Students, attention! Stop messing with your phones! Dr. Sayornis is in da house!
Well, my disciples, we have journeyed long and hard to reach this crossroads in our learning. This is our final lecture, and after today, I will continue onward to more great Bird Finding feats, while you will do...something. Whatever it is that you do. I'm sure it's fine. I don't judge.
In our recent lectures, I have sown several seeds in the fertile soil of your minds, digging into the importance of Time and of Place in Bird Finding. Today, I will dump a big steamy load of high-nutrient compost on these seeds, as you will learn the secret to transforming from a plebeian-grade bird finder into a Ninja Bird Finder Extraordinaire. Because, scientia ipsa potentia est.
Here's the secret: Pay Attention!
But wait, you say, quid est hoc? Actually, that's what *I* would say, as you students wouldn't know the Mother Tongue si momordit vos in nasi. Kids today! When I was a young scholar, school was for learning! Not socializing or playing the foot ball or whatever it is that goes on in "school" today! And if you didn't learn, the good Sister had a ruler that would beat Knowledge into you! But, I digress; mox nox in rem.
Now, the road to finding a bird is paved with feathers from the birds that you missed, so it's thick and fluffy and a little hard to walk upon. But, birds leave clues to their location and identity like a politician makes promises at election time, so just Pay Attention! and birds will literally jump out of trees at you.
To illustrate, let me regale you with tales of how the good Doc Say did or didn't find his bird due to attention.
In Florida, at Bahia Honda State Park, I was scanning trees for warblers when a cuckoo landed nearby. Having seen cuckoos many times before, I just glanced casually at the bird before walking on. I assumed it was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, as I had seen these recently, but when I checked online to see how often they had been reported, I was shocked to discover that NONE had been reported. However, the elusive Mangrove Cuckoo, had been reported several times at the park! So did I have the first sighting of a Yellow-billed for the season, or my first ever Mangrove? I hadn't looked closely at the field marks, so I had no idea, and sadly had to eschew reporting it.
In Cave Creek, Arizona, I was strolling through a campground, watching the sky for hawks, when something caught my ear:
Unfamiliar with the sound, I traced it to a small branch high in a tree, only to be blazed by the iridescence of a Blue-throated Hummingbird! Had I not noticed the sound, I never would have seen that bird.
Sometimes, an unusual situation should cause your attention to be raised. Earlier this year, at Estero Llano Grande State Park in Texas, I unexpectedly discovered a large flock, a dozen or so, of Clay-colored Thrush feeding on ripe berries from anacua trees. Previously, I had only seen these one or two at a time, so I should have been more interested in studying them, but instead I walked onward. Just the next day, Rare Bird Alerts were afire with news that a very unusual White-throated Thrush had been seen in those anacua trees! Had I seen it? I don't know, because I wasn't freaking Paying Attention!
The last piece of advice I would have along these lines is semper paratus. You know better than to take your final exam without studying (don't you?!?!), so why would you venture into The Field without knowledge of what you might see? In Arizona, I was hiking a trail through dense mesquite brush, when a small warbler with a solid gray head and yellow chest popped into view. Knowing that these field marks could mean only one of a couple birds, I quickly looked for the definitive mark: indeed, he had a broken white eye ring, which could only mean a MacGillivray's Warbler! So, by knowing the field marks and what birds were likely in the area, a bird could be identified with only a brief glance.
And with that, our Bird Finding 201 class concludes. For your next Bird Finding Expedition, you will know to prepare in advance, go to the right habitats, spend the proper time, and dammit Pay Attention!
Now, go out there and make me proud,
Dr. Sayornis
In vino veritas
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