[Birdtalk] 2006 listing reports

[John Morgan]

>
> I encourage you to share your most memorable birding moments of 2006. 
> Sure, they might be the lifers you added to your list or even the number 
> you achieved. Or perhaps you'll tell us about the House Finch you rescued 
> from a window strike, watching the light dawn in your grandson's eyes 
> while you watched a nest of baby American Robins together, or a memorable 
> trip to a great birding location. Just share.
>
> Kris


OK. I'll bite.
Nothing even close to Kris's top 10 ventures--I nominate her to the Steve 
Irwin Hall of Fame for Birding Crikeyness.

If my birding activities were to be named after a television character, 
Winnie the Pooh would fit....me rarely leaving my 100-acre wood (backyard, 
JR Parkway and neighboring open spaces).

Several things pegged the birding experience meter this year:

1. The House Finch I rescued from a window strike ;) ...really! If ever I 
felt at one with a little birdie (Dr. Doolittle?) it was that day. The way 
that little Finch let me pick her up again after she was fully conscious and 
flying was indescribable.
Lesson learned: sometimes it's the bird closest to you that means the most, 
though mundane and seemingly less desireable to the crowds.

2. The Sharp-Shinned Hawk chasing the Magpie. Lesson learned: if you're 
going to heckle a predator, it looks bad when you have to turn and run. 
Either avoid them or have the skills and tools to deal with them 
appropriately. Never run.. The sign of weakness excites them.

3. The Peregrine landing and feeding just 200' from my bedroom window. 
Nature's beauty and majesty at its finest, and right in my own backyard. 
Lesson learned: don't just be a Rock Pigeon, be a Pigeon that Rocks. Less 
chance of getting clubbed from behind by 200 mph Falcon feet. Inversely, if 
you're the Falcon, be the best at what nature intended you to be. Second 
lesson: never treat your own backyard as a non-birding zone. Raise the eyes 
a little higher and be amazed at what's up there.

4. My new found fascination with the way American Kestrels (and perhaps most 
Falcons) "stick" their landings. It's powerful, confident, precise and 
evidence of their flying prowess and wing/leg strength. Also evidence of 
precise visual depth perception. They're another bird often perceived as 
'too common' but having amazing traits--I've seen them dart at Red-Tailed 
Hawks with such amazing speed. What's cool about accipiters in general is 
how they fly around at one-third power keeping the other two-thirds on 
reserve.

5. The recent purchase of "Winged Migration". If there's a bird in you that 
wants to fly, this video let's you be the bird. Cameras on hang gliders, 
radio controlled aircraft or whatever, someone convinced an awful lot of 
birds to let the camera be right among them in flight! See birds as amazing 
flying machines intuitively changing center of gravity, dihedral, angle of 
incidence, surface area and more as they maximize their airframes to achieve 
what man can only dream of. Highly recommended. Be warned though, for what 
ever reason....perhaps to really show what a bird's life can be 
like....there are some gruesome hunting scenes. Kind of a rude wakeup in the 
middle of amazing footage.

All the other first-sightings rolled into one represent the other 10. These 
top 5 were the ground-shakers for me.
John