Bird Finding 201, Class #2: The Importance of Time

Howdy, friends! Dr. Sayornis here again, to open the Thermos of your mind and pour in a steaming hot cup of extra-strong, grade A java, and then seal it up tight so the brew stays nicely hot.

It's about time! I mean, as in the subject matter of today's lecture, not "finally". And if you were looking for the lecture about thyme, then you should head to the next building over for the "Six Shocking Things You Didn't Know About Common Herbs" class.

Let's start with a deep thought: Time Matters, Or Sometimes It Doesn't.

Shall we unpack this a bit?

Like you, birds have a schedule, a routine, a bit of semper idem, if you will. (And note that all good Professors must inject a little Latin periodically, to show our general superiority to the student.)

So, knowing the habits of a particular bird can both help bring it into view and save you a pile of your own time not spent looking when the bird is not then. (speaking in deliberately obtuse sentences, +1 General Superiority)

Examples, you ask? Quippe ubi. (+1 GS)

In my last adventure, I wanted to find a Crissal Thrasher. These secretive birds of the Southwest lurk about in thick thickets of mesquite, and are easiest to find when they are calling. When do they call? Usually at dawn or dusk, so I started hiking at Catalina State Park near Tucson shortly after dawn and wandered through mesquite-y areas until I found one perched at the top of a tree, singing its brains out.

Night is a good time for Poorwills, other members of Caprimulgidae, and Owls. But do you have to stay up until the sun peeps above the horizon to find one? No! Capri's will often start calling just after dusk, when they begin to go about their night's activities. For instance, in Cave Creek, on the east side of Arizona, I saw a report of a Mexican Whip-poor-will. That evening, I drove to the site of the report at dusk, stepped outside the car, and waited. Within 15 minutes after sunset, the bird started calling, called for a few minutes, and then stopped, and I didn't hear it the rest of the night.

Now, in some cases, time matters less. Some birds are active all day around where they live, or perch in particular places. So, to find a Rosy-faced Lovebird, I went to a Phoenix park where they were known to reside, and even though the temperature was a sweltering 95F and the time was around 2PM, I found them flying from tree to tree, squawking loudly, within 10 minutes.

That said, finding a bird still requires good fortune, although you can amplify your fortune by how often you try. I have been birding for 15 years, spending untold hours in the field and hiking uncounted miles of trails, and until last week, had not seen a Mountain Quail. That drought ended when, standing in a remote desert canyon near an oasis at dawn, a momma quail and her three quail-lets flew down from the nearby hillside to forage nearby. The more time you spend in the field, the more likely you are to find what you want.

To recap, our prior lesson explained the importance of knowing WHERE a bird is likely to be, and this lesson teaches the importance of knowing WHEN it's likely to be there, and that looking MORE OFTEN increases your chances of success.

Mathematically, then, the probability P that you will find a bird can be expressed as:

A = P(a bird is absent)
B = P(a bird is hidden)
C = Number of times you attempt to see the bird

P(Finding a bird) = 1 - (A*B)^C    (gratuitous use of math, +1 GS)

Live according to this formula, and finding birds will be that much easier.

One-minus-A-times-B-to-the-C, y'all!

-- Dr. Say

Bird Finding 201, Class #1: The Importance of Place

Estimados estudiantes,

Thank you for attending our free, three-part series on Advanced Bird Finding techniques. Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to locate more birds than you ever thought possible! (Note that identification of those birds will require our Advanced Bird Identification series, available soon for only $99/class)

Our syllabus is:

• Class #1: The Importance of Place
• Class #2: The Importance of Time
• Class #3: The Importance of Paying Attention

At the instructor's discretion/whim, there may also be a final examination, which must be passed in order to receive your diploma. Probably not, however, as he's kind of lazy.

With that, allow me to introduce our instructor, Dr. Sayornis. Doc Say, take it away!

Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Listen up, as I ain't gonna say this twice! 

Identification of a bird requires that you be near the bird, the bird provides some distinctive clues as to its nature, and you process those clues to arrive at identification. Like the Kardashians, many birds make themselves very visible and have clearly distinctive markings, so this is often a straightforward process.

The challenge is that many species are much more "Where's Waldo". They skulk about dense brushy undergrowth, or lurk high in the leafy treetops. The Proper Birder respects their desire for privacy, yet sometimes idly considers whether starting a small fire in that bush might indeed be the only way to get the bird to pop out.

To further deepen the problem, these birds are often relatively few in number and live in VERY specific places. Like a musician with a 20-page rider, the birds just won't be there if the candy jar contains anything except for green M&Ms.

Allow me to cite a few recent, personal examples of this from a recent trip through Arizona:

• A rare Five-striped Sparrow had been reported somewhere in Chino Canyon. After a long, teeth-jarring drive to the general area, all was quiet, and we became disquieted. Splitting our party into three, one walked north while the second walked south. The third, smartest member consulted our well-worn Sibley app: "found where dense brushy vegetation covers steep slopes above permanent streams". She stopped at the first location matching Sibley's description, waited quietly, and found the bird within 30 minutes. The other two struck out, but did get much more exercise.
• After nearly two weeks hoping to see an elusive Virginia's Warbler, we heard that one had been found in our campground! After walking back and forth along the creek, straining our necks from staring high into the leafy trees where we thought a warbler might live, we finally read Sibley's description of the bird's habitat: "dense brushy undergrowth with scattered trees on arid slopes". We ran to the other side of the camp, started climbing the steep hill, and found the bird within 15 minutes.
• The next day, we went  in search of a Gray Vireo. Having learned our lesson, we consulted Sibley before leaving the car: "Rocky arid hillsides with widely scattered junipers, oaks, or mesquite, with patches of bare ground in between". Ignoring other kinds of habitat, we quickly arrived at a likely area, and found our Vireo within 10 minutes of our second stop.

The moral of these stories is that while some birds are very picky, a good Bird ID book is more than just a collection of pretty pictures, and actually reading the book is often essential to success!

In our next lesson, we'll talk about how, sometimes, even being in the right place just isn't enough.

Until next time, I am

Your Professor

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Queridos pandas felices,

As we rolled into town, past the new El Pollo Loco and the old and still earthquake-battered downtown, we were surprised to be greeted by a Welcoming Committee including a high school marching band playing John Phillip Sousa's rousing "Washington Post", green and white confetti thrown by throngs of admirers, and a rose-festooned parade float. A true hero's welcome!

Actually, there was no Welcoming Committee, but after 54 days and nearly 10,000 miles driving, we're glad to be home anyway.

We arrived Friday evening to a pair of quail standing unmoving in our driveway, apparently confused as to why a car was driving down their road, chest-high grass in our yard, and three separate piles of coyote poop on our deck. Ah, home, sweet, home.

Since the last update, we birded around Tucson and Sedona, attempting to find desert-loving birds that would be impossible or hard to find in California. Thanks to hard work, being in the right place at the right time, and a knowledgeable friend, we picked up 14 more birds in the past week, bringing our total to 557 for the year.

When we started the trip, we had 371, and told ourselves that adding 100 new birds would be OK, 125 would be great, and 150 would be almost unthinkably wonderful. So, I'd say we're pretty happy with our final total of 186!

We're home for the next few weeks, before we depart in mid-June for a visit to Alaska. Until then, I've got a couple posts queued up that describe some of what we learned on the trip, so check back soon for that.

Now, off to fold laundry and pull weeds...

Me