debunkshy:
Red Knot
Alligator Point, FL
12-26-17
#301
I saw the bird while birding yesterday with an old acquaintance, Rob H., whom I hadn’t seen in 30 years. The bird was associating with some Willets on the beach near the mouth of Carpinteria Creek, but was clearly smaller than they were. I ended up convincing myself it was a Wandering Tattler, even after Rob commented on how weird it was that it wasn’t bobbing its tail. Also troubling was that its legs weren’t the bright yellow of the Tattler, but were distinctly greenish. And that whole foraging-on-the-beach thing was wrong for Tattler; they like rocks. In hindsight I should have taken more time to figure out what was going on.
Fast forward to last night, when a report came in from Peter S. of two Red Knots at Devereaux. I was planning to go up there this morning before work to see if they were still there, so I set the alarm for 5 a.m. While getting ready to leave this morning I saw that Peter had posted a photo, so I checked it out.
Oh. Heh. Peter’s birds looked exactly like the one I saw yesterday. Everything clicked into place: The legs, the non-bobbing, the sandy beach. I’d seen a Red Knot without realizing it.
Something I chatted with Rob about as we were finishing up yesterday took on extra resonance. We were talking about getting IDs wrong, and needing to always second-guess oneself. I commented about how back in the old days I was wrong all the time, too. But back then I wouldn’t necessarily realize it; I’d just never find out. Now, with eBird and chasing rarities such that I’m sometimes rubbing shoulders with really expert birders, my errors have the potential to be embarrassingly public.
It’s educational, which is great. And the embarrassment serves a useful purpose. Also, at least in this case the mistake being corrected means I picked up a bird for the county year list rather than losing one, like I did with my “Pectoral Sandpiper” Sanderling.
Anyway. Onward.
Reposted from https://lies.tumblr.com/post/178080130746.
