It's estimated that there are 70,000,000 avid bird-watchers -- or "birders" -- in the US. This episode of DIY's Bird Watching serves as a birder's guide, providing information about bird identification methods, field guides and bird-watching tools such as binoculars and telescopes. In later sections, birding-related travel is discussed and instructions are provided for building a nesting shelf for robins. There are numerous ways to participate in the hobby of birding. Aside from simply viewing birds in nature, avid enthusiasts engage in numerous other activities. Some of those may include: feeding birds, providing nesting sites or birdhouses, growing specialized plants and gardens to attract birds, traveling to nature sanctuaries and other bird-watching locales, keeping lists and notes on birds seen in the wild, making diagrams and sketches (figure A), and spending hours trying to snap the perfect photograph of a favorite bird species (figure B). One of the great rewards in bird-watching is being able to identify bird species -- particularly unusual or unfamiliar ones. Here are some tips for bird identification.
Field Guides and Birdi Identification
- The field guide to birds is perhaps the bird watcher's most essential tool. These comprehensive guidebooks (figure C) provide information on bird species, including their appearance, behaviors, feeding habits, habitat ranges, gender differences, scientific names, etc. They are typically heavily illustrated with color photographs and/or diagrams that can help you identify virtually any bird you observe in the wild. Some focus on birds within a specific region, such as the eastern region of the US or the western region of the US.
- Typically, the comprehensive field guides are organized sections according to categories of birds. Larger birds such as hawks, waterfowl, etc. are usually toward the front of the book, and smaller birds such as songbirds are in the back. Songbirds are the ones you're most likely to see in your own backyard.
- Field guides often have features that help you quickly locate individual species -- such as easy-to-use indexes and color-coded tabs. For example, if you observe a bluebird in the wild (figure D) and want to learn more about them, locate the index entry that contains bluebirds, thrushes and related species. Open the guidebook to that section to find the page or pages on bluebirds (figure E).
- The field guide not only provides photos or diagrams to help you verify the species of bird you've seen, it may also include maps showing habitat ranges for each individual species (figure F). Different colors of ranges may indicate variable habitats for different times of year -- such as year-round range, winter range and summer range.
- Guides also point out specific identification clues for individual species -- key things to look for to know with certainty what species you've observed. Examples may be a particular marking somewhere on the bird's body that's unique to the species, or other distinctive attributes. When males and females within a particular species have different appearance or color patterns, pictures of each are usually provided. The same is true for juveniles when juveniles and adults within a species have different colors or markings.
- Other information that may be provided includes the types of habitat the species typically lives in (woodland, grassland, marshes, etc.), descriptions of vocal calls, feeding habits, nesting habits, courtship and other behaviors.
- In-depth bird books provide detailed information on certain types of birds (figure G) -- such as gulls, birds of prey, hummingbirds, etc.
- Some field guides focus on a specific category of bird species such as shore birds and coastal species. Some guides focus on birds native to a particular state or country. There are also beginners' guides that, though less comprehensive, have basic information on some of the most commonly seen birds.
- Aside from appearance, one of the best ways of identifying birds is by knowing the songs and calls of individual species (figure H).
- Bird-call recordings on tape or CD are available that contain actual field recordings of bird songs (figure I) and accompanying printed information on each species. Listening to these recordings will help you learn how to identify birds -- sometimes before actually seeing them.
RESOURCES :
National Audubon Society
700 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 979-3000
Fax: (212) 979-3188
Web site: www.audubon.org
Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Western Region
Model: 157042588
Author: Kevin Colver, Donald Stokes, Lillian Q. Stokes
Little Brown and Company (Time Warner, Inc.)
New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212-522-8700
Stokes Bluebird Book: The Complete Guide to Attracting Bluebirds (A Stokes Backyard Nature Book)
Model: 0316817457
Author: Donald Stokes, Lillian Q. Stokes
Little Brown and Company (Time Warner, Inc.)
New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212-522-8700
Stokes Beginner's Guide to Shorebirds
Model: 0316816965
Author: Donald Stokes, Thomas Young, Lillian Q. Stokes
Little Brown and Company (Time Warner, Inc.)
New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212-522-8700
A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America (Peterson Feild Guide)
Model: 0395740460
Author: Roger Tory Peterson
Houghton Mifflin Co.
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617-351-5000
Email: tradecustomerservice@hmco.com
A Field Guide to Western Birds - Reissue Edition (Peterson Field Guides)
Model: 0395911737
Author: Roger Tory Peterson
Full title: A Field Guide to Western Birds : A Completely New Guide to Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100th Meridian and North of Mexico
Houghton Mifflin Co.
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: 617-351-5000
Email: tradecustomerservice@hmco.com
Don and Lillian Stokes' website
Stokes Birds at Home
Website: www.stokesbirdsathome.com
Stokes Birdhouse Book: The Complete Guide to Attracting Nesting Birds
Model: 0316817147
Author: Donald W. Stokes, Lillian Q. Stokes
Little Brown and Company (Time Warner, Inc.)
New York, NY 10020
Phone: 212-522-8700
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
