Subject: Re: Subdued clothing
Date: Feb 25 22:12 CS 1996
From: jerry pruett - jbp at mill2.millcomm.com


Chris comments about avoiding white cloth brought to mind an experience I
had once with a group of birders on the shore of Lake Superior. A bird was
spotted swimming far from shore, I believe it was suspected to be a
Red-throated Loon, which is a good bird in Minnesota. Anyway, someone took a
white shirt and snapped it as you would to shake a rug, several times in the
direction of the bird. This was in the pre Kowa era. The intent was that
somehow this would attract the bird closer to us for better X20 scope looks
to nail down an I.D. If I remember this did seem to work, although that was
a very subjective judgement, as the bird may have been swimming closer of
its own volition. Does anyone know if this is a valid technique, especially
costal tweeters birding from shore?



At 05:00 PM 2/25/96 EST, you wrote:
>I appreciate the opportunity to name-drop about just having gotten back from
>Papua New Guinea, where we birded from the Ambua Lodge for birds of paradise,
>among things. They have a very good bird guide, an Enga man, Joseph Toawa (not
>sure of last name), who taught himself the local birds and knows where they
hang
>out. He wouldn't let us wear any white clothing when going into the forest to a
>bower or display tree. Even the white lining of a hat lying on the ground
needed
>to be covered. Other light colors, like light blue or tan, didn't seem to
>matter. However, since the Archbold's Bowerbird did not come down to his bower
>while we waited, we may have still had some incorrect clothing on.
>
>PNG is a great vacation place, by the way. They get practically no tourists
>(17,000 last year was a bumper crop) despite having many nice hotels and
lodges,
>mainly I guess because of their reputation for crimes against non-nationals.
>However, I think Miami is giving them a run for their money. So far, I've spent
>7 weeks there in two visits and never even felt threatened. The regular people
>are shy but very friendly. Service is sometimes puzzlingly amiss, sometimes
>fine. Information is hard to get. I'd be happy to provide more info and details
>if any of you are thinking of checking it out.
>
>Chris Maack
>Bird Treatment & Learning Center
>Anchorage, AK
>73201.3124 at compuserve.com
>
>
jerry pruett "In the field of observation,
rochester, mn chance favors only the mind
which is prepared." L.P.