Oi, Tom, I always enjoy your calls, never annoying! and you had an impressive tally for the Greenbelt in April… feels like half the species haven’t arrived yet.
as for indecisiveness, ask Missy what it’s like to bird with me, or ask Cheryl about a certain Cooper’s Hawk, or a Snow Bunting (both long ago, far away, in another dimension, on a CBC). 😉
sometimes i think birding is all about how well we can handle embarrassment, eh? it’s something i fail at.
Thanks again for calling, Tom, always.
Larry

—– Original Message —–

From: “‘Tom McCabe’ tmccabe9@cableone.net [ible]”
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2018 8:12:26 PM
Subject: [IBLE] Hull’s Gulch and beyond

I started the day early in Hull’s Gulch, and left there with 29 birds. I got home in time to add #30 in my back yard—a Cooper’s eating a M. Dove. In Hull’s Gulch I found 2 FOY birds, a Virginia Rail and a Calliope Hummer. The latter bird sat and preened in a nearby bush.

I then headed to Esther Simplot, then to Remington St., then to Laguna Pointe, then to Hyatt Wetlands. When I got back to Esther Simplot, I only had 51 birds and no Mergansers. But then I realized there was a female actively fishing in the main pond. I initially decided it was a Red-breasted, and called Larry Arnold to let him know. Then I had second thoughts, called him back and said Common. But then I spent a long time watching the bird and finally concluded it was, indeed, a Red-breasted. By that point I was too embarrassed to call Larry again, so I headed home with 52 birds. Just across Whitewater Park Blvd., I heard my first A. Crow of the day, and presto! I had 53 birds. It was a 30 mile ride, and I was beat when I got home, but it was also a gorgeous day to be riding my bike all over the place. (And I’ve apologized to Larry for being so indecisive and annoying.)

Tom McCabe, Boise

I started the day early in Hull’s Gulch, and left there with 29 birds. I got
home in time to add #30 in my back yard-a Cooper’s eating a M. Dove. In
Hull’s Gulch I found 2 FOY birds, a Virginia Rail and a Calliope Hummer. The
latter bird sat and preened in a nearby bush.

I then headed to Esther Simplot, then to Remington St., then to Laguna
Pointe, then to Hyatt Wetlands. When I got back to Esther Simplot, I only
had 51 birds and no Mergansers. But then I realized there was a female
actively fishing in the main pond. I initially decided it was a
Red-breasted, and called Larry Arnold to let him know. Then I had second
thoughts, called him back and said Common. But then I spent a long time
watching the bird and finally concluded it was, indeed, a Red-breasted. By
that point I was too embarrassed to call Larry again, so I headed home with
52 birds. Just across Whitewater Park Blvd., I heard my first A. Crow of the
day, and presto! I had 53 birds. It was a 30 mile ride, and I was beat when
I got home, but it was also a gorgeous day to be riding my bike all over the
place. (And I’ve apologized to Larry for being so indecisive and annoying.)

Tom McCabe, Boise

I humbly second this notion (substituting “IBLE” for “Texbirds” in Justin’s note below) about the relevance of our state listserv v. Facebook……. eh?
This is probably not new news? 😉
Larry, Boise

—–Original Message—–
From: texbirds-bounce@freelists.org [mailto:texbirds-bounce@freelists.org] On Behalf Of Justin Bosler
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2018 6:02 AM
To: daneferrell@hotmail.com; 4 Texbirds Maillist
Subject: [texbirds] Re: Violet-crowned Hummingbird in Nueces County

Thanks for sharing, Dane. Texbirds is still very relevant (in spite of the

mass migration to Facebook) and much more direct when it comes to sharing

reports of rare birds with the birding community than one of the many

Facebook groups with various titles, access and/or permissions. Who has the

time to hunt through Facebook groups for bits and pieces of information? In

my experience, alerts and notifications aren’t always timely or reliable,

for that matter.

In my opinion, Texbirds is still the go-to source for sharing sightings and

information.

Thanks!

Justin Bosler

currently in Dallas, TX

On Tue, Apr 24, 2018, 7:33 AM Dane Ferrell wrote:

> For those not on Facebook or in touch with the grapevine, there is a VC

> hummer in our back yard since Saturday morning and it remains this morning:

> 4301 Ravine Drive, CC, TX 78410. We are in and out but you can see the

> hummer. Park in the driveway, walk through the carport, through the open

> gate to the chairs. Sit or stand on sidewalk and watch the red glass hummer

> feeder. It perches within 10 feet of the feeder in the mountain laurels or

> hackberry trees. Please do not get too close – relax in the chairs there,

> the bird will come. Also, please be careful not to point binoculars to the

> neighbors feeder – it does not go there and the neighbor is not thrilled

> about the extra attention lately.

> Dane Ferrell

> Corpus Christi, Texas

>

>