Crap I wrote yesterday
Mar. 21st, 2005 10:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gemfyreBirding for beginners - some common jargon
Usual Suspects - Birds that are almost guaranteed sightings at a given location.
Lister - Somebody who keeps lists of the birds they have seen. Often lists are kept for different locations varying from "the front garden by the kitchen" to "North America".
Life-list - A list of all the birds a birder has seen in their life.
Lifer - The first sighting of a new bird to add to a life list. This morning I saw a Hooded Robin, it was a lifer for me.
Twitcher - One who will travel miles on short notice to see one particular bird.
Ticker - Similar to a twitcher, a ticker is mainly concerned with adding new birds to his/her life list rather than just watching any birds.
Bins/Binos - Binoculars. Preferably of Swarovski, Leica or Zeiss brand. Us poor folk have to deal with inferior brands. Binoculars may also just be refferred by their brand (particularly if it is an expensive brand, as a method of showing off). "Hand me my Swarovskis, I think I just saw a penguin on the mudflats!"
Jizz - The overall look of a bird. Its shape and sillouette, its flight pattern, its distinctive behaviours, its colours. Often commonly seen birds can be identfied rapidly due to their overall jizz.
Birdo/Birder - Somebody who watches birds. Often to the point of obssession.
Twinkling - Term used among cannon netters. Walking along a beach to chase waders to the area where a cannon net is set.
Flush - To scare a bird out of grass/undergrowth/bushes.
LBJ - "Little brown job", also simply known as little brown bird. Unidentifiable bush bird seen just for a glimpse. These guys all look the same unless you can get a good close look at them, which is often made impossible because they fly away quickly or hide high in trees or in thick vegetation.
Tweeker/Squeaker - An "Audobon Bird Caller". A small device consisting of a cylinder of red painted wood mounted on a screw. When twisted against the screw the wood makes a high pitched squeaking which can attract the attention of small birds (and scare some away). Seems to work best on fairy-wrens, honeyeaters and bee-eaters.
We had a casualty this morning. A bar-shouldered dove flew straight into the mudlab with a *thump*. He was alive when I picked him up (threw up all over my hand) but I think he's passed on now. Poor birdie.
Usual Suspects - Birds that are almost guaranteed sightings at a given location.
Lister - Somebody who keeps lists of the birds they have seen. Often lists are kept for different locations varying from "the front garden by the kitchen" to "North America".
Life-list - A list of all the birds a birder has seen in their life.
Lifer - The first sighting of a new bird to add to a life list. This morning I saw a Hooded Robin, it was a lifer for me.
Twitcher - One who will travel miles on short notice to see one particular bird.
Ticker - Similar to a twitcher, a ticker is mainly concerned with adding new birds to his/her life list rather than just watching any birds.
Bins/Binos - Binoculars. Preferably of Swarovski, Leica or Zeiss brand. Us poor folk have to deal with inferior brands. Binoculars may also just be refferred by their brand (particularly if it is an expensive brand, as a method of showing off). "Hand me my Swarovskis, I think I just saw a penguin on the mudflats!"
Jizz - The overall look of a bird. Its shape and sillouette, its flight pattern, its distinctive behaviours, its colours. Often commonly seen birds can be identfied rapidly due to their overall jizz.
Birdo/Birder - Somebody who watches birds. Often to the point of obssession.
Twinkling - Term used among cannon netters. Walking along a beach to chase waders to the area where a cannon net is set.
Flush - To scare a bird out of grass/undergrowth/bushes.
LBJ - "Little brown job", also simply known as little brown bird. Unidentifiable bush bird seen just for a glimpse. These guys all look the same unless you can get a good close look at them, which is often made impossible because they fly away quickly or hide high in trees or in thick vegetation.
Tweeker/Squeaker - An "Audobon Bird Caller". A small device consisting of a cylinder of red painted wood mounted on a screw. When twisted against the screw the wood makes a high pitched squeaking which can attract the attention of small birds (and scare some away). Seems to work best on fairy-wrens, honeyeaters and bee-eaters.
We had a casualty this morning. A bar-shouldered dove flew straight into the mudlab with a *thump*. He was alive when I picked him up (threw up all over my hand) but I think he's passed on now. Poor birdie.
