[Birdtalk] Sending hotline messages

[Jeffrey Saffle]

It's obvious that most of you birders have never spent time with serious
fly-fishermen.  You should.  First, you'd learn that unwitnessed
achievements always tend to be magnified by the reporter, in inverse
proportion to both the number of witnesses, and the likelihood of them
being true. It's funny how, despite this, sooner or later the truth
comes out.  Amazing fish are sometimes actually CAUGHT, and
photographed.  Amazing bird sighting are also sometimes proved, as with
recent report of Varied Thrush, rufous-backed robin, boreal owl,
ovenbird, etc.  Funny how some  people are always alone when the great
sighting occurs, and they always seem to leave their camera in the car. 
This inevitably separates the truly expert birder from the merely
imaginative ones.

Second, you'd learn that a certain amount of judicious lying not only
isn't objectionable, it's an admired indication of serious interest in
the sport.  Well-told tall tales of 36" browns who broke the leader,
40-fish days on the Weber, etc, are to be savored for their craft.

Third, you'd learn that challenging such tales just leads to bad
feelings, as is the case here.  When a fellow fisherman tells a story
which you seriously doubt, just nod sagely and say "fantastic!", when
you mean "bullshit!".  

Fourth, you'd learn that the amazing event NEVER happens when you're
there.  Just as is birding, the two most often used expressions are "you
should have been here last week", and "wait til next week".

Fifth, you'd learn that you're there to have fun, not resolve great
moral issues.  If others see passenger pigeons, great Auks, and Eskimo
curlews in Liberty Park, well, that's what THEY say.  Doesn't hurt my
feelings.  If I can't find 'em, they aren't there.

Sixth, as in so many other things in life, the only person whose
veracity, accuracy, bird-identifying/fly-fishing skills, life-list and
integrity you should be seriously critical of is yourself.

Let's relax and keep the  reports coming.  Some of them are absolutely
fantastic.



Jeffrey R. Saffle, MD, FACS
Department of Surgery, 3B-306
University of Utah Health Center
50 N. Medical Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 84132
Tel:  801-581-3595
Fax:  801-585-2435