Ed Forum birdwatching 2008

No new birds for me, but two new mammals:
Myotis daubentonii or Daubenton's Bat.
Pipistrellus pygmaeus or Soprano Pipistrelle.

Both are bats.
 
Tricky said:
Yeah, we get a buttload of Mockers here in Houston, and yes, their song is incredibly varied. I joke with Ms. Tricky that you can tell a Mockingbird song because they sound like one of those car alarms that keeps changing it's pattern.

But they're one of the birds that, no matter how common, I never get tired of them. I wish I could say the same for Grackles. Perhaps my antipathy toward the black bastards has resulted from the numerous times I've parked my car in the shade only to come back and find it covered with grackle spackle.
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Grackle spackle! I know what you mean. I photographed a few grackles yesterday and their one redeeming quality since they ravish my feeders is their irridescent blue wings. In the right light they are truly beautiful. It was very dark here with rain clouds so I didn't get a good pic of that glimpse of the deservedly maligned grackle.
 
Kotatsu, I've done some birding in Thailand and have various trip reports, stake-outs etc. If you've some idea of where you're likely to be I can dig out the relevant info.
 
Kotatsu (or anyone), is the link in your sig still the most recent update of the list? I keep reading that you have added these or those observations, but I suspect that I am looking in the wrong place.
 
I've added observations by RedIbis, Mercutio, and Hokulele (Brown Thrasher was actually new for the list, as far as I can tell).

sphenisc said:
Kotatsu, I've done some birding in Thailand and have various trip reports, stake-outs etc. If you've some idea of where you're likely to be I can dig out the relevant info.
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Sadly, I'll only be there for half a day or so between two planes, but I am hoping to see at least something at the airport. I'll likely be unable to tell what it is, though...

Mercutio said:
Kotatsu (or anyone), is the link in your sig still the most recent update of the list? I keep reading that you have added these or those observations, but I suspect that I am looking in the wrong place.
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Ah, well, this is due to a conspiracy of two factors: 1) I have been overwhelmed with work recently, and haven't sent the latest lists to Eric; 2) Eric hasn't updated with the lists I have sent him. I will send a new one tonight, which has everything reported so far, except for the stuff that was reported when I was in Germany. Hopefully he'll have time to put it up during the weekend...

At the moment, I am more or less doing four jobs at the same time: my Ph.D., working for my supervisor (only 5%, but it sort of gets concentrated...), finishing off the last on an article we're about to publish (it's more or less been accepted, and into Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution no less, pending a slight restructuring according to the wishes of the reviewers), and teaching two courses which consist more or less only of whole-day excursions... On top of this, I have been invaded by hordes of couchsurfers (see my signature), which also take a lot of time and energy... and now my mother's mad at me because I never call... Bleh...
 
My dear friend Fiona told me that you needed more contributors. I must apologize for any not-scientific information, but I live in the country and I wake up everyday with the sound of birds (and the barking of my dog, but that's just a detail).

Anyway, how can I help with? Just list them and describe? I won't be able to post any pictures for now cause mom and dad took the camera to Europe this week, therefore, I'll only have it in a tenday back again (and I've deleted all my bird pictures).
 
Arthur Denton said:
My dear friend Fiona told me that you needed more contributors. I must apologize for any not-scientific information, but I live in the country and I wake up everyday with the sound of birds (and the barking of my dog, but that's just a detail).

Anyway, how can I help with? Just list them and describe? I won't be able to post any pictures for now cause mom and dad took the camera to Europe this week, therefore, I'll only have it in a tenday back again (and I've deleted all my bird pictures).
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Well, the easiest way is just to report what you see, determined as far as possible (preferably to species level), regardless of what it is. We generally accept everything that it wild, even if it is a very common species. As long as you know the proper name of a bird, in any language (but preferably English), the scientific name can always be figured out. Please be sure to always include location and day in your reports. Location can be given to any degree (that is, country only, or all the way down to what tree it was sitting in), though we appreciate at least country and state/county/region/whatever your country has.

Pictures are always nice, but by no mean necessary. I have posted no pictures, for instance, except for at the list page (see my signature), but if and when you have some, feel free to post them. The same goes, I guess, for recorded sounds or videos, should anyone wish to post that.

The most important thing, however, is to enjoy watching birds, whether you go looking for the rare ones or just the common ones. And don't be afraid to ask questions. There are several birdwatchers here with experience of birds from all over the place, and if that's not enough, I have access to a vast body of literature at work.
 
Hee hee... So today, I happened to be driving past a little park near my house, and thought I'd take a look. Ring-billed Gull, an immature Herring Gull, a Double-Crested Cormorant (very different from the Great Cormorant at Kerkini!)...

But the fun thing was, while taking a pic of the Cormorant.... there was a movement...
2767140244_6ac0e79776.jpg


Look at the very top right corner. Actually, let me re-crop--
2767140544_677cc4a827.jpg


Some prima donnas just like to hog the camera. I took one more shot before it landed in a tree:
2767140936_0b6c5c8010.jpg


It was a fairly good-sized raptor (well behind the cormorant in the photo, if that helps judge the size)--I know we have a Red-Tailed Hawk in the area, and this might be him/her.

And, yes, I want a longer lens.
 
Oh, and as for the immature Herring Gull. I am not good enough to claim that definitively, but here is a shot that shows that the immature was significantly larger than the mature Ring-Billed gulls. Herring Gulls are common here, and it looks close enough to the pic in my guide...
2767142386_6fd3bbfcbb.jpg
 
Two new species for the Swedish list today:

Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio
Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis

I have previously reported both to the German list, however, and they may have been reported by others. The list is so long I can no longer keep track of what has and has not been seen already...^^
 
Mercutio said:
Kotatsu (or anyone), is the link in your sig still the most recent update of the list? I keep reading that you have added these or those observations, but I suspect that I am looking in the wrong place.
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What Kotatsu said...

To be frankly honest, I've just been too knackered after work to catch up and been out and about on weekends in the meantime.
 
I did not at all mean to nudge anyone into doing more work--I was just thinking I was looking in the wrong place. So please, no pressure from me!
 
From earlier this spring, a crop of a picture using a 400 mm. lens through glass, hardly a great bird shot, but I don't think I'll ever not be thrilled when I see one of these guys, especially in my own back yard! iggle in back field.jpg
 
From earlier this spring, a crop of a picture using a 400 mm. lens through glass, hardly a great bird shot, but I don't think I'll ever not be thrilled when I see one of these guys, especially in my own back yard!

bruto,
i was thrilled to see a picture of an eagle!:blush:

i must get a camera.
here in southeast michigan, i live near a small pond/marsh.
so far, i have seen a great blue heron and a snowy egret.
canadian goose couple stayed to have family and left. there is a group of six ducks (they are a mottled brown with a brilliant blue band on the flight feathers) who all hang out together, they look to be still young.

there are raptors around here, but not bald eagles! i hope to see one again soon.
 
snoop_doxie said:
From earlier this spring, a crop of a picture using a 400 mm. lens through glass, hardly a great bird shot, but I don't think I'll ever not be thrilled when I see one of these guys, especially in my own back yard!

bruto,
i was thrilled to see a picture of an eagle!:blush:

i must get a camera.
here in southeast michigan, i live near a small pond/marsh.
so far, i have seen a great blue heron and a snowy egret.
canadian goose couple stayed to have family and left. there is a group of six ducks (they are a mottled brown with a brilliant blue band on the flight feathers) who all hang out together, they look to be still young.

there are raptors around here, but not bald eagles! i hope to see one again soon.
Click to expand...

Eagles have become pretty frequent around here. So far none are actually nesting on our side of Lake Champlain, but they range quite far in their daily rounds, especially in winter, when they look for patches of open water for fishing.

Big blue herons are pretty common nowadays too. Beautiful birds, but I wish they'd go a little easier on the frogs in my pond. I like the way they glide over the water. heron pan.jpg
 
A general question, directed mainly at the UK residents participating in this thread:

As I have mentioned earlier, I am going to London in December. The dates have not been fixed: 30th of November to 20th of December. I know that Eric has mentioned in passing that he'd like to meet up sometime during my stay there, and I was wondering if anyone else would be interested in doing so?

I'll spend all my days at the Natural History Museum, looking at lice, but I believe I have the weekends off.
 
With enough notice I might be able to make it down. I'll keep an eye on any suggestions.
 
Someone less envious jealous than I am might want to check out the photos linked to this thread. I feel confident that there are a number of birds there not yet on the forum list.

Hmph.
 
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