We had a great day. Lovely weather and eight new species. Thanks to Lise’s sharp eyes, one of those was a lifer for both of us. New species for the year were Eastern meadowlark, pied-billed grebe, common loon, hermit thrush, golden-crowned kinglet, osprey, red-necked grebe, and the lifer, a cinnamon teal.
We got back and I posted the cinnamon teal on the local listserve, including links to some poor quality pictures for confirmation. Pretty quickly someone else confirmed our sighting and posted pictures they took about an hour before we saw the bird. Then I saw my post forwarded to two other listserves, including the one that is only for serious birders. I can assure you there are no, “I saw my first robin of the year” posts allowed on that list. I didn’t directly post to that list because I was afraid someone would ask me if I counted the primary feathers or some other silly ornithological folly.
Cinnamon teal a long way off. It’s the one on the right.
The osprey was kind of interesting too. In a measure of avian adaptability it has nested on the top of a cell tower. Which naturally brings to mind a couple questions. Will the offspring imprint on the blinking red light? Kind of like B.F. Skinner’s pigeons. Will they expect food to be everywhere they see a blinking red light? More importantly, does the nest affect reception?
Avian adaptability
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 