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Happy Human RIghts Celebration!
First: At Mayor's Pond there were 5 Common
Goldeneye's, 2 Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Red-shafted Northern Flickers,
Black-capped Chickadees, Brown Creepers, and a few I wasn't able to id (and a
bunch I'm starting to hear, but not see).
Which brings me to my next item. Being
somewhat new to birding, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet was a lifer. I saw the
bird in the brush, and after a little pishing, it flew out to the outskirts of
the brush where I was able to get a better look. Realizing it was a new
one, I became over-excited and tried to speak the identification marks into
my little handheld recorder (while trying to stand perfectly motionless since
the bird was only about 15 feet away from me and I wasn't standing in a very
good hiding spot) as I was looking at the bird. But, I don't really have a
tried and true order for giving identification information. Meaning, I
just sputter out whatever I see in random order, and without very good
details. This is due to both excitment and not enough experience. I
think I would benefit from a few comments concerning "order" or "practice" in
id'ing birds. Do you start from the head and work to the tail and
feet? Does it depend on the bird, or the birder?
Lastly: I seem to struggle with
sparrows. Any tips on id'ing sparrows? I worked on one that I could
hear for a while, as it was hidden in thick brush. Then it showed itself,
but, again due to lack of experience, most sparrows look about the same to me
(well, kind of...). I'm hoping to learn how to run through an id'ing
"checklist" of sorts in order to help in id'ing sparrows....
Enjoy the long weekend,
Brian
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