Hi all,
Snowyowl brought up a good point in the "Lists" forum. Posting and listing only the birds you see, not just hear. I don't know if this has been covered yet on BF.
Last year I was with a group birding outing. The leader was really good at IDing bird calls. He pointed out a few that we heard, but never saw. The next day, he posted our sightings on a "List serv" I belong to. He included the birds we only heard. He didn't even make a notation that they were only heard. I was somewhat put-off by this. Since so many birds can and do imitate other bird calls, how can you trust the ID? He boasted about his life list being 300 Ohio birds, but I wonder about the validity of this now. I only list birds I see! What's your take on this?
Mike
[QUOTE=weather]Last year I was with a group birding outing. The leader was really good at IDing bird calls. He pointed out a few that we heard, but never saw. The next day, he posted our sightings on a "List serv" I belong to. He included the birds we only heard. He didn't even make a notation that they were only heard. I was somewhat put-off by this. Since so many birds can and do imitate other bird calls, how can you trust the ID? He boasted about his life list being 300 Ohio birds, but I wonder about the validity of this now. I only list birds I see! What's your take on this?[/QUOTE]
Hi Mike,
If your leader was working an area he knew well, during the breeding season, then he was probably correct on what he called on voice only. One of the problems when leading a group outing is trying to get the 'balance' right; it is only a 'snapshot' of the birds that may be there; go alone, at dawn, and you may see much more, including some of the birds that were only heard during a previous visit.
The composition of a group is the first thing to take into account when leading a walk; if there are a lot of inexperienced birders, you have to pace it to keep it interesting; lots of sightings of 'good' species in a varied structure of habitats is better than hanging around in one spot for lengthy periods watching a patch of bush for something renowned for being 'invisible'.
If the leader has a 'claimed' list of 300 species then there is little reason to doubt he has mis-id'ed many.
What were the species that were called on voice alone? Are they known to be skulkers?
With regard to 'mimics', if I come across one whilst leading a walk (or on my own), I make a point of trying to id all the species the bird is trying to imitate; it gets difficult if it has spent half its life in Africa, though!
Cheers,
Andy.
PS - love the avatar! Can I have one with Darwin and Wallace (a local hero) in, please?
I count only birds I see on my life list, but I count ones that I see and/or hear on my year list. Inconsistent or what?