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Warbler Workshop of September 1999 in Huntington Beach, California: Pan
from back row, speakers
(left to right: Jon Dunn & Kimball Garrett), speakers
(left to right: Kimball Garrett, Mike San Miguel, Jon Dunn).
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Meeting of Western Field Ornithologists, Kernville, California, 5th through
9th July 2000. Dr. J. took digital photographs during the 6th and
7th of some of the events at the meeting, which appear here.
Permission is given to the WFO to use any or all of these photographs
(for example, for their website). If they elect to use these jpgs
on their website, we will DELETE this section and swear it never existed.
These pictures are copyrighted...individuals at the conference can make/take
copies of these photos but commercial use is prohibited...others should
ask for permission.
Here are the photographs, with links to the jpgs, and some possible????
captions to be used. Those who attended the meeting will/should be able
to make more sense out of the captions and discussion below!
WFO meetings traditionally have morning field trips. During this
meeting breakfast was served between 4:30 and 5:30 am each morning: "Where's
the rest of the group? ; "Boy
it sure is dark outside!" . Then we met at the Kernville School
to be divided up into groups that left at 5:30 am: " Where's
the leaders?"; "Are
my eyes open after owling this morning?" ; "I
think we should go there" ; "Our
leader has arrived!" ; "Deciding
who the leader and followers are is tough!").
The field trips went to a number of places. Shown here are only
a few. The Chaparral trip provided many birds: "Remember
to wave at every car that comes by to see which one might provide a.....";
"At
exactly 6:55 am Black Swifts appear there!". Here's a group
at the Kern River Preserve:"There's
a possible male Painted Bunting!" ***note person on the left
and his reaction...use zoom).
On the first afternoon (Thursday) Mike San Miguel, President, greeted
the group: "We
want to be like Mike!". Then Bob Barnes, the local
coordinator spoke: "This
is how a White-throated Swift flies". Bob then introduced Kimball
Garrett who was the Program Chair: "I
expect that the most interesting paper here will include wonderful tapes
of Nuthatch calls". There were several great presentations including
one by Tina Mashikian of Cal State Fullerton (plug): "Ahem....,
I won't start until I have everyone's attention!".
We also went to the Giant Sequoia Grove:"The
Giants of the WFO meeting"; and went inside a Sequoia Tree: "There's
another owl species for the area!" Aside 1: I want to discuss
why I'm not submitting this owl record to the CBRC or County Records Committee
after hearing an interesting talk at the meeting on the CBRC. This
digital shows a bunch of grown adults (?) jamming their bodies into the
inside of a Giant Sequoia. I leave the why of this to others.
It was very dark inside... Dr. J. took the picture from the outside ....and
the camera flashed the scene. It was only many days later that he
saw the image. Nobody was aware I think (but see Aside 3), at the
time of the picture, of the bird's presence....and if you ask those birders
today, they probably still would feign ignorance of the event. It
brings up a dilemma ...if a tree falls and no one is there, is there a
sound?..... in this case no one but the digital camera saw the bird...
I learned at the meeting that the CBRC does not like photographs without
written documentation, and there is none here.... I won't submit it on
this basis (and some other technical problems) although I understand there
is a state record for another state based on a sighting on TV of a gull
species at a halftime football activity by a viewer in a different state...but
I digress. Aside 2: There was some discussion (initiated by
Dr. J) at the meeting about the policy of submitting digital pictures as
files to the CBRC. I was previously told it was not acceptable.
There is a real problem with printouts of digital photos on current printers
lacking archival quality. There was also discussion at the WFO meeting
on faking digital photos. Really!!!!! No, Really????
Absurd!!!!!!! Digital photographs don't lie, people do. I could
have produced this same photo using conventional film techniques
in my darkroom. Aside 3: Of course there is always the possibility
that one of the birders had hidden this owl on his/her body only to produce
it in a situation that was sure to embarass me or others. Was I set
up? During this field trip there were all sorts of owl calls in evidence
(mostly Northern Pygmy Owl) but who knows? In fact I think that the
person under the owl is a former member of the CBRC! hmmmm...
Aside 4: For the WFO website person only....I can supply this photograph
for your website with or without the owl).
Unfortunately I couldn't attend the Saturday or Sunday events but if
anyone has pictures of the Saturday night banquet we would love to include
them here (or you can send them directly to the WFO website coordinator)
as well as other field trip pictures to complete this very interesting
and worthwhile meeting.
