In putting out my little blurb I was a little concerned that Michael
Price might roast the effort. I consider myself only slightly warmed and feel
he was relatively gentle.
I do want to respond to several points.
Bonapartes's do clear out of Clallam County by mid December but they are
common along Admiralty Strait and American Lake near Tacoma much later if not
all winter. I suspect they may be common during winter at other sites that I
have yet to visit.
The main point of my exercise was to try to simplfy the problem of gull
ID for those who do not have access to a master birder and teacher (they seem
to be in short supply). There seem to be a lot of people out there who
regularly take walks along or visit salt water locales who are not
comfortable with gull ID. Also a lot of people I show gulls to, nod their
head and look at the examples I point out but I fear when looking at the next
flock on their own they will quickly avert their eyes. So I just want to give
them the encouragement to try and also give them a tool to get started. For a
beginner to scan a flock and find their first CALIFORNIA GULL or HERRING GULL
that they are comfortable with is a rarity. Hopefully, if they see a
SLATY-BACKED GULL or an ICELAND GULL they may be able to say that gull is
different and get someone with more experience to look at it before calling
the BIRDBOX or putting it on TWEETERS.
My wife is an avid watcher of Monday Night Football and I have become a
fascinated watcher also. That is why I picked that example instead of a
number of others which strike me as 'chewing gum for the eyes'. However, I
watch it strictly for entertainment and to keep my wife company.
Adult THAYER'S GULL's legs are more easily remembered by myself as bubble
gum pink. I agree it is striking and a useful if not diagnostic clue.
Now for my main point of disagreement with Michael.
<<One feature in isolation is usually of
little to no use and frequently misleading.>>
I feel that starting with one feature (leg color) is a good starting
point. Only a starting point but a useful one. If one starts with an overall
view without years of experience, one will give up. That is also why I feel
the GEOGRAPHIC is a better starting text than GRANTS. I tell people to take
it but only look at the photographs at first until they begin to feel
comfortable with the species.
Many years back I attended an ABA Weekend in Monterey. We were walking as
a small group down a rural road and far ahead a bird flew low across the
road. The leading ABA lister at that time said, 'HERMIT THRUSH'. I asked,
'How did you know that?' He said, 'You either know them or you don't'. I was
considerably provoked and said something like, 'That bothers me when someone
says that'. The younger, well known, California trip leader then went into a
quiet but very clear pont by point description of why that was a HERMIT
THRUSH so I and everyone else could clearly understand. The leading birder
then said that he knew he was not a good teacher and wished he was better at
it. I was profoundly impressed by both the knowledge and teaching ability
shown by the leader. To me it was a revelation as to why the California
McCaskey School had been able to revolutionize birding carrying it the next
step beyond Peterson. My professional life has been spent trying to teach
surgery to one person at a time and I resolved that if I was a good enough
teacher, I could talk any of my residents (students) through the surgery. If
I had to take over, it was a sign that my teaching needed to be improved. I
think holistic approach or 'jizz' for bird identification is a shield for
poor teachers to hide behind. If one cannot explain something so it can be
understood by a reasonably intelligent and interested person you do not
really understand it yourself. I know Michael Price can detail the
differences in birds as well as any Californian. It is just the word holistic
that makes me climb on a soapbox.
Bob Norton
Joyce, WA