Gary Herritz: Travel with Birdfy Episode 4 - Birding Perspective
When I started my travels across the country, a common question I received was “which birds do you most want to find? Knowing Texas was my first area, I responded with “Greater Roadrunner and Crested Caracara”. One individual called those birds “basic” and I said “basic for who? Someone who sees them each day or someone who has never been within a thousand miles?” On a south westward journey, I think those two species are iconic. Coming from the East, once you leave I-10 and head south, things start to change quickly. Boat-tailed Grackles become Great-tailed and it’s time to watch the skies for two species with White-tailed in their name: the White-tailed Hawk and Kite. This is also where the soundscape changes. The boisterous vocals of the Great Kiskadee, the call of the Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and of course the Great-tailed Grackle. As you head even further south into the legendary Lower Rio Grande Valley, the bird situation changes even more dramatically. But that’s a story for another post, most likely several.
My lifer Crested Caracara came on North Padre Island. I thought I saw one through the dune grass so I readied my camera. Then, from my right, one was flying in my direction very low over the dunes. I quickly adjusted my position and silently begged my camera’s autofocus to not lock on to a piece of grass. Success. Other life birds in the Corpus Christi included: Monk Parakeet, Cattle Tyrant, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Brown Booby, Cinnamon Teal, and Aplomado Falcon.
My life Greater Roadrunner came in the Lower Rio Grand Valley, but here’s a sneak peak:
Back to perspective. A commonly used example is the Northern Cardinal. A regular feeder bird in the East, and a rare vagrant to most of the West. Where you live defines how you perceive the bird. It’s either minimized or idolized depending on where you reside. I witnessed an even better example at Magee Marsh in Ohio, the self-proclaimed “Warbler Capital of the World”. Within moments of talking to an individual who “had a rough day” and “only found a dozen species of warblers”, I met someone who “had their best day ever” and found their life Prothonotary Warbler. You can guess which half of the country each was from.
I believe it’s really important when we bird to recognize that the person next to us may be a new birder, from another area, or on the fence about diving into the world of birds. The things that we say, do, and the way that we respond to questions or situations can have a meaningful impact, both positive or negative. A more experienced birder should never minimize other’s experience and remember that all of us had to start somewhere. We all had our first bird. Many have even had a “spark bird”(a topic I’ll soon be covering), or the bird that hooked us into the birding world. My enthusiasm grows each time I tell my spark bird story. I try to keep that excitement with all birds, especially the “basic” birds, as it is their unwavering loyalty to a geographic location that makes them so special. They are the friends that you know will always show up and that makes them anything but basic. Joyful birding, everyone.
