[Tweeters] birding and carbon

[Robert O'Brien]

*Carbon-Free Listing.*
Let me say at the onset that I've done more than my share of 'chasing' over
70 years of birding.  I'm proud to say that before I could drive, it was
all biking and walking.  Then I could drive.
Once I was at a business meeting in Raleigh NC, I was aware of a
Broad-billed Sandpiper near NY City, a mega rarity,.  When the meeting
ended on Friday afternoon I drove all night to NYC (500 miles), spent 4
hours looking for it,  found it at 11:00 AM, (It was not seen again after
12"00 noon) then drove back to Raleigh and caught my plane back to Portland
on Sunday.  Those were the good old days.  Now it's easy for me to be
sorta' carbon-free, because I rarely do any chases these days.  70 years of
birding hasn't left much to be chased for the ol' life list.

Six months ago I 'happened' into another 'adventure' that need not
involve any carbon at all.  (Although it can.).  Bugs.  On a camping trip
with my son and two young granddaughters to the John Day River, there were
some interesting birds; but not many.   My granddaughters were good at
finding 'Bugs' so I started photographing them with my 'bird' camera.  300
mm lens, AF,. AE, etc.  Although 'Bugs' were not all that abundant either,
they outnumbered Birds 10:1+.  In the open country there I
photographed about 35 different ones.  My knowledge of insect ID was
virtually NIL.  Not a problem.  When I returned with all the 'Bug' photos I
discovered *BugGuide.net* online.  You don't need to identify anything. The
very generous volunteer editors do it all for you.
When I returned to my rural homestead I decided to 'catalog' all the 'Bugs'
hereabout.  Six months later this is what I came up with.(I'm retired).

https://bugguide.net/adv_search/bgsearch.php?user=&taxon=&description=&location%5B%5D=OR&county=clackamas&city_location=carver&adult=&immature=&male=&female=&representative=

Now, not all birders are photographers and BugGuide is solely dedicated to
photography.  *I saw a little brown bug' *doesn't get you very far ID-wise.
Photographing bugs is similar to birds and you can use the same camera if
you wish.  With bugs you can get a lot closer than with birds but you need
to  because they are much, much smaller than birds, and with close-ness
comes depth of field problems.  But, even a cell phone works on occasion,
although a macro lens is usually preferred.  *BugGuide.net* has all the
directions on how to get into it.  A BONUS.  You can be Birding the same as
always as you are Bugging.  You'll see a _lot_ more species.  And although
a rural area typically has more bugs, even a suburban yard can have a good
variety.  Especially if you plant 'pollinator plants'.  That way you can
enjoy both the Birds and the Bugs.  (They accept all arthropods, including
spiders.).  the photos are best in focus with the image cropped to only
show the bug, not the surroundings.  BugGuide.net.

Bob OBrien  Portland


On Fri, Dec 17, 2021 at 12:55 PM Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net>
wrote:


> Here is an essay by a friend of mine that I consider very worth reading:

>

> https://bryanpfeiffer.com/2021/12/02/birdwatchings-carbon-problem/

>

>

> Dennis Paulson

> Seattle

> _______________________________________________

> Tweeters mailing list

> Tweeters at u.washington.edu

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>

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