The Nemesis Bird » Uncategorized

And more bizarre news…

Drew — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:01:00 +0000

Pelagic boundaries change, now include inland lakes

Drew — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:50:00 +0000

From the DVOC mailing-”Rule change – Beginning today, any bird seen on or over “any body of water” within 50 miles of the political boundary of a state can be counted for that state. The term “any body of water” includes offshore waters, inshore waters, lakes, ponds, rivers, etc.

Comments by the committees

- The committees are aware that the ramifications of this change will be monumental. While this will certainly change offshore pelagic listing, it will have a greater effect on general birding. For instance, a bird seen on or over Lilly Lake (Cape May County, NJ) could previously only be counted on a birder’s New Jersey list. But now, since Lilly Lake is “body of water” and is less than 50 miles from Delaware, a bird seen on or over Lilly Lake can now be counted on a birder’s Delaware list. In the same way a bird sighted on or over Lake Nockamixon (Buck County, PA) can now be counted on a birder’s New Jersey list. An extreme example of this rule change is that the impoundments at John Heinz NWR at Tinicum (Delaware County and Philadelphia County, PA) are in Pennsylvania and are within 50 miles of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. Thus a bird seen on or over those impoundments is now countable in four states.

- The committees urge birders restrain themselves and only count a single sighting on one state’s list, but there is nothing in the new rules preventing a single sighting from being counted on multiple states lists if a birder wishes. It is up to the individual birder to determine what state or states he or she wants to use to list any particular bird when it is seen in a location where multiple states overlap.

- Obviously this change will be confusing at first but after the appropriate maps are made available, the new boundaries will be clear.

- This change takes affect today – 4/1/2008“

Happy April Fool’s Day!

How will border fence affect Texas birding?

Drew — Sun, 06 May 2007 16:40:00 +0000

Amy Hooper over at WildBird on the Fly recently blogged on what a border fence could mean for the birds and birders visiting south Texas. Read her entire post here.

I think the idea of a big fence stretching hundreds or thousands of miles is a silly proposal, more like what kids playing in a sandbox would suggest. The people crossing our border are already making it through many difficult obstacles and I find it hard to believe that one more obstacle is going to make a difference.

The Onion features birding

Drew — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:51:00 +0000

I guess birding has finally made it. Our sport has been featured in the great satirical newspaper, The Onion. Focusing mainly on apparent errors in the Sibley Guide to Birds it is humorous at times although not really that great. Hopefully someday birding will actually get featured in a clever satirical article, but we will have to wait.

Check out the full article here.

Far flying Godwits

Drew — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:04:00 +0000

Here is an exciting news clip from New Zealand. It’s nice to see birds making the news.

Bar-tailed Godwits, a shorebird that breeds in Alaska and winters in New Zealand and Australia have been tracked in their migration. The Bar-tailed Godwit is one of the species that is considered High Concern under the US Shorebird Conservation Plan due to their low breeding population of 100,000-150,000 in Alaska. Threats to their wintering grounds and migratory stopover sights in Asia, as well as their restricted breeding range in North America are also factors.

It is incredible, and in fact hard to believe, that these birds weighing in at less than a pound, can fly non-stop for a week, covering 6,000 miles (10,000 km).

Bar-tailed Godwit

Source: Point Reyes Bird Observatory
Photo credit: Changhua Coast Conservation Action

2007 List of Banished Birding Words

Drew — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:22:00 +0000

Check out djringer’s 2007 List of Banished Birding Words, based on Lake Superior State University’s List of Banished Words. I know I’ve been guilty of some of these.