[mou] Blooper Stories

[shawn conrad]

Usually stumps for grouse and clods of dirt in gravel roads for 
sparrows....and during the great gray irruption a couple winters back, I 
pulled over a couple of times on 61 near Lutsen to check out those &@#$% 
plastic owls on the telephone poles.

A few years back I worked on a raptor nest survey and reported hearing a 
goshawk calling several times but it ceased before we could determine its 
location.  A couple of weeks later I bumped into a contracted researcher who 
told me he had been calling off the same forest road that very day.

A couple of years ago I led a short bird walk for some coworkers and on a 
couple of occasions we heard red squirrels.  I stopped the group in our 
tracks and asked if anyone knew what kind of bird was calling.  After a 
pause, I got several responses, none of which included any kind of mammal.  
It worked twice, but elicited groans after that.  Unfortunately the 
squirrels outnumbered the birds that day, so bad gags were all I had.

Shawn Conrad
Bovey


>From: "Pastor Al Schirmacher" <PastorAl@PrincetonFreeChurch.net>
>To: <mou-net@cbs.umn.edu>, 
><mnbird@lists.mnbird.net>,<BIRDCHAT@LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>, 
><wisbirdn@lawrence.edu>
>Subject: [mou] Blooper Stories
>Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 14:40:13 -0500
>
>Each of the 23 "blooper" stories has been well worth reading (insert 
>multiple chuckles here).  What do we mistake for birds?
>
>* Decoys & plastic images
>* Man made objects that are similar in shape (love the saucepan story)
>* Birders with tapes
>* Natural structures that are similar (including large droppings)
>* Mammals that sound or look like birds
>
>Not to mention the mis-speaking category (most common, "penguin" for 
>"pelican").
>
>Winner might be mistaking a birder for a moose, although we might have to 
>create a separate category for this entry.
>
>Certainly there are more stories out there, particularly from either the 
>more shy or well-known among us?
>
>Good birding!
>
>Al Schirmacher
>Princeton, MN
>Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties
>
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