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You might be a birder if.....


Kevin

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"Seagull" doesn't bother me because it's about as useful as the word "gull" when referring to the family.

I do drop the first word if there's only one species that something can be, like "robin," "junco," or "grackle," but if I'm out east I always use the full name for crows due to the similar Fish Crow. I use "butterbutt" a lot around family and friends, while I use "yellow-rump" around birders and "Yellow-rumped Warbler" around others.

@aveschapinas Even in English, I commonly drop the last word from names if just the prefix is unambiguous: "Great Blue" Heron, "Orange-crown"ed Warbler, "White-crown"ed Sparrow. On the other hand, I've overheard someone asking if something is a "lesser" and been confused because we have Lesser Yellowlegs, Lesser Scaups, Lesser Goldfinches, and Lesser Nighthawks.

You might be a birder if you use different names for the same bird depending on your location and audience.

Edited by Zoroark
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17 hours ago, Snake Fingers said:

You might be a birder if you inwardly(and outwardly sometimes) cringe whenever someone refers to a bird by its last name. “Oh look at that Jay!” “Such beautiful goldfinches!” “It’s a Chickadee!” “Look at that gorgeous Cardinal sing!” (Don’t get me wrong, I sometimes do this myself we all do at some point… I just cringe whenever it happens).

Doesn't bother me.  I live in an area where there's only one species of jay, chickadee, and cardinal.  (Note the use of lower case since I'm referring to families generically, and not exact species.)  

'Sea gull' does bug me but let face it: incomplete names and even inaccuracies are made due to ignorance.  Why get my undies in a bunch over something that was intended to show interest, and not intended to be offensive?

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3 hours ago, Zoroark said:

@aveschapinas Even in English, I commonly drop the last word from names if just the prefix is unambiguous: "Great Blue" Heron, "Orange-crown"ed Warbler, "White-crown"ed Sparrow. On the other hand, I've overheard someone asking if something is a "lesser" and been confused because we have Lesser Yellowlegs, Lesser Scaups, Lesser Goldfinches, and Lesser Nighthawks.

Yeah, if we're looking at a heron I'd say no, it's a Great Blue and not a Green; but even in casual chat before and after the birding expedition everyone goes on and on about the Pink, Crested, Wine, etc. they saw or didn't see.

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2 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said:

'Sea gull' does bug me but let face it: incomplete names and even inaccuracies are made due to ignorance.  Why get my undies in a bunch over something that was intended to show interest, and not intended to be offensive?

Agreed! It's a bit more complicated here; you have to decide whether to use the Latin, English, Mayan, or Spanish name; and then deal with the fact that the Spanish names aren't standardized, and there are 22 Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala so lots of variation there. 

Plus I spend a lot of time explaining to non-birders that hummingbirds aren't sparrows LOL!

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I don't know if it's just around here or if it happens elsewhere, but some of the birders I bird with, as well as myself, often call out some birds by their banding codes. 

For example, some of the common birds abbreviated like this are Lesser Goldfinch, Oak Titmouse, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 

Used out in the field it sounds like "There's a Lego" or "That's a Oati". 

Edited by Aidan B
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8 minutes ago, Aidan B said:

I don't know if it's just around here or if it happens elsewhere, but some of the birders I bird with, as well as myself, often call out some birds by their banding codes. 

For example, some of the common birds abbreviated like this are Lesser Goldfinch, Oak Titmouse, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 

Used out in the field it sounds like "There's a Lego" or "That's a Oati". 

People think we are crazy enough without us saying there are Legos flying by.

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23 minutes ago, Aidan B said:

I don't know if it's just around here or if it happens elsewhere, but some of the birders I bird with, as well as myself, often call out some birds by their banding codes. 

For example, some of the common birds abbreviated like this are Lesser Goldfinch, Oak Titmouse, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 

Used out in the field it sounds like "There's a Lego" or "That's a Oati". 

Some people I know do this all the time, I can understand them, but for people who don’t know banding codes well(we were with people like that last weekend, and they were very confused) it can be a real issue.

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1 hour ago, IKLland said:

How about the people (non-birders) who say that egrets are gulls?

You take one polite shot at education: 

"I'm pretty sure gulls don't have legs that long. I think that's an egret," or something similar.   

Beyond that, just let it go.  In the long run, it doesn't matter.

Edited by Charlie Spencer
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Here's a good one.

You might be a birder if when your friends ask you what you did during the weekend you say birding.

I have a couple friends that always ask me what I did during the weekend. I always say birding and running. When I say this they roll their eyes and say again?🤣

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11 minutes ago, Birds are cool said:

Here's a good one.

You might be a birder if when your friends ask you what you did during the weekend you say birding.

I have a couple friends that always ask me what I did during the weekend. I always say birding and running. When I say this they roll their eyes and say again?🤣

I’m usually busy weekends, but I’m homeschooled so…. Birding I can get behind, running… not so much. I’m more of a walker and I constantly wear boots! 😂. If you want pain: go find a place where you can run laps at. A gym, a park, whatever. Then proceed to run one lap, then the next lap do it skipping, then running. Repeat this process about five times. Then you go to maximum pain: one lap running, the next one two feet hopping(put both feet on the ground and jump) then repeat as long as you can take, then go an extra lap. Oh and it feels even better barefoot too. You’ll you’ll thank me later, probably. 

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I'll run a half mile for the fun of it, at a mile it becomes exercise. At a mile and a half there had better be some competition, or I'm walking. At two miles... eh, with competition and a few walking brakes to catch my breath, maybe...

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6 minutes ago, Birds are cool said:

I run barefoot unless I am on the track. Even then, the only reason I wear shoes while running is because my coach makes me.

Outside? On roads?!?! Or paths or something? I’d get frostbite if I tried that right now…. That’s gotta be pretty punishing on your feet, unless you have super feet. Go ahead though, if you feel good. Plus it’s grounding I believe, that’s supposed to be healthy. I have the opposite of your case: because I wear boots I have to run barefoot in gym(running in boots doesn’t like a good idea).

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1 minute ago, Snake Fingers said:

Outside? On roads?!?! Or paths or something? I’d get frostbite if I tried that right now…. That’s gotta be pretty punishing on your feet, unless you have super feet. Go ahead though, if you feel good. Plus it’s grounding I believe, that’s supposed to be healthy. I have the opposite of your case: because I wear boots I have to run barefoot in gym(running in boots doesn’t like a good idea).

On roads and trails. The 10k race I am doing in March is on roads and I am running it barefoot.

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1 hour ago, Kevin said:

I'll run a half mile for the fun of it, at a mile it becomes exercise. At a mile and a half there had better be some competition, or I'm walking. At two miles... eh, with competition and a few walking brakes to catch my breath, maybe...

I usually don’t run outside, I’ve got time there’s birds why rush. Unless I’m late, then I jog(boots) and try not to slip, fall, then get run over.

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