard in Annapolis, MD (1987-2001,
mostly) and Millennium Park, MA (2006-2009). Obviously, I also agree with
Chris that regular submission to eBird not only is a great contribution to
our collective understanding but also a way to change your birding habits
for the better.
I hope the below is of interest, even though it is extralimital to these
listservs.
Best,
Marshall
-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Wood [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 4:50 PM
To: NYS Birds
Subject: Whimbrel -- Tompkins Co. and thoughts on finding local "rarities"
Hi all,
I've had a couple people send me private emails, asking me "how can
eBird really make you a better birder". My experience at Myers today
offers a bit of an example. As some of you know, I try to check Myers
Point each day and enter all the species and all the individuals into
eBird. Myers is nothing more than a spit of land that juts into Cayuga
Lake a few miles north of Ithaca. The habitat is similar to what you
find elsewhere in the area, except for a small pebbly beach that
sticks into the lake. In the last two years highlights here have
including Lark Bunting, Magnificent Frigatebird, Yellow-throated
Warbler and Eared Grebe. You may think that this some wonderful place
that's brilliant for birds. It's not. The biggest reason that Myers is
"good" is simply because it is covered frequently. After spending many
mornings there over the last four years, I've come to the conclusion
that Myers is remarkably unremarkable. Don't get me wrong, because the
habitat is different from what is in the area, Myers does attract some
unusual species. And geography does help with birds moving between the
Great Lakes and the ocean. But there are literally hundreds of other
places in the state that I'm certain would have a similar track record
with the same type of coverage.
Despite its mediocrity, I really do enjoy birding Myers. On those
mornings when I don't get there, I wonder what I missed. And even
these early summer days provide excitement and raise a lot of
questions. The Whimbrel that was there today certainly provided a lot
of excitement locally. But, honestly, I was far more excited about the
singing Brown Creeper that showed up last Friday. Where did that come
from? We are well outside the window for migrating Brown Creepers. Was
it a failed breeder? From how far away? Will it still be there the
next time I'm there?
I've found that by going someplace and really looking for all the
birds, you find a lot more birds--and a lot more "interesting birds".
This sounds obvious, right? Try hard to find birds and you'll find
more than if you don't try hard! But I think many people would be
surprised at what they would find by going to some local patch and
really trying to find EVERY INDIVIDUAL of EVERY SPECIES they can.
Equally important, pick some place and try to go there as often as you
can. Since I started eBirding a few years ago, I now try to find all
the individuals I can, studying differences in age, sex and behavior
of the birds on those quiet days. What I've found is that I find a lot
more birds than if I had just go quickly and checked a place for "good
birds". This isn't to say that every time you go out, you'll find a
frigatebird. But you will end up seeing a lot more species, and I
suspect that you will find a lot of enjoyment from really getting to
know a place and how the birds change.
I've found that entering my sightings in eBird really helps motivate
me to really look carefully for everything. What's great is that now
we are able to all share our observations with each other so that we
can literally see how things change from hour to hour, day to day and
from year to year. I'd encourage you to give it a try.
In that vein, here is my complete list from eBird this morning
Cheers,
Chris
Location: Myers Point
Observation date: 6/9/09
Notes: After a series of fairly strong showers went through last
night, Jessie and I had some hope that this morning's trip may be
productive (in the back of our minds, we were pretty sure we would
strike out again with the summer doldrums). Just about the first bird
we saw on the spit was a Whimbrel, which stuck around until at after
ten am (Mark Chao pers. com.)! The other highlight was a singing
Yellow-throated Vireo, which we had not heard yet this year. WEATHER:
Overcast with a few rays of sun from time to time. 63F. Calm. Good
visibility. OBSERVERS: Chris Wood, Jessie Barry. Later Joined by Tim
Lenz and Matt Medler who came to see the Whimbrel.
Number of species: 41
Canada Goose 2 Two flyby moving south low over water.
Mallard 17 Included 10 very young birds with hen. Two adult
males each showing 1/3 of flanks replaced.
Common Merganser 16 Includes 10 young that appear to be ca.
10-15 days old. Otherwise all females.
Red-breasted Merganser 1 A single female remains.
Killdeer 2
Spotted Sandpiper 2
WHIMBREL (American) 1 **Rare. Found by Chris Wood and Jessie
Barry. Photos by CLW. Subsequently seen by many others including Tim
Lenz, Matt Medler, Matt Young, Tom Schulenberg. ID straightforward.
Long decurved bill (shorter than LBCU) straight at base with distal
half curved downward. Distinctive eyeline and crown contrasting with
paler supercilium and median crown stripe. Upperparts brownish-gray,
with some scaupluars showing pale notching. Underparts slightly paler
with broad barring on flanks. Overall appearance of underparts
blended. Rump and back similar in color to upperparts, not standing
out bold white as on variegatus or phaeopus. Bill and eye blackish.
Legs dark blue-gray. Had a few retained and very old wing coverts and
scapulars.
Herring Gull (American) 6
Mourning Dove 2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1 One called once from far side of Salmon
Creek--(Chris and Tim only).
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 1
Willow Flycatcher 2 Singing from far side of Salmon Creek.
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Yellow-throated Vireo 1 Singing male--the first that I have
detected at Myers and the first reported this year at Myers in eBird.
Warbling Vireo (Eastern) 6
Blue Jay 2
American Crow 2
Tree Swallow 3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 3
Bank Swallow 8
Barn Swallow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 4 Much more vocal than in the last couple
weeks.
American Robin 7
Gray Catbird 2
European Starling 10
Cedar Waxwing 8
Yellow Warbler 4
American Redstart 1 Male continues to sing at entrance.
Common Yellowthroat 1
Chipping Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 2
Baltimore Oriole 3
House Finch 1
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 8
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
--
Chris Wood
eBird / AKN Project Leader
Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York
http://ebird.org
http://www.avianknowledge.net/
Senior Leader, WINGS
http://wingsbirds.com/
--
-------------------------------------------------
Marshall J. Iliff
West Roxbury, MA
miliff AT aol.com
-------------------------------------------------
eBird/AKN Project Leader
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
http://www.ebird.org
http://www.avianknowledge.net
------------------------------------------------- |