When Ignorance is NOT Bliss

How are your bird ID skills? For example, could you pick out an American Golden Plover in a flock of regular Goldies? Not too tricky perhaps. But could you say why it wasn't a Pacific Golden Plover? Or suppose you had the good fortune to be faced with the Radde's/Dusky conundrum. How would you get on? And which of the multiple Subalpine Warblers are you going to plump for. And so on...

American Golden Plover. But why?

And if things weren't challenging enough, modern taxonomy seems intent on making it harder. Personally I lose interest when confirmation of a bird's identity requires a laboratory. However, when it comes to identification in the field, basically I am up for it. There is just one problem: I am rather lazy. To identity birds you need to learn stuff. Which means effort is required. There is simply no getting around it. Which raises the question: can I be bothered? Can you?

Speaking for myself, the answer is 'sometimes'. For example, several years ago I could be bothered to learn how to identify young Yellow-legged Gulls, and Caspian Gull. I am not an expert, and couldn't give you chapter and verse on many subtle aspects of their ID, but am confident enough to call any that I encounter, knowing I'll probably be correct. However, when it comes to those species listed in the opening paragraph, well, I can do Radde's and Dusky Warbler, and I think I would pick out the AGP okay. But to rule out PGP I would have to check a field guide, and very much ditto for the Subalps!

Hello Mister Casp!    Not usually rocket science, but not a doddle either.

So, why have I made a lot of effort with the gulls, but not necessarily elsewhere? I suppose it boils down to two simple questions:

1. How relevant is this knowledge to my everyday birding?
2. Does not having this knowledge bother me?

Question 1 is a no-brainer, but I would like to talk a little about question 2.

Ignorance is bliss only when you're ignorant of your ignorance! Being faced with a seething mass of mucky gulls every time I visited the Axe Estuary, and realising that a juv YLG or a Casp could be giving me crippling views and I wouldn't know it, was not bliss. So I knuckled down and learned. It wasn't easy, and is still a challenge, but I am very glad I bothered. The knowledge thus gained has led to some highly satisfying birding moments.

And right now there is another ID challenge vexing me greatly because of my ignorance. It's those 'pale and interesting' Chiffs that I have labelled Siberian, pretty much on the say-so of others. No disrespect to those birders who have offered opinions, but in a sphere where there is evidently not a consensus, I ought really to be doing the hard yards and learning the stuff for myself, and then coming to my own identification conclusions based on actual knowledge. And here's why...

        So Gav, what makes you so sure that's a Siberian Chiffchaff?
        Er...well...Derek Expert thinks it is, and he should know, right?

Not good.

        So Gav, definite tristis you reckon?
        Er...yes...I think so...
        What features convinced you?
        Well...the paleness... And the interestingness...

As I say, not good.

So, as of three days ago I have been researching in some depth, and learning stuff. Watch this space. There is more to come...