[Tweeters] How can I "up my game"?

[Mark Walton via Tweeters]

I can't claim to have expert skills but I can tell you what I do for "heard
only" birds:  I report the minimum number that can account for what I
heard.  If I hear two singing simultaneously, I report two.  If I hear a
bird sing to the left and then -- a second or later -- I hear one of the
same species singing distantly to the right, then I count two. Similarly,
if I hear one that sounds very close and then I barely hear one in the
distance, it seems reasonable to report two.

I'm sure that, when birding by ear, I miss many birds -- but that's also
true if I only consider birds that I saw. For every fox sparrow that I see,
there may be 3 or 4 more foraging deep underneath a bush that I never
detect.

Ar Aoine 28 Meith 2024 ag 08:10, scríobh Heather Gervais via Tweeters <
tweeters at u.washington.edu>:


> Question for the birding by ear folks that post their sightings to eBird:

> do you go by ear in making your counts? I'm really enjoying improving my

> ear skills, but couldn't imagine being able to determine the number of

> individuals by ear alone. Especially as in learning that in many species,

> only the males sing.

>

> Peace,

>   Heather

>

> Heather Gervais

> Certified Personal Trainer

> Fitness Instructor

> Spanish Interpreter

> Good person

>

> “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

> - Mahatma Gandhi

>

> Message sent from my iPhone. Please excuse its brevity and occasional

> typos.

>

>

> On Jun 28, 2024, at 7:48 AM, Michael Fleming via Tweeters <

> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>

> 

> Hello;

>

>    Rob is definitely spot on regarding this.  Birding by ear is a big

> advantage, it just takes a little time and practice to get there.  If you

> have a particular spot you like to bird (mine was Discovery Park) and learn

> the birds and calls of that area you will find that this will translate

> into recognizing these birds in other areas you visit.  This was stressed

> in the Master Birder Program that I participated in, and I relied a lot on

> it when I was leading birding trips for Discovery Park and WOS.

>

> Cheers and Good Birding;

>

> Michael Fleming

> Ballard, Washington

> MichaelFleming0607 AT gmail.com

>

>

>

> On Fri, Jun 28, 2024 at 6:10 AM Rob Faucett via Tweeters <

> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>

>> Hi Jim - short answer is “birding by ear.”

>>

>> There will be many more reply and I’ll get to something longer. But that

>> is really good, and fun!!, place to start.

>>

>> Happy to help further. Call any time!

>>

>> Rob

>>

>> —

>> Rob Faucett

>> +1(206) 619-5569

>> robfaucett at mac.com

>> Seattle, WA  98105

>>

>> > On Jun 28, 2024, at 5:54 AM, Jim Betz via Tweeters <

>> tweeters at u.washington.edu> wrote:

>> >

>> > Hi all,

>> >

>> >

>> >   I need some help.  I often use eBird to look up "where are people

>> finding birds" by

>> >

>> > checking recent checklists.  This usually helps me to pick a place in

>> Skagit County

>> >

>> > where we live because I can see 'what's happening' quickly.

>> >

>> >   However, what I've noticed is that there are lots of birders who are

>> posting

>> >

>> > checklists with 2x 3x, and even more as many birds as I'm finding when I

>> >

>> > go to the same place at the same time of day.

>> >

>> >

>> >   ===> So my question is 'what are they doing that I'm not'?

>> >

>> >

>> >   Here is what I am doing.  I walk and stop about every 30 feet or less

>> - and listen

>> >

>> > first and then try to spot the more nearby birds I'm hearing. When I

>> get a visual I

>> >

>> > will try to identify that bird.  I -often- hear birds that I can't id

>> from the song/call.

>> >

>> >   I'm fairly new to birding - started about 5 years ago.  When I am on

>> guided tours

>> >

>> > the guide -always- is way ahead of me.  My primary focus is getting

>> pictures and I

>> >

>> > rarely carry anything other than my camera with long lens - but when my

>> wife is

>> >

>> > with me she has her bins and that helps (some).  At least 9 out of 10

>> times I go

>> >

>> > out I'm by myself rather than with a partner or group.

>> >

>> >                                                                - Jim

>> >

>> > _______________________________________________

>> > Tweeters mailing list

>> > Tweeters at u.washington.edu

>> > http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters

>> _______________________________________________

>> Tweeters mailing list

>> Tweeters at u.washington.edu

>> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters

>>

>

>

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Tweeters mailing list

> Tweeters at u.washington.edu

> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters

>

> _______________________________________________

> Tweeters mailing list

> Tweeters at u.washington.edu

> http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters

>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20240628/3ecd9e9d/attachment.html>