Birder PapaRrazi
An Amateur Birdwatcher's tally
The case of the misnamed bird. “Remember when we saw the lapis lazuli here that summer?” My sister sounded wistful on one of our recent drive by birding tours. We had seen one before in the area many years ago. Since we had seen one, we had always been on the lookout for another one. We’re just like that: wishful thinkers. If a bunch of ducks are on a pond once we always hope to find a lot of water birds on that pond. If an eagle perches in a tree we always look up hopefully into that same tree as we pass by. The first clue that he was in the neighborhood came from Birdnet, an application on my cell phone that works through Cornell to identify birds by their sounds. It's still a very new program , a beta, but we were surprised to see that identification. Surprised and very excited. He never showed up on that trip so we assumed the program had made an error. But we were still hopeful. “I can't quite remember what they look like.” my sister said. Since we were pulled over to the side of the road, I handed her the bird book to look it up. The bird was not listed in the index. He was not in the finches, where I guessed he could have been. We were confused. “Why is the lapis Lazuli not in the bird book ?” we knew he existed. We had seen one before. Over June we continued to visit that area, always hunting for this bird, along with common yellowthroats and goldfinches. Meanwhile, I searched several references for a picture. Finally, I googled it on my phone, “Huh?” My voice request brought up multiple pictures of rocks and stones. A flash of understanding turned into a theory. We had been saying the wrong term. A lapis lazuli is a gemstone, not a bird. What we were looking for was a lazuli bunting. I found the picture in my standard bird book. On our next jaunt we saw the real thing. Saw him, heard him. Got photos of him. It was good. Take a gander on my birding gallery for some of the pictures. The moral of the story? Don’t give up. And don’t assume you know what you’re looking for or at. A name can be misleading. Other sightings in King County this month: sparrows, finches, herons, hawks, killdeer, mallards, mergansers, kingfishers, juncos, swallows, red wing blackbirds, cedar waxwings, and scrub jays. Check out my bird gallery for pics!
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AuthorI love birdwatching. It's relaxing and fun. Even though I've been birding for over 10 years I classify myself as an amateur birder. I plan to write a blog each month about my experiences. Hope you enjoy them! Categories |
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