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I've discovered that I'm not yet finished with the
discussion from the Arizona birdnet regarding careful observation. If
you've read enough about the topic already and wish to move on
to something new--delete now! This might be dull.
I have to defend the Arizona birders
who misidentified the Louisiana Waterthrush as a Northern. Those of
us on Utah's birdtalk had the advantages of seeing Richard Fray's excellent
commentary and viewing his hard-won photographs. When I first reviewed the
photos, I thought, "Duh--of course it's a Louisiana!" But my viewpoint
really wasn't fair. I didn't have to contend with field conditions to get
a good look at this bird. If you've seen either species of waterthrush,
then you know that both frequent boggy and darkly-lit seeps. If they don't
call, it's easy to miss them entirely. Waterthrushes don't come right out
into the open, pirouette in good light, or hold still at the exact angle so that
a photographer can snap pictures of the discriminating field marks.
Richard's narrative and photos are a testament to how hard he worked to gather
data on this bird so we could easily validate his conclusion from our warm, dry,
well-lit offices.
Frankly, I've never seen a waterthrush out in the
open or in good light. The last time I saw a Northern Waterthrush was
in August. The bird was skulking along a dim and swampy stream in Willard
Bay State Park, and I was lying prone on the embankment to minimize my
profile. The bird dipped and bobbed and skuttled through the mud and under
logs, and I was lucky to get a view of it at all. I had to move to
different openings along the embankment to get several views as the bird worked
its way up and down the stream. I wouldn't have even looked for a
waterthrush if I hadn't already known the stream was a place they
favored. In addition, the bird vocalized loudly while flying low down
the stream as I arrived. That's what signaled me to be very quiet, get
down along the stream bed--and wait.
The Arizona birders that misidentified Richard's
waterthrush had their hands full. After all, Louisianas and Northerns look
virtually identical and both try to stay hidden in dark, uninviting,
swampy places. If identifying waterthrushes was so darn easy, Kenn
Kaufman wouldn't have devoted a chapter to the subject in his Peterson
Field Guide, Advanced Birding. If identifying birds was so darn easy, we
wouldn't spend a ton on field guides and optics every year. I'm one with
those Arizona birders--because I have misidentified birds in the past, and I'll
do it again in the future. Those last two thoughts are the
only truths I know about bird identification. Why do I study?
Why do we all study?--To reduce future incidences of mistaken
identity.
I conclude by retracting my first thought, "Duh--of
course it's a Louisiana!", and replace it with the wish that we will all be as
careful observers in 2005 as Richard Fray demonstrated with his Louisiana
Waterthrush sighting on Friday. Good birding to you!
Kris
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