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JBoone

Social climber
NC
Apr 4, 2017 - 09:10pm PT
Dingus

Young Tom in your pic with the beginnings of a beard. The Noth American wild turkey is quite a bird and spans an impressive range.
Reilly

Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
Apr 4, 2017 - 11:15pm PT
More to the point inquiring minds want to know why DMT flops on his back
and plays a rug for a turkey trot.


OK, not a great shot but my backyard bulbuls ain't the most confiding boids,
but boy, howdy, they do like them some hair gel and eye liner!
Tony

Trad climber
Pt. Richmond, CA
Apr 5, 2017 - 09:20am PT
Our local celebrity Osprey pair now have two eggs. One to go, then a long wait (~35 days)

Someone grabbed a screenshot of the egg being laid.
little Z

Trad climber
un cafetal en Naranjo
Apr 5, 2017 - 10:32am PT
my friend sent me some pics from the pelagic. Maybe it was a pain in the butt to carry the 600 m lense but it paid off. Compare my Peregrines to his Peregrines - same birds (2 separate falcons) but with different cameras.


and

Bob D'A

Trad climber
Taos, NM
Apr 7, 2017 - 07:11pm PT
Bird bump...Taos, NM.





cyndiebransford

climber
Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Apr 9, 2017 - 08:26pm PT
SteveW

Trad climber
The state of confusion
Apr 9, 2017 - 08:49pm PT
Sheesh, Cyndie!
I thought I was looking at Arctic flamingos before I saw the longspur!
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
Apr 9, 2017 - 08:59pm PT

This woman probably got something better. But then, she had several thousand dollars worth of lens, and I just had my phone.

john hansen

climber
Apr 9, 2017 - 09:26pm PT
Spotted Dove
BrassNuts

Trad climber
Save your a_s, reach for the brass...
Apr 11, 2017 - 12:38pm PT
Still have a number of Panama boids I haven't yet posted, so here's another dose :-)
Darwin

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Apr 11, 2017 - 07:45pm PT
WRT ^:

I love it when they show off!!!! Thanks y'all.
10b4me

Mountain climber
Retired
Apr 12, 2017 - 12:19pm PT
limpingcrab

Trad climber
the middle of CA
Apr 12, 2017 - 01:18pm PT
Doing a big day in Fresno county on the 29th. Anyone ever done that? How'd you do? Tips or tricks?

Starting at 2am near shaver lake and then ending around 10pm in the coastal hills. Record is 146, I'd love to break 100.
Bob D'A

Trad climber
Taos, NM
Apr 12, 2017 - 06:23pm PT
American Pelicans.


Darwin

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
Apr 12, 2017 - 07:48pm PT
Bob,

Are you on the coast.? G*d I love those birds, White or Brown.

tfpu
john hansen

climber
Apr 12, 2017 - 08:15pm PT
Limping crab,

Me and a buddy, Jim Booker, who is now over 2000 lifers , did a couple big days in Placer county in the early 80's.

I am still only around 300.

We got 123 the first time and 127 the second try. The county record then was only about 135 or so where now it is over 150 or 160.

We started down in the valley as far west as we could get at 4:30 am.

First bird was a " heard only" killdeer(we saw many later) but you can count ones you only hear, good for rails and owls, and those pesky little ones that will not come out in the open. I guess the rule is two people must be able to confirm.

I think both times were in May but the end of April sounds good too.

We spent the day working our way up in elevation till we got to Martis Creek lake ,at 6500 ft, then over to Tahoe.

Curlews and yellow legs and geese and ducks and egrets in the valley, up to the foothills for warblers and such, then mountain bluebirds, chickadees and gulls on lake Tahoe. Both days were really fun, we probably ended by 9 pm so only got a few owls.

Now days they start on Mosquito Ridge road at one second after midnight.

This route is known for 6 or 7 owl types. A few trips ahead of time to stake out places they have been heard can really help with the count.
We birded all the time back then and knew where to find certain target birds like Pileated Woodpecker , or Osprey. We planned out our route and stuck with familiar roads.

I would look to see if there might be a road known for owls in Fresno Co.
if you are really into it, and most people who do a big day are into it.

Mendota is a good spot for Swainson's Hawk and Clark's Grebe, maybe a Merlin,,

Might be hard to get to too high elevation with all the snow.

Good luck and let us know how it went.






I think those were the only 100 bird days I had till I had one a few years ago around the Moss landing area, if I could figure out gulls and Hawks and sparrows I might do better someday.
limpingcrab

Trad climber
the middle of CA
Apr 12, 2017 - 11:27pm PT
if I could figure out gulls and Hawks and sparrows I might do better someday.
Tell me about it!

Thanks for the tips, we have the route from the previous record and we're doing most of it, with some changes, and possibly last minute side trips for eBird rarity reports.

A friend of mine is a biologist up around shaver lake in the mountains and responsible for doing their bird surveys, including owls. He's gonna point us in the right direction for the start.

I've only been doing this for a few months so I'm sure we'll waste a lot of time trying to figure out stuff we're not familiar with. Up to 145 in the Central Valley this year so I hope to quickly recognize most stuff (fat chance). Heading to the Fresno WTP Friday to get passes and practice shorebirds.

Snowmobiling and splitboarding tomorrow and I'm almost more excited to go to a poop factory and look at birds the next day. Sure went from zero to full nerd quickly but it's fun!
little Z

Trad climber
un cafetal en Naranjo
Apr 13, 2017 - 07:52am PT
read the ABA official Big Day counting rules

http://listing.aba.org/big-day-count-rules/

some interesting highlights:
 eggs don't count as species
 neither do dead or restrained birds
 team members must be within normal voice range contact at all times
 a species group ie. "Dowitcher sp.", "Scaup sp.", "Accipiter sp." can be added as a species to the count list if you don't see an identifiable member of that species group. For example if all day you only see one hawk that you know was either a Coop or a Sharpy, you can add that bird to your list as an Accipiter sp. as long as you don't see a clearly identifiable Cooper's Hawk or Sharp-shinned Hawk.
 on count day the team can not use bird finding information received from outside sources
 at the end of the count the final team list has to be 95% shared by all team members. In other words for every 100 species on your list, five of those can be birds that were only seen or heard by limpingcrab (or only seen or heard by LC's partner). So, it's important that everybody gets on every bird.

Good Luck, and get your nerd on!

a happy Pectoral Sandpiper knee-deep in it at a poop factory
StahlBro

Trad climber
San Diego, CA
Apr 13, 2017 - 09:27am PT
dee ee

Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
Apr 13, 2017 - 02:04pm PT
Rob, was that from day before yesterday (at Josh)?

Good shot!
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