Just leave it

Certain species are confusing to me, so at times
“ I will let that one go.” Often it is just that some coloring is absent.
To me, Dowitchers are a tough call. Here is what I go with. If the tertiary markings are tiger design, then the bird is Short- bill. If the tertiary are slightly colored or nearly similar to the Short-Bill, then the bird is a Long- bill.

I am in the field with you. We are observing Dowitchers. I can identify a few. Then you start calling the birds, explaining the species. I understand what you are saying, but it does not compute. As we depart the area, I am thinking. I can’t call many of those birds. I will have to: Just let that one go.

This is the way it is and this is the way it should be.

You are in the field with me. There is a raptor in the sky. We agree it is an accipiter. I explain why it is a Northern Goshawk and female. You do not argue with me. But what I describe just does not gel. As we walk away from the scene, you are thinking: That hawk was an accipiter, and that is good enough for me. As being a goshawk, I cannot take it that far.
This is the way it is— and this is the way it should be.NB.