Have you been duped?

[Tom]

One day, not too many years ago, I was fishing in the bass boat around our local community when I came across a large bird perched on a piling of someone's dock. Nothing unusual, except that it stayed put for me to snap some pics. I soon realized, after some click, click, click,  that I was taking pictures of a fake bird  :-[

 

[Seilerbird]

Have I been duped??? Let me count the ways. I was driving along in Minnesota one fine day on a back road when I spotted an owl perched on top of a telephone pole. I pulled over, whipped out my camera and blasted away. Then I stood there and watched him for a while and he didn't move. Turned out to be a scarecrow to keep other birds off that telephone pole.

Have you ever heard of a leaf bird? Many birders spot a bird in a tree and put their binoculars on it and tell the other birders in their group about the bird they are watching. Once they find out they are watching a leaf they usually turn bright red.

Many times I have heard a bird in a tree making noise and then I spotted it. Upon putting my lens on it and focusing in I find out it is a leaf bird. I have mistaken all kinds of objects for birds. When you look for them as much as I do you tend to think anything that is roughly the shape of a bird is a real bird.

I was at Karick Lake with a forum member and his wife noticed a large turtle on the other side of the lake. Turned out to be a rock.

 

[Tom]

Now I don't feel so bad  ;D  Hadn't heard of a leaf bird before.

 

[driftless shifter]

Used to keep a boat near Osterville, Ma. There was a private, gated community on an island, very private. Was a nice boat ride around this island, with land lubber guests aboard, as there was a barrier island protecting the 3 bay harbor. On the passage between the barrier and private island is a little cove with beach cabanas and boat houses along the shore. Pulled into this cove with my folks onboard and pointed out that this whole point of the island, and all the very large traditional rambling house's, you caught glimpes of, belonged to the DuPont family. Yes that one. Anyway, long story short, I was duped by a Birdhouse! On a tall piling. Kinda figured it out when my mother noticed it moving! Security cam, tracking us as we moved about! I continued amazing friends and family with that for years.

Bill

 

[commkruge]

Ah very common issue Tom. Last year I was busy snapping pictures of a beautiful mallard duck at the campgrounds right on the miss river. I clicked and zoomed and clicked some more when my daughter with keen eyes said "dad that duck is dead" So I zoom in and realize with much embarrasment my eyes are not as good as they used to be. I was snapping pictures of a hunters run away decoy....

 

[Seilerbird]

I was staying at a campground in Texas last month with it's own lake. I walked around the lake and saw a duck I had never seen before and started snapping away. Soon I realized it was not moving. It was a decoy. As I walked around the lake I noticed they had a half a dozen decoys anchored around the lake. Since they clearly weren't for hunters I assumed they were there to attract other ducks to the lake. Since I did not see any live ducks in that lake it didn't look like they were working.

 

[Larry N.]

Now I don't feel so bad  ;D  Hadn't heard of a leaf bird before.

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,45502.msg418505.html#msg418505

Larry

 

[Tom]

Thanks Larry.

 

[Seilerbird]

The interesting thing about leafbirds is that here in the US birdwatchers all know what a leafbird is, a leaf that is mistaken for a bird. However there really is leafbirds in Asia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leafbird

 

[Tom]

Here's one that had me duped into thinking it wasn't real, but it's a live creature at a wildlife refuge in Florida that Jim and Pat Dick took us to. Jim's photo of the eagle (in this topic) was orders of magnitude better than mine.

 

[Seilerbird]

Today I got to spend a few hours walking around Davis Island in the Tampa Bay looking for birds to shoot while Catblaster has his oil changed at Tampa General Hospital. I was duped three times. Each time I made a point of photographing the duper once I got close enough to see that it was not a real bird. As I said, it happens to me a lot since I am an overenthusiastic bird photographer.

 

[Roadhappy1]

We travel quite a bit to my inlaws who live about 5 hrs away.  Sometimes my DH goes by himself so when I went with him several months ago he pointed out a guy that he aways sees fishin in a creek.  I looked at him and said honey that's a metal cut-out.  We laughed all the way to the farm.  Now everytime we go by we say hi to the guy fishin in the creek.

 

[Olys45]

There is a guy in my town that is the "Government Trapper" (i.e. he tries to take care of the Coyotes/Wolves/Mountain Lions that prey upon Livestock) and he tells a story about him and his dog (a Kelpie aka a cattle dog) blasting down a road and at the entrance to a local ranch there is a metal cutout of a cow.

He knew what it was, the dog saw it as a cow, and started to stare at it. He said the dog turned to him with a "WTH!!??" look when they got near it when the dog realized that it was then and flat instead of fat and round!


Oly

 

[PancakeBill]

Here in Yellowstone we have many bear bushes and bison rocks.  The ravens are always real.  The wolf specks, usually found by gatherings of about $55k worth od swarovski scopes are the leading indicator.  Actually, enven when they are real, they are usually still just specks.

 

[Jim Dick]

Tom J.,

Many people get duped by alligators. They think they are logs, until they move after you step on them. 

Bill,

Those bison rocks have gotten me several times in the Lamar Valley!!!

 

[Seilerbird]

There actually is a scientific name for thinking an inanimate object is real animal, pareidolia. I found this wonderful tidbit of information while reading about the "rat" they found on Mars.

While some people seem to really believe that a squirrel is crawling around on the Red Planet (or was in September, anyway), the Mars rodent is actually an example of a psychological phenomenon called pareidolia.

Pareidolia refers to the tendency of the human brain to perceive animals or other familiar shapes in vague or random images.

 

[wgb1]

I was looking at an old wooden single lane bridge with steel trusses one day and noticed a small gator sitting on a log near a dock. I chucked rocks and it never moved although I never actually hit it. I left thinking how cool it was to see a gator. Months later I returned and noticed the gator still in the same spot. It was then I decided the gator was a fake. Sure enough over the years when I returned to that location, the same gator was still on the same log and as far as I know, it may still be.

 

[Larry N.]

Oops, older post...

 

[Seilerbird]

 

[Larry N.]

Yes I did, Tom -- I forgot to look at the dates before posting today. Thanks.