As birders we often talk about the problem of common birds being misidentified as rare ones. The counterpoint, but probably more frequent, is that rare birds are simply overlooked. Here’s a link to a fantastic “Awareness Test” on YouTube.
Give it a try, it only takes a minute. The relevance of this test to bird identification should be obvious, so now you can just imagine all the rare birds you haven’t seen.
Welcome back to “blogland” David!
Alan
Thanks, David, I got a genuine “out loud” laugh out of that one.
VERY interesting Dave! I had a roosting Screech owl right outside my front door and I only found it by accident, so the point is well taken.
Welcome back David…we have missed your posts (via RSS) at the Illinois Birder’s Forum.
OMG… that was GREAT! Thanks for sharing!
…and welcome back; it’s good to ‘see you’ again!
Beverly
After taking the test I have come to the realization that I have most likely missed around 12,000 rarities since I began birding in 1989. Most of these while I was intently studying my trusty Sibley Field Guide. D#@*~!
hey there i tried to take on the “how many do we miss?” topic on my blog, here: http://birdist.blogspot.com/2008/03/discussion-with-john-of-dc-birding-blog.html
David, when this was dancing around the twitter a while ago, I actually thought of you, one of the few people I know who wouldn’t be in the least fazed by it.
Missing the keenly observant in my current forays outside the birdwatching world,
-Linda
Nice! I failed it, but it has a good point. I always miss things if I am not specifically looking for them. Thanks!