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sue-o
December 17th, 2007, 12:51 PM
It’s cold and rainy today and I haven’t left the boat, but I got a lifer any way. A lifer I saw on March 27, 2005. I was going through the Collins Bird Guide looking for a bird I saw in Ostia Antica a few days ago when I stumbled across a bird I saw on Shumma Island, Eritrea. I couldn’t id it when I saw it because I didn’t have a guide book. I knew instantly when I saw the the illustration that my unidentified bird now had a name. I dug out my notes from Shumma and am sure of the id—Black-crowned Sparrow Lark. Nothing like getting a lifer while lounging in pajamas.
Sue
Bobolink44
December 19th, 2007, 08:07 AM
armchair tick - very gratifying!
sue-o
December 19th, 2007, 11:03 AM
I listed the date as when I saw the bird rather than the id date. How would a 'proper' birder do that?
Bobolink44
December 19th, 2007, 04:31 PM
How would a 'proper' birder do that? Not sure there is such thing as a "proper birder" and I'm certainly not one but I think most would do what you did and list the date of sighting rather than date of ID
sue-o
December 19th, 2007, 05:17 PM
The thought of 'proper' birders or birding never entered my mind until I hooked up to the 'real' world via internet. Now I know I'm not proper. :)
Still, it's nice to know how other people do things. Thanks for the response.
Sue
cuckooroller
December 23rd, 2007, 05:23 PM
Sue,

Were you able to figure out the bird from Ostia?
sue-o
January 5th, 2008, 12:08 PM
Sue,

Were you able to figure out the bird from Ostia?
Hi Steve,
I'm embarrassed to say it must have been a Chaffinch. I only saw it from the back for a very short time and saw a greenish yellow rump and brown mantle and I thought I saw yellow wing-bars. I've never noticed such a vivid rump on a Chaffinch, and I've never seen one with so much yellow on the wing. They've always seemed so striking with slate-blue and rufous and white wing-bars. A car pulled up to park very close to me just as I saw the bird. I took my eyes away make sure I was out of the way and by the time I looked back for the bird, it was gone. I think it was the only activity in the area for an hour! Why do things like that alway happen when you really want to hear or see something? :)
Sue