Birding at The Dump

[floraphile]

Wow!  My first birding excursion to a landfill today and I was completely overwhelmed with the sheer number of birds--both individuals and species.   I will have to mentally prepare myself next time I go...and I will definitely take the truck rather than my Fusion. ?  Also, the booth attendant was welcoming and knowledgeable about what birds had been seen recently.   

Next stop--the sewage lagoons.

 

 

 

 

 

[Charlie Spencer]

2 hours ago, floraphile said:

Next stop--the sewage lagoons.

Wastewater facilities are great for gulls, wintering migrants, and the odd wader or shorb.  I'm BIG on retention ponds and industrial sites.

[Birding Boy]

18 hours ago, floraphile said:

Wow!  My first birding excursion to a landfill today and I was completely overwhelmed with the sheer number of birds--both individuals and species.   I will have to mentally prepare myself next time I go...and I will definitely take the truck rather than my Fusion. ?  Also, the booth attendant was welcoming and knowledgeable about what birds had been seen recently.   

Next stop--the sewage lagoons.

 

 

 

 

 

You haven't been fully initiated into birding until you've birded the sewage lagoons ?

[IKLland]

19 hours ago, floraphile said:

Wow!  My first birding excursion to a landfill today and I was completely overwhelmed with the sheer number of birds--both individuals and species.   I will have to mentally prepare myself next time I go...and I will definitely take the truck rather than my Fusion. ?  Also, the booth attendant was welcoming and knowledgeable about what birds had been seen recently.   

Next stop--the sewage lagoons.

 

 

 

 

 

I saw your checklist. Four bald eagles in a landfill??

[Charlie Spencer]

2 hours ago, Birding Boy said:

You haven't been fully initiated into birding until you've birded the sewage lagoons ?

... in August.

[Birding Boy]

25 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

... in August.

Neglected to include that bit. Great time of year for shorebirds too.

[floraphile]

4 hours ago, IKLland said:

I saw your checklist. Four bald eagles in a landfill??

Like I said--I was overwhelmed.  I could not even begin to count.  I could have just listed species and just put an "X" by each.   Any tips on how to handle the counting in such a situation?  @IKLland @Birding Boy?

Edited January 27, 2022 by floraphile

[floraphile]

@IKLland--I did just look at the latest checklist from that Hotspot and it was last counted by our top birder in the county and he only saw 2 bald eagles in an hour, so maybe my count was correct, for the BAEA, at least. 

[floraphile]

4 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

... in August.

...in the South

[Birding Boy]

41 minutes ago, floraphile said:

Like I said--I was overwhelmed.  I could not even begin to count.  I could have just listed species and just put an "X" by each.   Any tips on how to handle the counting in such a situation?  @IKLland @Birding Boy?

I wouldn’t stress over exact numbers if I were you; just put down some number that you think is close enough if there are huge numbers of birds. Far more helpful to eBird than an X.

[Avery]

1 hour ago, floraphile said:

Like I said--I was overwhelmed.  I could not even begin to count.  I could have just listed species and just put an "X" by each.   Any tips on how to handle the counting in such a situation?  @IKLland @Birding Boy?

As @IKLlandsaid, any estimate is better than X. I myself only use X in extreme situations (like last weekend when I had 5 minutes to scan a massive backlit flock of waterfowl and try to pull as many species as I could). 

[Charlie Spencer]

1 hour ago, floraphile said:

Like I said--I was overwhelmed.  I could not even begin to count.  I could have just listed species and just put an "X" by each.   Any tips on how to handle the counting in such a situation?  @IKLland @Birding Boy?

eBird's Bird Counting 101, 102, and 201

https://ebird.org/news/counting-101/?utm_source=Cornell+Lab+eNews&utm_campaign=b06879ffed-GBBC_eNewsletter_Jan2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_47588b5758-b06879ffed-278123221

https://ebird.org/news/counting-102/?utm_source=Cornell+Lab+eNews&utm_campaign=f8a32bdc17-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_01_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_47588b5758-f8a32bdc17-278123221

https://ebird.org/news/counting-201/?utm_source=Cornell+Lab+eNews&utm_campaign=b06879ffed-GBBC_eNewsletter_Jan2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_47588b5758-b06879ffed-278123221

[IKLland]

5 minutes ago, Avery said:

As @IKLlandsaid, any estimate is better than X.

That was @Birding Boywho said that. But, I agree.

[Kevin]

On 1/26/2022 at 2:21 PM, floraphile said:

Next stop--the sewage lagoons.

My mom says that place we go, that I want to go the the sewage dump.