All,
Plumage pun intended, yet seriously...
For what Angus Wilson wrote - thanks - he elaborated eloquently.
Among the points Kevin Karlson and many other expert (if you don't
like the term "expert", substitute "extremely experienced") birders
have long made repeatedly and which bear repeating, is how variable
the plumages on many species of birds that normally occur in our
state and region of the world can be, indeed are. Really learning, to
the extent we can, what we can, of our "regular" birds allows the
possibility of recognizing those rare instances that make the bird
which is truly rare, rare. The "stints" (or collectively, all the
species placed in the genus Calidris) are a challenging group, among
a larger group (the 'shorebirds', or 'waders' if you like) that are
often challenging. It's one reason why photos may further our
education, exactly because not everyone may get to see (in life) all
of these plumage and other variations in appearances, even those who
are able to be in the field a great deal. In an era where the
majority of birders do not study specimen skins (and which can
sometimes be mislabeled) or birds at a banding station (which can
also sometimes be misidentified), there are photographs, video and
let us never forget, illustration. The use of basic field notes and
sketches can be quite rewarding when possible. For those with the
ability, fine illustration can bring out informative detail - it is a
shame in a way that we do not usually get to see the full-sized work
of many bird illustrators. Just to mention one, many years ago I was
able to view the late Arthur Singer's original art for the books he's
well-known for illustrating, the good old "Golden Guide to Birds of
North America" and the "Birds of the World", and the original artwork
was stunning by comparison to what one sees in the books themselves.
The same is true of many artist-illustrators, including any number
who have worked in New York. If you marvel at the fine artwork in
the latest Breeding Bird Atlas of NY, you might be stunned at the
quality of that art work in the originals, and this holds for many,
many other artists' very fine art illustration works as well. A lot
of study has gone into the finest of these bird and nature
illustrators' work.
In any case there are many paths to enlightenment in the never-ending
road known as learning. I happen to fall into the "more is better"
category, which is to say there are an abundance of resources now
available in studying birds, whether of our state and region and/or
increasingly, of most anywhere.
Still hoping photos of the eastern Long Island Calidris sandpiper can
be offered here.
- - - - -
Just now - in Central Park, Manhattan, N.Y. City at least 100 Common
Nighthawks went over in a generally SW direction, many seen from the
North Meadow ball fields perimeter area, & possibly more (additional)
birds going over the Great Lawn oval in the park's lights as well as
all the light of the city - the time was well after sunset, thru
about 9 p.m.
Tom Fiore,
Manhattan
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