Ardeidae (herons) and picidae (woodpeckers) are my two favorite bird familes, so the great bittern and the flicker get automatic passes, even if that means ousting a tern in the process. I spent the morning of my birthday a few years back volunteering to help researchers band young birds on Long Island. I believe all birds banded that da…
Ardeidae (herons) and picidae (woodpeckers) are my two favorite bird familes, so the great bittern and the flicker get automatic passes, even if that means ousting a tern in the process.
I spent the morning of my birthday a few years back volunteering to help researchers band young birds on Long Island. I believe all birds banded that day were black skimmers and American oystercatchers, but piping plovers were also known to nest there. As we were corralling a young skimmer, a group of kids (probably in the age 5-7 range) all came marching onto the beach, led by their camp counselor. The counselor quickly assessed the situation, realized that he needed to stop the kids from stampeding right through our efforts, and quickly told the kids to stop because of a "piping plover alert." The kids, who were clearly well trained, all stopped and started shouting "PIPING PLOVER ALERT!" to each other in the most charming way possible. To this day, I say "piping plover alert!" to myself everytime I spot one.
Watched a hooded merganser male try to impress a female by doing the full hood diplay and started laughing when she immediately swam off at full speed. Merg gets my sympathy vote.
American crow because when in doubt, go with the corvid.
Balitmore oriole vs. potoo was another tough one, but went with the oriole because I still can't belive such a brilliant shade of orange is a thing that can occur in nature.
Looks like American woodcock (a.k.a. the timberdoodle or sexy potato) has the easiest path to the semifinal.
Toughest pick for me was California condor versus cedar waxwings. Majestic scavengers brought back from the brink of extinction or absolutely fabulous drunkards?
Ardeidae (herons) and picidae (woodpeckers) are my two favorite bird familes, so the great bittern and the flicker get automatic passes, even if that means ousting a tern in the process.
I spent the morning of my birthday a few years back volunteering to help researchers band young birds on Long Island. I believe all birds banded that day were black skimmers and American oystercatchers, but piping plovers were also known to nest there. As we were corralling a young skimmer, a group of kids (probably in the age 5-7 range) all came marching onto the beach, led by their camp counselor. The counselor quickly assessed the situation, realized that he needed to stop the kids from stampeding right through our efforts, and quickly told the kids to stop because of a "piping plover alert." The kids, who were clearly well trained, all stopped and started shouting "PIPING PLOVER ALERT!" to each other in the most charming way possible. To this day, I say "piping plover alert!" to myself everytime I spot one.
Watched a hooded merganser male try to impress a female by doing the full hood diplay and started laughing when she immediately swam off at full speed. Merg gets my sympathy vote.
American crow because when in doubt, go with the corvid.
Balitmore oriole vs. potoo was another tough one, but went with the oriole because I still can't belive such a brilliant shade of orange is a thing that can occur in nature.
Looks like American woodcock (a.k.a. the timberdoodle or sexy potato) has the easiest path to the semifinal.
Toughest pick for me was California condor versus cedar waxwings. Majestic scavengers brought back from the brink of extinction or absolutely fabulous drunkards?
ok i love every part of this comment, thank you so much for taking us through your process!