Date: 7/11/26 6:53 am From: via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications
My sister slowly tracked plastic owl
Jan Stewart
922 E Spruce Street
Sequim, WA 98382-3518
<jstewart...>
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> On Behalf Of Gary Bletsch via Tweeters
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2026 6:51 PM
To: Tweeters Tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: [Tweeters] revelling in our misidentifications
Dear Odette and Tweeters,
Aw, gee, shucks, we all misidentify birds sometimes! A rather famous birder once called out in an excited voice. Everybody turned their head. A big group of birders had come up to Skagit County for the "grand opening" of a habitat restoration site, so we all heeded the words of the expert. "Great Grey Owl, Great Grey Owl!" We scurried over to look across the field, to where the man was pointing. It was a Bald Eagle. The misty Skagit air had caused the white head of the eagle to "disappear," leaving a big, grey shape. The silhouette really did look like that of an owl. Except it wasn't!
Another time, a group of pelagic birders got all excited when the expert spotter called out, "Leatherback Sea Turtle! Leatherback Sea Turtle!"
It was a log--a really cool-looking long, but a log nonetheless.
Another time, I was helping out in an unfamiliar CBC territory. The person who knew the area told me that we would be stopping briefly to tally a little flock of Trumpeter Swans that was known to visit a certain field. "One, two, three, four, five, six Trumper Swans!" Before I wrote down the six Trumpeter Swans, I asked if we could sneak a bit closer, since the swans would be a county tick for me, and I wanted a better look.
"Sure, no problem!" The leader inched the vehicle closer. I stuck my scope out the window. "Six white plastic five-gallon buckets!"
We ended up ticking a solo Trumpeter later on during the count, so it was okay that we'd almost called six buckets six swans.
Okay, those are just three gaffes that I remember other people making. I will sign off before I am tempted to venture into my own long list of misidentified birds.
My friend Bob Kuntz likes to say, "It's not what you call it the first time, it's what you call it the last time!"
