Hi. I’m doing the bird bracket. What fun. But I love great blue herons and they got the worst photo in the whole lot. Can you all change it? Need help getting a better pic?
Kind of largely went on impulse with most of this round, but here's a quick vote breakdown anyway:
I've seen a bearded bellbird (and heard it long before spotting it) and it is unreal how LOUD such a fairly small bird can be. I love loud noisy music and kind of have to go with the bellbird here on principle.
I saw like a dozen cardinals in one bush in Green-Wood Cemetry on Sunday, which was cool, but I saw a whole loon family, including a very young bird who was still all brown and totally cuter than 10 cardinals combined. Going with the loons here.
Giving some love to the mallard because even though it's like the least weird of the ducks, we're still in the tail end of weird duck time.
There's a mural featuring a Puerto Rican tody in my neighborhood and no bowerbirds, as far as I know. The tody gets the street art vote by association.
Tanger vs. toucan was absolutely on impulse because they're both great birds and yeah, I suppose it's a rule that every bracket needs an impossible first round choice. Apparently I clicked tanager.
Steller's jays are like a roving bunch of teenage punks who show up at your house and eat all the pizza if "your house" means "the feeders in the back yard" and "all the pizza" means "all the seeds." They're even got the mohawks. Black-necked stilt >>> black-winged stilt. Sorry stilt, the jay has spoken.
Penguins are usually gonna get my vote (and did in both matchups in this round), unless they're up against...
THE GREAT BLUE HERON! My favorite bird, and deeply relatable as we are both tall, awkward, and eat a lot of fish.
I certainly admire flamingos, but cannot in good conscience vote against a kestrel. I have a sticker made by an artist named Emma R. (@falcofous on Instagram) with a kestrel saying “I came here to kick ass and eat bugs, and I’m all out of bugs” and who an argue with Rowdy Roddy KestreL?
Woodpeckers also win most matchups for me, the Muscovy duck got a vote in honor of the time my spouse got their 300th species of the year by spotting a Muscovy duck in a puddle in an Arby's parking lot, and the bald eagle is such a dumbass trash bird that I gave it a sympathy vote after very publicly losing a fight with a Canada goose in the past week. Gave love to the turkey vulture because AMTV is a very cool banding code.
And then the bushtit vs. killdeer, probably the other impossible choice of this round. Bushtits feel like the quintessential "if you see one, you're about to see a dozen" American bird. And they are CUTE AS ALL HELL. But then there's the killdeer, which we have dubbed the "chaos plover" due to its predeliction for nesting in gravel and parking lots. I wasn't looking when I clicked on this one, but apparently I voted bushtit. Sorry, chaos plover.
As always, thanks to Discourse Blog for doing this. Need it now more than ever. And also as always, I go off pure vibes when voting cuz all birds are good birds. To that end, calling my shot like last year (burrowing owl gang rise up!) and saying emperor penguin takes it all.
Hi. I’m doing the bird bracket. What fun. But I love great blue herons and they got the worst photo in the whole lot. Can you all change it? Need help getting a better pic?
anything for our readers! it's changed
BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS
BIRDS!!!!!!!!!!!!
YYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BIRDSBIRDSBIRDS!
Kind of largely went on impulse with most of this round, but here's a quick vote breakdown anyway:
I've seen a bearded bellbird (and heard it long before spotting it) and it is unreal how LOUD such a fairly small bird can be. I love loud noisy music and kind of have to go with the bellbird here on principle.
I saw like a dozen cardinals in one bush in Green-Wood Cemetry on Sunday, which was cool, but I saw a whole loon family, including a very young bird who was still all brown and totally cuter than 10 cardinals combined. Going with the loons here.
Giving some love to the mallard because even though it's like the least weird of the ducks, we're still in the tail end of weird duck time.
There's a mural featuring a Puerto Rican tody in my neighborhood and no bowerbirds, as far as I know. The tody gets the street art vote by association.
Tanger vs. toucan was absolutely on impulse because they're both great birds and yeah, I suppose it's a rule that every bracket needs an impossible first round choice. Apparently I clicked tanager.
Steller's jays are like a roving bunch of teenage punks who show up at your house and eat all the pizza if "your house" means "the feeders in the back yard" and "all the pizza" means "all the seeds." They're even got the mohawks. Black-necked stilt >>> black-winged stilt. Sorry stilt, the jay has spoken.
Penguins are usually gonna get my vote (and did in both matchups in this round), unless they're up against...
THE GREAT BLUE HERON! My favorite bird, and deeply relatable as we are both tall, awkward, and eat a lot of fish.
I certainly admire flamingos, but cannot in good conscience vote against a kestrel. I have a sticker made by an artist named Emma R. (@falcofous on Instagram) with a kestrel saying “I came here to kick ass and eat bugs, and I’m all out of bugs” and who an argue with Rowdy Roddy KestreL?
Woodpeckers also win most matchups for me, the Muscovy duck got a vote in honor of the time my spouse got their 300th species of the year by spotting a Muscovy duck in a puddle in an Arby's parking lot, and the bald eagle is such a dumbass trash bird that I gave it a sympathy vote after very publicly losing a fight with a Canada goose in the past week. Gave love to the turkey vulture because AMTV is a very cool banding code.
And then the bushtit vs. killdeer, probably the other impossible choice of this round. Bushtits feel like the quintessential "if you see one, you're about to see a dozen" American bird. And they are CUTE AS ALL HELL. But then there's the killdeer, which we have dubbed the "chaos plover" due to its predeliction for nesting in gravel and parking lots. I wasn't looking when I clicked on this one, but apparently I voted bushtit. Sorry, chaos plover.
They're calling it the most important vote of our lifetimes...
Bellbird vs. Lanner Falcon...
Way too early in the Tournament Arc for this much heat...
MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR
Oof, my bald eagle-loving heart.
As always, thanks to Discourse Blog for doing this. Need it now more than ever. And also as always, I go off pure vibes when voting cuz all birds are good birds. To that end, calling my shot like last year (burrowing owl gang rise up!) and saying emperor penguin takes it all.
I’m very sad that a potoo bird is not in the mix!
Seriously? A cardinal loses to trash duck?
Question: How much money are you people getting from Big Loon?
there are so many days to go! rally your people!
Point of order: a loon is NOT a DUCK
A loon is a trash duck like a raccoon is a trash bear.
Objection overruled.
ok ok let's leave the fighting to the birds