[Maine-birds] Re: Northern Shoveler on Mill Creek Pond

Correction: NSHO! (can't believe I slipped up on that, must have been all the excitement of finding that bird)

With the four-letter banding code, all you have to remember are the exceptions, and NSHO and NSHR are good examples. In a two-word name without hyphens the first two letters of each word are used. For Northern Shoveler and Northern Shrike that presents an obstacle: the usual pattern produces NOSH for both. So...in this case the first letter of the first word and first three of the second (they tend to emphasize the group name in creating distinctions) are used. Thus NSHO and NSHR. 

A common example is Canada Goose and Cackling Goose. Normal pattern is the same: CAGO. (I see this often on the listserv, which sometimes makes my heart race thinking a Cackling Goose is about) In this case the descriptors 'Canada' and 'Cackling' are used to separate the two species. Thus CANG and CACG.

We're quickly coming up on the time when a tricky example arises with the overlap on the black-throated warblers, luckily we don't often have to deal with the third bird in that set: Black-throated Gray Warbler. BUT it does affect the code for all three. If you're curious and see me out on the trail, feel free to ask! Or here, but I remember the stir the subject creates.

It's so simple even I can mess it up!!

Richard

On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 7:18 PM, Richard Garrigus <rgarrigus@meca.edu> wrote:

Hi all, 

Finally caught up with a NOSH on Sawyer Road after two attempts each at Prout's Pond, Scarborough and Spurwink Marsh, CE over the past two days. On the way back to Portland I detoured past Mill Creek Park and found one on the pond there. Nice close encounter.

While I'm at it, found my FOY Osprey on the waterfront near Ocean Gate earlier this afternoon. It flew into a nest behind the central collection of pilings, and sat there huddled against the snow that began to fall, then flew off to the west after 15 minutes. Is it checking out available nests?

It's happening!

Richard Garrigus

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