[Birdnet] Reply to Laline

[David Jensen]

Laline,
  Thought I'd try to take a stab at your request and description as briefly as possible. Firstly, I don't mean this to sound snobby BY ANY MEANS, but you can ask pretty much any birder and they'll tell you when they first started out they (INCLUDING MYSELF) made many mistakes in identifying birds. One gets better with practice (I've been at it for 31 years). It is very, very easy to see a bird, even after years of experience, and not really be able to describe what one saw. Lighting conditions, especially morning time, I've found over the years, can be especially troublesome. I've been asked to identify birds by many people (beginners) and can say that the way most birds are described I know no such bird exists. Like I said it just takes practice, practice, practice. As for what your sister saw, from what I read I knew no such bird existed in Utah. After giving it some thought what I've come up with is that she POSSIBLY saw a group of Cedar Waxwings (the head "tuft"
 description is what made me choose this species) in some kind of light that possibly made it look like they had blue in their wings. Of course it's just a guess. One day, look closely at a very common bird that is near you. Then some early morning look at the same bird (especially if it is on the wing) and see how different its color(s) may be. I had a weird "color" happen to me just recently and you can be sure it's common. Just keep birding and you'll be a pro in no time. And your sister too.
  Good luck and have fun.
  David Jensen
   

       
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