top 10 list..
It's very interesting that N. Lapwing beat out White-tailed Kite for the number 1 slot when there have been but two (CT's is #2) records of White-tailed Kite in the Northeast ever; although this may be the first (possibly the 2nd) N. Lapwing for Connecticut, there are many records of N. Lapwing for the Northeast as a whole. I'd be curious to know what made it stand out. Frank Gallo
For me it was that I have seen White-tailed Kite in California without any particular effort - within my first few hours of birding there. As unlikely as it is in CT, as a "lower 48" bird it is not particularly challenging.
Northern Lapwing, on the other hand, isn't easy anywhere this side of the Atlantic. It was not just a life bird, but one that I could easily have never seen in North America.
Of course if there weren't differing views of this the survey wouldn't mean much!
Roy Harvey
Beacon Falls, CT
--- On Wed, 1/26/11, peeplo@aol.com peeplo@aol.com wrote:
From: peeplo@aol.com peeplo@aol.com
Subject: [CT Birds] top 10 list..
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2011, 1:37 PM
It's very interesting that N. Lapwing
beat out White-tailed Kite for the number 1 slot when there
have been but two (CT's is #2) records of White-tailed Kite
in the Northeast ever; although this may be the first
(possibly the 2nd) N. Lapwing for Connecticut, there are
many records of N. Lapwing for the Northeast as a whole. I'd
be curious to know what made it stand out. Frank
Gallo
Like Frank, I was surprised that Lapwing beat out White-tailed Kite. After
seeing Roy's and Paul's response I see a logic that didn't occur to me. I
thought of it strictly in Connecticut terms. As Frank said, Lapwing has been
seen planty of times in the Northeast. Quite a few birders in CT saw one on
Long Island a few years ack. It was a species expected to show up in CT,
while White-tailed Kite was pretty much off the radar. By the way, as far as
which might be easier to get as lifer, you can fly to the UK in January or
February more cheaply than some places in the western U.S. and you might see
a Lapwing at the airport! And it's probably less trouble getting to Scotland
(easy-peasy non-stop Newark to Glasgow) than to Lapwing sites in the
Canadian Maritimes
Greg Hanisek
Waterbury
----- Original Message -----
From: peeplo@aol.com
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 1:37 PM
Subject: [CT Birds] top 10 list..
It's very interesting that N. Lapwing beat out White-tailed Kite for the
number 1 slot when there have been but two (CT's is #2) records of
White-tailed Kite in the Northeast ever; although this may be the first
(possibly the 2nd) N. Lapwing for Connecticut, there are many records of
N. Lapwing for the Northeast as a whole. I'd be curious to know what made
it stand out. Frank Gallo
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA)
for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
If all Frank Mantlik wanted to know was strictly rarity level in just
CT, other than the two first state records he wouldn't have had to ask
us anything...he could have just pulled out the ARCC records and
ordered them from fewest to most accepted records. That would have
been boring :)
A couple years ago I polled 13 veteran CT birders to predict the next
"new" species to be recorded in CT with a list of their 10 most likely
birds. The results were published in the Warbler. Lapwing received 4
votes (11th place after tiebreakers) and WT Kite got 2 votes (good for
21st place). Those two folks who picked WT Kite were Jay Kaplan and
Danny Williams.
And for those keeping score at home, the "leader" at the moment with 3
correct already (out of 10 picks) is Danny Williams, who picked WT
Kite, Northern Lapwing, and Slaty-backed Gull. Danny, wherever you are
in Pennsylvania right now, strong work!
Nick Bonomo
Wallingford, CT
www.shorebirder.com
On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 4:59 PM, Greg Hanisek ghanisek@rep-am.com wrote:
Like Frank, I was surprised that Lapwing beat out White-tailed Kite. After
seeing Roy's and Paul's response I see a logic that didn't occur to me. I
thought of it strictly in Connecticut terms. As Frank said, Lapwing has been
seen planty of times in the Northeast. Quite a few birders in CT saw one on
Long Island a few years ack. It was a species expected to show up in CT,
while White-tailed Kite was pretty much off the radar. By the way, as far as
which might be easier to get as lifer, you can fly to the UK in January or
February more cheaply than some places in the western U.S. and you might see
a Lapwing at the airport! And it's probably less trouble getting to Scotland
(easy-peasy non-stop Newark to Glasgow) than to Lapwing sites in the
Canadian Maritimes
Greg Hanisek
Waterbury
----- Original Message ----- From: peeplo@aol.com
To: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 1:37 PM
Subject: [CT Birds] top 10 list..
It's very interesting that N. Lapwing beat out White-tailed Kite for the
number 1 slot when there have been but two (CT's is #2) records of
White-tailed Kite in the Northeast ever; although this may be the first
(possibly the 2nd) N. Lapwing for Connecticut, there are many records of N.
Lapwing for the Northeast as a whole. I'd be curious to know what made it
stand out. Frank Gallo
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA)
for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA)
for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
If I had been asked, I would have voted for the lapwing. It was a life bird within 30 miles of where I live. I have seen WT Kite in several states and even a few other countries. That doesn't diminish the fact that it was a great bird, just not a lifer. Chances to get such birds in CT (or the northeast for that matter), are few and far between for me.
Many of the "best" sightings I personally had in 2010 were of common birds in memorable, even spiritual settings. Watching 2,500 Canada Geese stream into WH Reservoir 6 on the Hartford CBC, many silhouetted against the rising gibbous moon over the lights of Hartford and listening to the honking as they arrived and chatted. Rare birds are awesome but it's often the common ones that keep the journey fresh.
Jamie Meyers
Canton, CT
----- Original Message -----
From: Nick Bonomo nbonomo@gmail.com
To: Greg Hanisek ghanisek@rep-am.com
Cc: ctbirds@lists.ctbirding.org, peeplo@aol.com
Sent: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 22:16:16 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: [CT Birds] top 10 list..
If all Frank Mantlik wanted to know was strictly rarity level in just
CT, other than the two first state records he wouldn't have had to ask
us anything...he could have just pulled out the ARCC records and
ordered them from fewest to most accepted records. That would have
been boring :)
A couple years ago I polled 13 veteran CT birders to predict the next
"new" species to be recorded in CT with a list of their 10 most likely
birds. The results were published in the Warbler. Lapwing received 4
votes (11th place after tiebreakers) and WT Kite got 2 votes (good for
21st place). Those two folks who picked WT Kite were Jay Kaplan and
Danny Williams.
And for those keeping score at home, the "leader" at the moment with 3
correct already (out of 10 picks) is Danny Williams, who picked WT
Kite, Northern Lapwing, and Slaty-backed Gull. Danny, wherever you are
in Pennsylvania right now, strong work!
Nick Bonomo
Wallingford, CT
www.shorebirder.com
On Wed, Jan 26, 2011 at 4:59 PM, Greg Hanisek wrote:
Like Frank, I was surprised that Lapwing beat out White-tailed Kite. After
seeing Roy's and Paul's response I see a logic that didn't occur to me. I
thought of it strictly in Connecticut terms. As Frank said, Lapwing has been
seen planty of times in the Northeast. Quite a few birders in CT saw one on
Long Island a few years ack. It was a species expected to show up in CT,
while White-tailed Kite was pretty much off the radar. By the way, as far as
which might be easier to get as lifer, you can fly to the UK in January or
February more cheaply than some places in the western U.S. and you might see
a Lapwing at the airport! And it's probably less trouble getting to Scotland
(easy-peasy non-stop Newark to Glasgow) than to Lapwing sites in the
Canadian Maritimes
Greg Hanisek
Waterbury
----- Original Message ----- From:
To:
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 1:37 PM
Subject: [CT Birds] top 10 list..
It's very interesting that N. Lapwing beat out White-tailed Kite for the
number 1 slot when there have been but two (CT's is #2) records of
White-tailed Kite in the Northeast ever; although this may be the first
(possibly the 2nd) N. Lapwing for Connecticut, there are many records of N.
Lapwing for the Northeast as a whole. I'd be curious to know what made it
stand out. Frank Gallo
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA)
for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA)
for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit
http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
When I first saw the results I started to question in my mind the order of
the choices. Despite being very aware of the nature of the survey (the
principle of which I heartily agree with) I couldn't help for a moment
falling back onto too many years of rare records/rarity experience and
assess the choices from a mathematical/statistical view. "How on earth could
LeConte's Sparrow be fourth and Calliope seventh!" I railed silently in my
mind. Then it dawned on me, I was being (as the Brits say) rather a Prat.
The list is clearly just what it should be, the result of a cross section of
the birders who responded, a summation of field ornithology and pure birding
pleasure. In reality, it matters very little to me what birds are on the
list, but it matters infinitely more that there are people who are
interested enough to make the list in the first place. I do have one side
thought though, when Frank sent the original email he accidently left House
Sparrow on the missive when he cut and pasted. No criticism intended here,
just read my blog if you want to see typos. But Roger Tory Peterson had a
particular soft spot for House Sparrows, I wonder if he were still with us
if he would voted for it? I wouldn't blame him if he did.
Dave Provencher
I must say that this whole dialogue has warmed my heart in this freezing, snow-laden Winter. To Dave's point, it is the pure pleasure of birds and being a member of this group, that helps me feel part of the greater whole of humanity. I feel that I'm a greater part of the universe when out in nature, but I do so with an intent to escape humans!
Thank you to all for your posts, including the more arcane ones of which bird should have what place in a top 10 list (After all, I always did find David Letterman's lists to be among the more amusing part of his show!)
Barbara Garrett
Stamford
----- Original Message -----
From: David Provencher
To: 'ctbirds'
Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 6:16 PM
Subject: Re: [CT Birds] top 10 list..
When I first saw the results I started to question in my mind the order of
the choices. Despite being very aware of the nature of the survey (the
principle of which I heartily agree with) I couldn't help for a moment
falling back onto too many years of rare records/rarity experience and
assess the choices from a mathematical/statistical view. "How on earth could
LeConte's Sparrow be fourth and Calliope seventh!" I railed silently in my
mind. Then it dawned on me, I was being (as the Brits say) rather a Prat.
The list is clearly just what it should be, the result of a cross section of
the birders who responded, a summation of field ornithology and pure birding
pleasure. In reality, it matters very little to me what birds are on the
list, but it matters infinitely more that there are people who are
interested enough to make the list in the first place. I do have one side
thought though, when Frank sent the original email he accidently left House
Sparrow on the missive when he cut and pasted. No criticism intended here,
just read my blog if you want to see typos. But Roger Tory Peterson had a
particular soft spot for House Sparrows, I wonder if he were still with us
if he would voted for it? I wouldn't blame him if he did.
Dave Provencher
This list is provided by the Connecticut Ornithological Association (COA) for the discussion of birds and birding in Connecticut.
For subscription information visit http://lists.ctbirding.org/mailman/listinfo/ctbirds_lists.ctbirding.org
Thanks for doing this, Frank. It was fun.
Mark
Mark S. Szantyr
80 Bicknell Road #9
Ashford, Connecticut 06278
USA
1-860-487-9766
... and calling the quite young Danny Williams a veteran birder is generous. I have socks older than him. But since he has been out there since he was very small, I guess he counts as a veteran.
Glenn Williams
Mystic
A couple years ago I polled 13 veteran CT birders to predict the next
"new" species to be recorded in CT with a list of their 10 most likely
birds.