Date: 6/23/26 1:03 pm From: <lehman.paul...> via groups.io <lehman.paul...> Subject: [SanDiegoRegionBirding] (Rare) Bird ID group-think, questioning authority, and bird-finding abilities
A week ago, the monthly zoom meeting of San Diego Field Ornithologists was treated to a talk by Connecticut (and ex-UK) birder Julian Hough on "Phantasms and Fallacies--Problems and Pitfalls of Bird Identification." In this talk, Julian looks at the psychology of how we identify birds and discusses such topics as the need to question authority and to keep an open mind, how can both single and large groups of birders misidentify birds, and why do a small number of birders find an inordinate number of rare birds. (As program chair for SDFO, you are also forced to see a bit of me at the beginning and end.)
Many of the topics Julian addresses are important to all birders, especially those out looking for and chasing rare birds. The talk lasts one hour and has been recorded and saved as a YouTube video available to all. I recommend people take a look.
https://youtu.be/XIV8HZKrrDo?si=gqdCKfs9pctRSwJE On a personal note, as a San Diego eBird reviewer, author of a monthly rare-bird column, and keeper of San Diego County rare-bird data, I am keenly interested in the accuracy of reports and in the carefulness of observers.
--Paul Lehman, San Diego
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The monthly meetings of San Diego Field Ornithologists (SDFO) are currently virtual, open only to members, at 6pm on the third Tuesday of every month.
