Birders are aware of something called a Rare Bird Alert, which means exactly that. Birders like to share their ‘finds’ with others, and if a birder sees a bire rare to his or her area, he or she puts out a Rare Bird Alert (RBA). RBA’s can go out to selected friends by telephone. For example, “Hey Joe, I’m over at Fort Harrison State Park on the Fall Creek hiking trail and I’ve just seen a Canada warbler.” (I once did). Joe might reply, “Already seen that, but thanks for letting me know,” or “Exactly where on the trail did you see it, cause I’m on my way over right now since one seldom sees a Canada warbler in the park.”
The more usual way of putting out an RBA is through the internet. In fact, there are RBA sites that you can join for regions of the country so that you receive daily emails from what is being seen in Massachusetts or Iowa. I’ve joined a couple of these, for the East (because I mistakedly thought Indiana where I live would be in the Eastern zone), and then later for the Central area of the US. When I see an RBA for Indiana, I look to see what and where the action is. If it is something I am looking for, if it is close by, or if I can get away, I might zoom off to go looking for the bird.
If you are a really serious birder, and an especially rare bird (called ‘accidentals’), you might just race to the airport to catch the first flight out to the area. I am serious. People do this. Ever read the paper about a unique bird in an area and seen the photos of the many birders congregating to get a look. It happens, more often than you would think.
To tell the truth, I have only followed up on a couple of Rare Bird Alerts. Once was in Oregon when I was visiting my parents. I love to go driving with my parents when I am out there, so Dad and I went driving from Eugene to Corvallis to see if we could see the Crested Caracara that had been spotten near the airport. That bird is very very unusual for Oregon. Alas, we were too late.
Another time I heard that was a Roseate Spoonbill a couple of hours south Indianapolis. It had been in the area for several days at a reservoir. I read this in the paper on Friday and so drove down on Saturday. Nice drive, enjoyed the birding, but did not see the spoonbill.
Not to worry folks, I’ve seen both the Caracara and the Spoonbill in Texas. But had I seen them they would have been added to my Indiana list.
Tomorrow I am driving to Goose Lake, a restored wetlands area here in Indiana. Maybe there will be a rare bird in store for me? If there is, I’ll send you an RBA via this blog.
