Joy of Birdwatching

Activity 1: I am a photographer and take along my camera to help me identify what I am looking at. I have also written down notes to help me later when going through field guides. Recently, I loaded Merlin on my phone and I have enjoyed using it to record the birds singing. Activity 2: In November I signed up for Feeder Watch and I have enjoyed watching and tallying the birds every weekend. In February, I signed up for the GBBC and added another location from my own backyard to the count. I also opened an eBird account on my desktop to fill in my GBBC observations, however, I didn't realize I could continue to enter counts on a regular basis. So this information about eBird was helpful.

Activity 1: Yes, my notes are helpful, especially with Sparrows and some of the Woodpecker species we have in the area. I take pictures of them and also use Merlin to verify that my guesses are correct. I have a life list that's starting to get some bulk to it.   Activity 2: We do the annual Great Backyard Bird Count.

Activities 1 & 2: Since the end of December I'd been seeing on the eBird rare bird alert that there was an immature Ross's Gull seen from the pier at Nieuwpoort on the Belgian coast, and yesterday I finally went to see him. He regularly hangs out with Black-headed and Herring Gulls around the end of the pier, flying over the sea and sometimes even perching right on the pier. The field guides say that an immature Ross's Gull can resemble immature Black-legged Kittiwakes and Little Gulls, but I noted down the special field marks of the Ross's Gull and this bird definitely showed them (especially his wedge-shaped tail with black tips to the central tail feathers). But his ID has been confirmed by many birdwatchers more expert than me.

Activity 2:

• Florida Audubon

Activity 2: Joined eBird rare alerts a few months ago. I especially enjoy learning about what’s been spotted in my favorite area a day or so before I venture out to that area. I’ll study what those birds look and sound like, and where to find them before I go out birding. Thanks to the detailed information some birders provide in their eBird notes, on one occasion I was able to find the bird in the exact location as described in the rare eBird alert. I felt very accomplished and excited when I found it! eBird and Merlin are amazing! 😊

I must be psychic because a few days ago I signed up for the rare bird alerts from eBird.  Someone reported having seen a Lapland Longspur in my town.  I wasn’t able to rush out and go see it (and I was thinking, am I becoming one of Those People? Maybe so!) but I did look it up, and noticed that it doesn’t normally live in NC. It might not be rare elsewhere but it would be interesting to see one here. We were in England hiking once and there were a bunch of birders crowding into a bird blind. They all had their scopes and bins and huge lenses. There was an air of great excitement.  We asked what they were seeing, and they said “a cattle egret.” Cattle egrets don’t live in the UK so I suppose that would be pretty exciting!

I haven’t ever done field notes. I’ve tried just a handful of times to write down what i saw , but with the easy of technology, the merlin bird app allows me to observe and quickly identify most of the time. I’ve recently been really liking the sound ID feature so if i can get a sound registered then i will see if that suggestion matches what i see. On the occasion the app doesn’t suggest the bird i saw i try to get a picture or will then make a few notes about distinguishing colors, patterns, etc, to search through my bird book at a later time.

I made a new year's resolution this year to make one eBird report every day.  Actually, I started in mid December after only hearing about eBird for the first time in November. As of this writing, I have a 214 day streak!  I try to take pictures that I add at least a couple of times a week and, since the new Merlin Song ID, I've been adding audio too.  But sometimes, on those back to back meeting days, I just sit by my living room window during a meeting and log what I see out the window. It's pretty addictive. On a side note, there are people who check your eBird submissions to make sure they are accurate. When I first started logging and they said things like "Dear Stephanie, thank you for submitting to eBird , but that sparrow that you thought you saw was probably a warbler". At first, I was a bit insulted. But I realized that I really had only been birding for a couple of months, so what did I know. I decided to use my phone camera to record every bird that I saw and reported each day, even crows.  That way, I could get some useful feedback on my bird IDs and have proof when I actually saw something unusual. It worked. I've learned a ton from the feedback and have struck up a friendship of sorts with the 2 or 3 guys who usually give me feedback.

I always like jotting things down but now, after this course, I plan to do that in a more systematic way. I’m a birding beginner and using the pandemic lockdown time to try some new hobbies. I’ve been observing neighbourhood birds regularly. Merlin and eBird are good place to start and I’m impressed with the functionality (local maps, weekly sightings etc)... a while new birding world has opened up to me!

I had reported on watching a robin nesting through when the birds flew out of the nest.  I now know about keeping record of the various changes of the eggs up to independent little robins.  I would like to know the exact amount of days from laying eggs to breaking out of their shell and various other behaviors they earned before leaving the nest.  Thanks

I participated in Activity #2 without even knowing about it. I took the eBird essentials course a week ago and as per a recommendation, I signed up for a rare birds alert. To my surprise this week an alert came in. It was several sightings of a rare bird called a Piping Plover. It was at a Wildlife Reserve about 25 minutes away. I’ve never even known about this place before but made a date with my daughter to visit the Reserve at 5 am to see the sunrise and do some birding. We saw the sunrise and 2 Blue Herons, deer, many ducks and birds, then we actually came across the rare Plover foraging in the sand. We checked the pictures and Bird ID info. We matched the song and chirps up with sound bytes. We took pictures and were so giddy and happy to see such a rare, precious little bird. It made for a great memory with my daughter.

I like to exercise and walk in the parks. I carry the camera and try to identify the birds using the Merlin App. If I can´t find it , I post the photo on the Facebook group of the Ornithological Association and in a few minutes someone helps me with the ID. And I am learning to sketch the birds that come to my backyard.

Activity 1: I love the idea of keeping a field journal, but I have no artistic ability whatsoever. That being said, I'll be signing up for the field journal course after I finish this one. :-) Activity 2: I joined the Birds of Virginia Facebook group. It has nearly 7,000 members, so I look forward to seeing what people post. PS I also want to participate in an upcoming bird count.

I have joined the Birds in Wisconsin Facebook group. Also I’ve signed up for the e-bird alert emails for my county, both for rare birds and for year needs. It’s fun to read about what others are seeing. It has introduced me to several great spots to go birding!

We spotted a Downy woodpecker while out walking.    My wife and I tried to note the distinguishing characteristics to help with identification:     It was pretty small, less than a robin.   It was only black and white and no red markings so she is a female.   Her beak was black and fairly small compared to the head size.   The chest was all white and no other markings there.    The back was mostly black but several lines of white spots next to each other on her wings. She was upright in a tree branch and definitely searching for food.    Although not loudly drumming she did forcefully put her beak into the branch and seemed to me looking for insects. All these observations made the ID a cinch once I searched for her on Merlin.    It helps to at least say out loud the characteristics and list everything you can think of.      I now know that I really did see a Yellow bellied sapsucker the other day but didn't list enough characteristics to nail the ID at that time.

I do not belong to a birding group but a good friend of mine is teaching and encouraging me in my quest to learn more about our fellow creatures. We try to get out to do the bird count every Feb and May by taking the hiking in Algonquin Park taking trails with a variety of habitats. What a fun day we always have enjoying our friendship, our common interest and our discoveries. 

Saw a Ruffed Grouse a few days ago. Watched it for over an hour, took photos, and also did some field sketches to try and capture the general idea of its shape, as this was the most distinctive part of it, with the small head and large, round body. The field notes were not very helpful for ID because I had photos, but they were an interesting creative opportunity and I see how they could come in handy if I did not have my camera on me.

My daughters and I took the Nature Journaling course that Kevin mentions in one of these lessons.  And when sketching birds that we see, I take as many field notes about observations that I can then later, look up more about the bird.  I might add some facts to the page.   This has helped me immensely in learning how to ID the bird next time and generally about the bird.  And yes, the notes help with the ID.  It's slow going but a super satisfying process for me and one I have shared with my kids.  Merlin is super helpful for the quick ID and have recently added e bird to be able to submit the data.

I looked it up, on the ABA. The American Birding Association. They have rare bird alerts, throughout the USA. For 12-18-20, they have a bird, I have never heard of. Photographed on 12-16-20, it is TUNDRA BEAN GOOSE. From PENN. USA. There was a list, in MA., and one on the list, was a form of Grosbeak. A Cackling Grosbeak. That was listed, recently. I, myself, have seen more of the classical, common birds, that you would see. But I have seen some unique Geese, at a farm, on the North-Shore. I have never seen a bird, that was so rare, as to report it. If I do, I now where to report it. The ABA, and eBird. (this pic., is a Goose, that was on a farm. in Northern Ma.)

I went to a Wildlife refuge, and saw a couple of Great Blue Herons. I was able to see one of them was a darker blue, and one was a lighter blue. I was not sure if it was a different species, other than a Heron. But I looked up on the computer, and google searched, Wikipedia. And saw that there is a few 'forms,' of Heron. I guess there is a 'white,' form. A 'blue,' form. And other forms, that make the Herons, different. But the same species. I have had a tough time, by eye, telling the difference, between Say; Snowy Egrets, and a White Heron, and a White Ibis. But with a field guide, and visual inspection, I can tell them apart.   I now know, what type of beak, to look for. And shape, size, etc.... Although, the Black Crowned Night Heron, threw me off, until I was corrected by a moderator. thx.-b.k.   This, I believe, is a Snowy Egret. I may have mistaken it for a White Heron, but it is clearly not a White Ibis. ?? I dunno ??

When I first began birding late this summer, I would just go out and not keep track of what I saw, becoming more familiar with using my binoculars and getting good sightings of birds, as well as using sound to find birds. Recently, I began keeping a list of birds during each trip with a pen and small note pad, which fits handily in a coat pocket. Writing down observations even regarding species I'm fairly familiar with now has really helped my understanding of birds, their behaviors, and in which kinds of habitats I expected to see different kinds of birds. In a few instances, it has also helped me make an ID without having to reach into my bag and pull out my guide book. Instead, I have been able to maximize the amount of time I spend actually watching the bird, jotting down notes about appearance, habitat, and behavior, then thereafter making an ID. Especially when I get to a "hotspot" where I am seeing and hearing multiple birds at once, I am able to make my observations and enjoy watching the birds for as long as possible, then I make notes before continuing on the trip. The eBird app is a great tool as well. I've begun entering my sightings into eBird and find the database and tracking of my old checklists very useful as I compile a "life list". It has also helped me tremendously in finding new great birding locations, as I can see that frequently visited spots by experienced birders have been highly productive. I didn't even realize just how many great birding spots there are so close to a major city (Boston, MA) until I started using eBird.

I have not gotten into the habit of taking field notes, I started using Merlin pretty much in the beginning and it records the date and location as well as ebird so I have been using that as my memory of seeing the bird, I should probably right down what it was doing for the new birds or any behaviors that I find interesting but I feel like its one more thing to carry haha and I am lazy. I signed up for ebird alerts at the start of this course, which has been nice, I started joining classes at the local Audubon but then they got cancelled due to Covid :( hopefully  soon

Activity 2: I am in multiple birding groups centered around sharing rare bird sightings in my area. I also am signed up for rare bird alerts in my county and surrounding counties. I love to try and go see a rare bird that I hear about. Often because of my job I am not able to make it in as timely a manner is needed to really take advantage but I have several times seen birds because of the alerts, as well as, contributed to them myself.

Activity 1: In the past I kept a birding journal. There was a lot of good information in my old journal. I documented the time, date, temperature, and general weather observations at the start of each entry. Then I documented all the birds I saw, what they were doing, and any unusual behaviors. I find that my own notes serve as a great source for knowing what birds to expect to see in my own yard at any given time of year. Because of this assignment I decided to give field notes a better try, as far as really looking for descriptors and field marks. I found that even if I looked at a bird I know well (or maybe especially a bird I know well) that I noticed more about it's coloration and markings when thinking about if I were to draw it. I think drawing pics of the birds is probably out for me. I did try and draw a picture of a female Northern Cardinal that had lost her tail that was at my feeder. It really ended up looking like a rubber ducky not a Northern Cardinal. LOL. I think the notes and concept are very helpful but art takes too much focus on the art itself and is not something I can just do in the field. I have never been organized and really kept a list of all the birds I have seen. At various times I have checked off various checklists but not been organized about it and do not even know where many of them are anymore. Since being introduced to ebird I use it every day. I really love that it keeps track of what I have seen and where. I also got a camera for my birthday (August 13, 2020) and I have been working on my bird photography skills. I try to take pictures every day. Some turn out really good and others not so good. I love adding the pictures to my ebird lists. I find that it is a great way to document what I have seen. I like many others have mentioned with this assignment, use my photos to get my ids correct. This is really helpful for many of the shorebirds. I upload ones that I am not confident in to Merlin and can usually get some clarification. I also am a member of multiple Facebook groups that are for bird id. I have used them several times to get opinions on birds that were difficult.