Life lists
What a thrill for someone to see a brightly colored bird, or an unusual, or rare bird, and to know that it is completely out of its range or habitat!
About three weeks ago, there was great excitement at Kiwanis Manor when an unusual bird at the river’s edge was identified as an Egyptian Goose. A colored picture of the goose and internet information was posted on their bulletin board. That goose is still at the Manor or was at the time of writing this article.
An Egyptian Goose was seen as far north as Toronto. Both the earlier Toronto sighting and the Tiffin sighting are thought to be of geese that have escaped from zoos or from some farm. Geese wings are normally clipped to keep them from flying away, but clipping is required every year as new feathers will appear after molting.
This goose is a native of Africa where it is commonly found along rivers and farmlands. The male at the Manor has a light gray breast, chestnut colored back and wings. It has a large chestnut patch around its eye. A patch of emerald green may be seen just behind the wing feathers. Differing from most geese, the Egyptian Goose may nest in burrows, other birds’ nests, trees, cliffs, or on the ground.
In November, 1996, a Long-billed Murrelet was seen at the local Beaver Creek Reservoir at Clyde. It stayed for eight days which allowed plenty of time for word to spread over the internet. Bird watchers gathered from all over the country and Canada to see this bird which is native of Siberia. It was a great addition to the life lists of serious birders.
Someone later hypothesized that it came as a result of a major weather front that moved south from Siberia, with the eastern edge in Ohio and the western edge in Colorado. The front may have caused the Murrelet to lose its bearing. Murrelets were seen in both places at the same time that November, 1996.
A male painted bunting, the most gaudily colored American song bird was seen in our area of Mohawk Street here in Tiffin in April 1997. Birders came from Cleveland, Michigan, Canada, etc. to see and photograph this beautiful bird. The male is a patchwork of blue-violet on its head, light yellow-green on its back, rusty red on its rump and under parts, with olive green wing feathers. The bunting stayed on Mohawk Street for four days. A male Painted Bunting was seen in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan about a week later. The normal range of this bunting is southeastern U. S. and west to Texas.
Five years ago in February, Mary and I were sight-seeing in southeastern Arizona. We noticed a group of excited bird watchers. Many had come thousands of miles to see a Blue Mockingbird, a native bird from the area south of Mexico City. We joined the group but failed to see it while in the group. As we headed back to our car, there it was in a small shrub, perhaps 40 - 50 feet away.
A few years ago, Tom Bartlett, after a full work-day as a biology teacher at Columbian High School, decided to drive to Provincetown, Mass. He was aware that the European duck (Smew) had been seen there for some time. After driving all night Friday, he was disappointed that it could not be added to his life-list since it had disappeared that Friday. On his way home, he had car trouble and stopped in Holyoke, Mass. There he added to his life list a Golden Crown Sparrow, a native of the coastal western U. S., Canada, and Alaska.
Tom Bartlett, a student of Dr. Howard Hintz, and a graduate of Heidelberg, has taught biology at Columbian High School since 1992. He is one of only 40 - 50 certified master banders and trainers in the U. S. He has been a trustee for The Nature Conservancy and is on the Ohio Bird Record Committee. He is a founding member of the Seneca County Park District board and remains very active in its programming. He is also a board member of the Franciscan Earth Literacy Center. Each summer he works for the ODNR.
Tom reports that he has 640 North American birds on his life list, and a total life list nearing a thousand. He also described how birders communicate with others about sightings, not only just rare birds, but migrating birds and others over the internet. It is a free internet service called List Serve for Ohio. There is a national site called Bird Chat.
Others maintain their own web site. Vic Fazio has one that can be examined over www.aves.net. Vic is now showing an Eurasian Widgeon that he saw and photographed at Medusa Marsh on Sandusky Bay. This rare duck is still there. His web site shows his photograph of that bird.
Mary and I were fortunate enough to see the Resplendent Quetzal in Monteverde, Costa Rica. I consider this to be the topmost sighting of any bird for me. Many consider it to be the most beautiful bird of the Americas.
The bird’s feathers are iridescent, and they glint different shades of green and blue. His basic colors are red, white and emerald green. The male has two-foot long tail streamers that flutter like iridescent ribbons. This quetzal lives in the high cloud forests of Central America between 4,000 and 10,000 feet.
The quetzal was historically revered and plays an important part in myths of Central American Indians. It was a giver of corn and plenty to the Toltecs. The nobility of the Aztecs and Mayas wore headdresses of quetzal feathers. The Indians did not kill the birds but trapped them only for their feathers. Anyone harming the birds would be killed.
The Quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala and that country’s currency is the Quetzal. Cloud forest are being cut down at an alarming rate and this bird’s habitat is shrinking day by day. Costa Rica is trying very hard to form preserves. The Monteverde Preserve is one of the most important.
– Percy