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Muddy Feet and Misidentifications

Okay so I need to get something off my chest. I totally fell in love with ebird, have its little gadget on my google homepage, submit all my observations, and check all the latest sightings. But the problem with ebird (and the backyard bird count) is that anyone can post anything and it gets recorded. So lately there have been some crazy sightings being posted on there for NJ. Some guy claims to have seen a Henslow's Sparrow and a Hoary Redpoll at a heavily birded location, and the best, this other guy has been posting birds like Black-tailed Gull (I'd never even heard of this Asian species before and had to look it up), Veery, Swainson's Thrush, Common Murre, and a bunch of other unlikely species, all on the same day at Sandy Hook, where no good bird gets missed. I can only imagine how long he thinks his life list is. Anyways, I hope some reviewer sorts out the info soon.

That said, back to birds. I ended up getting muddy shoes, brown socks, and wet feet at nearby Six Mile Run yesterday after work. The trails are still very flooded there but I decided to tough it out. I got 2 Field Sparrows and a female Purple Finch there last week, but birds seemed to be hunkered down there with the strong winds. There were a few birds around, like an Eastern Towhee, some Eastern Bluebirds, and a Wilson's Snipe (first of the year for me, yay). Supposedly some Evening Grosbeaks have been seen here, but no luck finding any yet. Maybe this weekend will bring better results.

Published Friday, March 21, 2008 5:24 PM by TheGrine

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Friday, March 21, 2008 7:14 PM by thekiwi

# re: Muddy Feet and Misidentifications

sounds like fun a bit like my outing to Hopeville Pond have to say we as bird nuts can sure put ourselves through some crazy stuff at times but we do love it wouldn't have it any other way

Sunday, March 23, 2008 9:44 AM by kurtgeiger

# re: Muddy Feet and Misidentifications

I just started birding in January and i just began using Ebird. Since I am fairly new to birding I only post what is a confirmed sighting. I use this awesome website and my field biology instructor to verify my sightings before I post. I have however noticed  that people here do the same thing you were talking about. Around the first of the year people were reporting Swainson's Hawks @ Sac Valley Refuge( which in not possible as we do not have a year round population) and others such as Rufous Hummingbirds, Warblers that are seasonal, and a few others that simply are not here during the winter. As someone studying to be a biologist, it is not cool because there are important applications of ebird reports such as ecosystem health and species counts. Anyway, thanks and happy birding!!!

Monday, March 24, 2008 10:25 PM by Chris Bourg

# re: Muddy Feet and Misidentifications

To be charitable, I think a lot of those are inevitable beginner's mistakes. I'd be embarrased to say some of the things I thought I saw in my first few months of birding before I had any understanding of migration and range and families of birds.

The one's who crack me up are the folks who go around in groups with their pencils and checklists and if anyone in the group mentions that they might have seen something exotic, they proudly check it off on their life list, even though they personally never saw a thing.

That's why I take photos. The camera doesn't lie. Most of the folks in those groups are serious and skilled birders. A lot more skillful than I am. And I'm grateful for what they have taught me.

But on more than one occasion I've had people get really mad at me because they claimed to have seen something exotic and I shot a photo of it and showed them what it really was. I learned my lesson and don't do that any more.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 6:27 PM by Dovekie

# re: Muddy Feet and Misidentifications

I'm always scared of claiming I saw something and it turns out to be something else (like that big rock pigeon I thought was a raptor a few years ago ... hehehe), so like Chris Bourge, I also birdwatch with my camera in hand. Even if the picture isn't great, I can always zoom in and get enough identifying marks (usually) to make or ask help with an ID. ^_^  Still, sounds like a fun trip!  I loooove eastern Towhee's!  We had one visit the yard last year. I didn't even know we HAD blue birds in jersey. ^_^  Good job!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008 8:47 AM by cnybirder

# re: Muddy Feet and Misidentifications

First let me say, I am a big fan of Ebird.

There are filters in place so that most out-of-place records do get filtered out, however occasional a bad record will still get through. If you notice any such records you should report them as soon as possible to Ebird that way they can delete and maybe fix their filter.

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