Subject: Re: To twitch or not to twitch - that is the question!
Date: May 22 21:53:46 1998
From: Tom Foote - footet at elwha.evergreen.edu
On Fri, 22 May 1998, Rob Saecker wrote:
>
> I'm not sure what you're agreeing to, Tom. But as for competition, well,
> I've never asked anyone how big their life list is, and the only person who
> has ever asked me is my wife, and she's a botanist, not a birder. So where
> is the competition? Maybe I'm just not hanging out with the "right" people.
> :)
Rob--
Okay, you got me... (now, downshifting and going
into a 4 wheel drift... :) :)
How 'bout if we equate this to Track and Field sports..i.e.,
the competition is focused on a *personal best*..
I tried to point out in my reply to Rick Romea that this
really isn't at all about criticism, but really an
opportunity for stimulating interchange about methodology..
I really am interested (as is Teresa) in why we bird
the way we do...all of us like birds, but we are really
partial to some particular species...and how far would
we go to see that particular species? In my case, as
an unrepentant raptorholic if I were to go to great
lengths it would be to see a goshawk in the wild..something
not readily available to me in the areas I like to bird.
(even as I say that, 4 or 5 years ago, the Director
of Olympic Wildlife Refuge told me he had 2 goshawk
chicks brought in--one from a nest in Bremerton in a fir
right on the water and the other came from Chehalis..
so, they do turn up occasionally.. He showed very good
judgement in not telling me where the nests were as I
was ready to get the Questar out and my lawn chair
and take up residence observing... :)
I have since seen a goshawk in the wild and it was a thrill.
and I look forward to the time I might get lucky enough
to see those magnificent birds hunting and providing
for young..
so, I guess I don't know about the *competition* of
the sport..twitching just seems a bit frantic to me
sometimes.. case in point
Michael Carmody and I were at the Nisqually Delta
one time in late afternoon (a few years ago) a
guy carrying a scope nearly knocked us off the little
foot bridge walkway between the twin barns and
the river...her was huffing along and very excited
as he had come there to get a bushtit...turns out he
was from Boston on business at Boeing..had some time
between meetings, rented a car and came to NWR to
get his bushtit..he showed us his list..he wasn't much
interested in what the bird was doing, but really
tickled that he got to tick it off.. again, please
don't read this as a criticism..it truly interests
me that he was so driven to get that bird..that was
his style, I guess..or perhaps, more accurately, for
the moment as we have no idea what he does in Boston.
Tom