[CT Birds] Broad-winged Hawks

[David.F.Provencher at dom.com]

I think it's important to emphasize how much the average birder can
contribute to our knowledge of birds and patterns of occurrence. The last
thing Greg, Paul, myself, or any responsible birder would want is for
anyone to feel they can't say they saw something because it will be
disbelieved by the "Old hands." It would be fatuous of me to say that sort
of thing doesn't happen with unenlightened people in all walks of life but
thankfully it is now the distinct minority in the birding community in CT.
Greg Hanisek for instance is one of the best of us at being open minded and
progressive in the world of birding and birders. And he is quite charming
even if he says so himself.

Patterns change. Evolution after-all means to evolve, to change over time.
What we know about birds and patterns of occurrence is changing, and what
we do know is precious little compared to what we don't know. It wasn't
that long ago that Rufous Hummingbirds in the east in fall/winter were
considered extremely rare anomalies. Now if we didn't have any in a given
year we would be shocked at the absence. It wasn't ornithologists or
long-time birders that really discovered the scope of the Rufous Hummer
incursions, it was home-owners that insisted the late fall hummers they
were getting were not Ruby-throated but were "red." Well they were right.
But they produced evidence in the form of photos and good descriptions. And
there was a paradigm shift and a recognition that something big was
happening with hummingbird migration dynamics. Now we have Rufous,
Black-chinned, Allen's, Calliope, and others that are known to occur in the
east and we all expect additional species to be found out here in the
future. Our eyes were opened. So please heed Greg's advice and you can help
change what we know about birds. Don't worry about looking foolish. I'm
living proof that looking like an idiot hurts a bit but isn't necessary
fatal.

Dave



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