Comments on: Odd Birding Moments In Kazakhstan

By: Eofhan

Eofhan — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:22:42 +0000

Steller’s Jay. That’s right — I didn’t even have to leave my country. I saw a picture in one of my Grandmother’s guidebooks. Thought it was cool-looking. Didn’t realize it lived on the other side of the continent, so whenever I saw a Blue Jay, I checked to see if it had a black head. Years later, on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Glacier Bay, I saw one in Skagway. One or two people wondered why I happily photographed a local nuisance.

By: Stacy

Stacy — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:39:50 +0000

when I first read “Orioles are feeder birds” I thought you meant that like ‘goldfish are feeder fish, or white mice are feeder mice’. LOL

By: --K.

--K. — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:47:14 +0000

This post made me smile, and brought back a memory. Several years ago, two friends and I took a trip to Scotland that started in the southwest and ended on the Isle of Skye. We (all Americans) giggled throughout the trip at how silly we must look to locals — frantically stopping every other minute to check our “Birds of Scotland” fieldguide and to madly snap pictures of rooks, hooded crows and magpies. We likened it to slamming on the brakes to watch a common pigeon. But really, there’s something wonderful about being able to get excited about something commonplace. Birding a new locale gives us back that wonder.

By: tai haku

tai haku — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:09:01 +0000

the ruff vs black lark story reminds me of a conversation I had in Venezuela when I had them stop the jeep for a group of 4 osprey circling over a pond. I told the guide there were more osprey over that pond than the whole of the country I lived in (we have 2 pairs annually on island) so I needed to drink it in.