| Q. How long have you been birding? |
| A. |
| Q. What got you interested in birding? |
| Q. What's your favorite birding spot in Oklahoma? |
Introducing our March 2004 Birder of the Month: Dan Reinking of Bartlesville, OK |
| Q. What field guide do you prefer to use? |
| Q. What are your 3 favorite birds? and is/are there any particular reason(s) they're your favorites?? |
| Q. Tell us about your BEST birding experience.... so far. |
| Q. What was your WORST?? |
| Q. What are you most likely to say when a bird flies before you can ID it?? |
| Q. What was the last book you read? |
| Over 23 years. |
| A. |
| My uncle is an avid birder and took me birding during a Christmas visit one year. I was hooked. I used my Christmas money to buy a Peterson field guide and some cheap binoculars from Sears. Until I could drive, I mostly birded the small woodlot surrounded by cornfields where we lived. |
| A. |
| Hmmmmm.... like so many Oklahoma birders, I would have to say that the Black Mesa area is a particular favorite. The wide open spaces and the look and feel of the western U.S. are appealing. |
| A. |
| I like the National Geographic for its clear and concise layout and relatively detailed text, although I frequently refer to Sibley's guide instead of or in addition to the National Geographic. |
| A. |
| Another tough question.... I guess Henslow's Sparrow, given the grassland bird research I have worked on; chickadees of any variety for their bold inquisitiveness; and Rose-breasted Grosbeak for its nifty appearance---altho' on a different day, I might choose three completely different species. |
| A. |
| One of the most memorable was a January birding/rare bird chasing trip through northern California with a group of friends. We camped in the snow one night at Lava Beds National Monument, which looked surreal in the moonlight. Over the course of the few days, I got Whooper Swan, Bohemian Waxwing, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Goshawk, Yellow-billed Loon, Evening Grosbeak, and Brambling as lifebirds (plus a King Eider that I didn't see well enough to count). |
| A. |
| C'mon, a bad birding experience?? Well, there WAS that time I was briefly detained by the Venezuelan military for inadvertently driving through a checkpoint where I was supposed to have stopped. Did I mention I don't speak Spanish? |
| A. |
| That really depends on: (1) if I think it might have been something "good" or (2) if I'm doing a CBC or working on an atlas block and need to record every species I see. |
| A. |
| I'm often reading books concurrently rather than consecutively, so I'll list three that I recently completed: The History of Iceland by Gunnar Karlsson, Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train by Brian Czech, and Baghdad Without a Map (and other misadventures in Arabia) by Tony Horwitz. |
| Q. Who are your heroes or role models? Whom do you admire? and if you care to comment, why are they your heroes? |
| A. |
| My grandfather for his lifelong interest in learning and his positive attitude. |
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| Q. Where do you live? |
| A. |
| On the edge of Bartlesville. I have both Pileated Woodpecker and Sedge Wren on my yard list. I mention those two species because they make for a nice contrast of habitat preferences (not that I really have Sedge Wren habitat in my yard, but you never know what will show up during migration). |