# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157 "2026-01-29T18:21:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 84
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1661 "2026-05-09T02:42:27Z")
Yes. Or even just “Gallows Road.” ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1662 "2026-05-09T07:06:46Z")
> [@Thumper668](#): > > It wasn’t in Westfield, NJ was it? Go west, young man! Actually, almost directly west, in Pennsylvania. Also from revolutionary times, and there’s a cemetery. As far as the locals can tell, the last burial in that cemetery was in the 1820s, and even the cemetery got forgotten for a while. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1663 "2026-05-09T21:07:01Z")
Coincidentally, i just downloaded a phone app called “merlin” that’s pretty good at identifying bird calls. (It’s free, and only advertises birding.) Most of them are hard for me to remember, because i don’t have the vocabulary. But i started thinking of birds i _do_ recognize by their calls, and got up to 3, and clicked the “fewer than 10” box. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1664 "2026-05-09T21:17:17Z")
Merlin is excellent, and it gets even better all of the time. It’s what I used to get to where I selected 10 to 15. A year ago it would have been less than 5. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1665 "2026-05-09T21:23:03Z")
I have been using the Merlin app for about a year. Coincidentally this was also right after my retirement. Most mornings these days I get up early and spend time listening to the birds and drinking coffee. Or I walk on nearby trails and listen for birds. I somehow missed really listening to birds for the first sixty-four years of my life. I am glad I finally have time and get excited as I learn to recognize sounds of different birds. I wish my eyesight was better so I could do better visually. Migration is also an amazing miracle that I somehow failed to properly appreciate most of my life. The variety of birds here in Western North Carolina is amazing. My record number from April is 51 different identified birds sounds in a single day in just our back yard. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1666 "2026-05-09T21:31:56Z")
Hmm, that got me thinking - I wonder exactly how many birds I can recognize by their calls. So I’ll list the ones I can think of (starting with the obvious ones): Crow Blue Jay Chickadee Northern Mockingbird (if there’s one around and you open Merlin you can learn what other birds are in your area because Mockingbirds will imitate them) Carolina Wren Robin Tufted Titmouse Cardinal Nuthatch Northern Flicker Common Grackle Broadwinged Hawk Mourning Dove (not really a call - they make a sound when they fly, but otherwise they coo like pigeons) Ruby throated Hummingbird (also not really a call, but they kind of squeak) Pileated Woodpecker (sounds kind of like a peacock) That’s 15 that I’ve heard since Spring started, but I’ll bet if I spend an afternoon birding later in the year I can think of a few more. I haven’t heard one yet this year, but I guess I should add Bald Eagle to the list - we have a pair living locally but I haven’t seen or heard them yet. So 16. Guess I should change my vote. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1667 "2026-05-09T21:41:20Z")
I recognize the calls of crows, chickadees, and great horned owls. And i guess i recognize the sounds morning doves make. I routinely hear Carolina wrens, robins, tufted titmice, Cardinals, nuthatches, and some little woodpecker (downy, i think), but fine recognize them. Although i heard a bird over a Google meet call recently, and guessed it was a robin or a Carolina Wren, based on having ID them recently on merlin and it sounding kinda like that. We have flickers, cooper’s hawks, and red tailed hawks, but i don’t hear them call much. We sometimes get grackles, big flicks of them, and i feel like the grackles are noisy, but i think they must be seasonal and haven’t been around recently. ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1668 "2026-05-09T21:51:49Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > We sometimes get grackles, big flicks of them, and i feel like the grackles are noisy, but i think they must be seasonal and haven’t been around recently. They are more likely European Starlings, which look and sound very similar, but I don’t think I could distinguish them by ear. Most of the murmurations (there is a word for those huge flocks flying together) that you see are probably starlings. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1669 "2026-05-09T21:54:15Z")
I said up to 10, but I didn’t count. Crow Raven Bald Eagle Chickadee Seagull Northern Flicker Stellar’s Jay I suppose I could go over 10 if I count non-local birds (the wild parrots of SoCal; mourning doves; owls: sandpipers; night-ngales\*). \*I can never spell this word. All options look wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1670 "2026-05-09T22:11:48Z")
Knowing the season certainly helps. During the winter there were about 15 birds that were commonly seen or heard around here. We would put out seed on trays and the railings of the deck and get the tufted titmouse, cardinal, chickadee, blue jay and a red-bellied woodpecker. Sometimes there would be a Carolina Wren. We’d hear crows, pileated woodpeckers and red-shouldered hawks. Others I would identify with help from Merlin. You’d get to know them. But as spring has come and the variety has greatly expanded, I find it is harder to be sure but I enjoy trying. I love the sounds of the wood thrush and the hooded warbler, both of which I think I can now almost always identify. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1671 "2026-05-09T22:12:08Z")
Oh, we get starlings, too! They are more speckled than grackles. I recognize seagull calls, too. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1672 "2026-05-09T22:14:52Z")
I wonder if anyone would be interested in a “What Birds are You Hearing or Seeing Today?” Thread. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1673 "2026-05-09T22:45:49Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I said up to 10, but I didn’t count. Same. I didn’t count, but I guessed probably less than 10. Off the top of my head I can identify: Western scrub jay Acorn woodpecker Nuttall’s woodpecker Anna’s hummingbird California quail Crow Seagull Red-tailed hawk ---
**Author:** ![Thumper668](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thumper668/32/20803_2.png) [@Thumper668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thumper668)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1674 "2026-05-09T22:51:43Z")
I would for sure. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1675 "2026-05-09T22:52:08Z")
start one and find out ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1676 "2026-05-10T00:09:50Z")
Let’s see, I know chestnut brown canary, ruby throated sparrow… no wait, that’s a song. I only know the most obvious ones: crows, owls and robins. I’ve been meaning to use Merlin to identify some of the others I hear but haven’t gotten around to it yet. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1677 "2026-05-10T12:04:37Z")
I’m the only one so far to chose “other” for how to spell the maternal celebration. For once, I think all three variants are equally correct. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1678 "2026-05-10T12:19:26Z")
Heather Cox Richardson says > But “Mothers’ Day”—with the apostrophe not in the singular spot, but in the plural—actually started in the 1870s, when the sheer enormity of the death caused by the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War convinced writer and reformer Julia Ward Howe that women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1679 "2026-05-10T12:20:36Z")
> [@](#): > > women must take control of politics from the men who had permitted such carnage It’s taking longer than we thought. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2026, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157/1680 "2026-05-10T12:22:35Z")
Yeah, I’m not giving women a free pass on this, but the carnage needs to go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=83) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-3/1027157.md?page=85)