Patch birding as a team

The Warwick 100 is edging upwards, now standing on a mighty 59 birds for the year.  

My own green list is not doing so well, with some gaping holes where birds should be...I am still waiting to bag a great spotted woodpecker (welcome to Midlands birding!)

I thought I had one on my way to work yesterday.  Heard it, ticked it and thought I'd look up to see if I could spot it.  And there it was...a magpie making the EXACT noise of a chacking GSW!  Unticked immediately, I will keep looking for my elusive feathered friend.

It did get me thinking how easy it is to mistake one bird for another. Wood pigeons seem able to morph into any birds they choose, depending on light and angle!  Not really an Earth-shattering issue if keeping your own list, not to be published further than a personal Twitter account.  But, when birding as a group, and publishing our findings like this, it becomes a little more important to get it right.

So, to our Warwick 100 guidelines...

Team members only submit a sighting if they are absolutely 100% on the ID (no mistaken magpies for woodpeckers!)  and, if a rarity turns up (we dream of another hoopoe), we will try to get a record shot of it, or get another team member onto it to corroborate the sighting as soon as possible. 

Saying that, a team of friends like this one has to be largely based on trust.  We are not trying to be more than we are - we are just a little group of amateur enthusiasts, looking to hit a birding target in our home town, choosing to bird as a group simply for fun, enjoyment and a sense of togetherness in our hobby.  

Lizzy

Grey wagtail, taken in Chris' garden