[CT Birds] Broad-wingeds to the left of us...

[Clay Taylor]

Hi all -

Greg's cautions are spot on, and in these days of digital cameras and
phones, it has become almost de-rigueur that you should try to get a photo
of an interesting bird.   I was with a few British birders last weekend in
TX, and one remarked that in Great Britain, it has become an unspoken rule
that any interesting bird reports had better be accompanied by photos.   The
last great bastion of field notes and field sketches has crumbled.

The Mystery Warbler from Hammonasset Beach S.P. last fall is a perfect
example of a picture generating a few thousand words, but not a positive ID.
However, that shouldn't deter you from bringing your camera with you, even
if all you have with you is your binocular.    Practice your dig-binoc
techniques, and you might be surprised how good the results can be.

I also subscribe to FL Birds and TexBirds, and there are definite trends in
wintering raptors and early arrivals the past few years.   I know of NO
wintering Swallow-tailed Kite records for the continental US, but there were
multiple FL reports of Swallow-tails this February - VERY early returnees.

 There were verified wintering Broad-wings in the Lower Rio Grande Valley,
TX, this winter, and the number of winter B-ws in FL (traditionally the only
place where a wintering B-w would not raise eyebrows) seemed to be higher
than normal.   Personal note - since the wintering migrants in FL have
always seemed to have a Western flavor (Western Kingbirds, Scissor-tailed
Flycatchers, Swainson's Hawks, etc.) and the state harbors isolated
populations of western bird species (Scrub-Jay, Burrowing-Owl), it would not
surprise me to find out that the Broad-wings that winter in FL might
actually be from the western B-w populations.

With rain in the offing tonight here in CT, and SSW winds tomorrow, there
should be a LOT of things showing up in CT in the next few days - Eastern
Phoebes, Piping Plovers, Osprey, Pine Warblers (how do we tell them from the
ones that wintered? Hmmm...), Little & Black-headed Gulls, etc.

Keep your eyes open and the batteries charged on that camera,

Clay Taylor
Moodus, CT
ctaylor at att.net


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "greg hanisek" <ctgregh at yahoo.com>
To: <David.F.Provencher at dom.com>
Cc: <ctbirds at lists.ctbirding.org>
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 6:49 PM
Subject: Re: [CT Birds] Broad-wingeds to the left of us...


> OK, now I have to weigh in with a little more detail. As Dave intimated
here, the Broad-winged Hawk thing may have begun to take on a life of its
own. Earlier this winter there were 4 reports of BW, and now we've had 3
more in a matter of days. To put this in perspective, historically there
have been virtually no BWs in North America after early December and very
few in the Northeast before April. This is not to say that none of the
reports this winter in CT is correct, but the number is so astounding that
it seems unlikely they can all be right.
>
>   I've spoken with some of you who have reported BWs this winter and have
gotten some good details from some observers. That is the point I'd like to
emphasize - details. When you see a bird during its normal season, a casual
observation carries little significance. However, when you see a bird
outside its normal season, your observation has a major impact on the
historical record. Considering that there is only one fairly well-documented
BW record for CT prior to this year, all of these reports change the
historic record dramatically. That's why a report out of season should be
handled the same way you would report an overall rarity, like maybe a
Gyrfalcon. Connecticut has more Gyrfalcon records than confirmed winter BW
records. Don't be satisified with a casual identification. Nail it down
completely or consider it one that got away.
>
>   I realize this might sound like a lecture (especially to you poor souls
who take a birding class with me) but I'm just a little obsessive about
records considering my long history as a field notes editor.
>
>   Based on that history, I can tell you that throughout my formative
birding years, reporting a BW in winter was the sure sign of an
inexperienced and incautious birder. Of course I grew up birding in NJ in
the 50s, 60s and early 70s, when attending an all-male meeting of the Urner
Ornithological Club in Newark was like having a sit down with the Sopranos.
Ridicule was a time honored teaching method. Needless to say this kind of
inflexibility also can bias things in the opposite direction. Good
documentation will have Tony and Pauly Walnuts buying you a nice ossibuco
(sic).
>
>   Any way if that part of my background leaches out of me occasionally
like detritus from a landfill, please accept that I'm otherwsie quite
charming. Anyway, I'm keeping track of all the reports, because there is
some recent indication of various migration schedules stretching out on both
ends. When I began biridng there were virtually no March BW records. Now the
first few seem to arrive in LATE March every year. The information we're
compiling may eventually show a significant trend, but it will be best
verified with detail accounts of unusual sightings (and of course some
photos would be nice. Raptors are hard to identify and not conducive to
quick positive IDs).
>
>   I'm smiling when I'm writing this...
>
>   Greg Hanisek
>   Waterbury
>
>
>
>
> David.F.Provencher at dom.com wrote:
>
> Oi! Here a Broad-winged, there a Broad-winged, everywhere a Broad-winged!
> Either things really are shifting or it's stint fever. I did see several
> Red-shouldered this winter...
>
> Dave
>
>
>
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