My first bird watching outing.

[Sandlapper]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

Fun. My wife recently discovered an Android app from the Cornell ornithology lab which identifies birds by their calls. Maybe that's cheating, but it's fun to play with. Info here.

My wife has been known as the bird lady of this county for many years. We have visited all 50 US states, the provinces of Canada and much of northern Mexico including Baja in our campervan. All of our camping invariably turns into birding ventures in all these places and I tag along and learn just a bit of ornithology. Things could be much worse for you and me.

Defining birds by their call is a skill that many rely on and not a crutch.

[paxtonm]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

Welcome to the large club! Best way to get better is to continue to tag along with other birders, either through the local Audubon chapter or bird club or by seeking out walks at local parks and preserves. I've hatched many committed birders over the years on walks I led. Important things for a beginner to know: color is not as important as size, shape, behavior and location. A good field guide or app like Cornell's is just as important (or more) than the binoculars around your neck. Short neighborhood dog walk this morning:

Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds,
Brown-headed Cowbirds,
Stellar's Jay,
Song Sparrow,
White-crowned Sparrow,
American Crow,
Black-capped Chickadee,
Bushtit,
Olive-sided Flycatcher,
Orange-crowned Warbler,
House Finch,
American Goldfinch

And that was in a few blocks without binoculars, while preoccupied with our pup. Also shooed three bucks out of my front yard because they like to eat the expensive stuff, and encountered a few more deer on my way to work. There are so many deer around here that spotting them any time you leave the house is a certainty.

[Rich Jones]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

I content myself with whatever alights on our property, and I can see from a window.
We've got a bird identification book and I've racked up a list of over thirty birds over the years.
Just the other day we noticed a Cardinal. For whatever reason it is a very rare bird in these parts.

[Tom Montgomery]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

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Yesterday… a Great Egret among Canada Geese.

[Tom Montgomery]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

Welcome to the large club! Best way to get better is to continue to tag along with other birders, either through the local Audubon chapter or bird club or by seeking out walks at local parks and preserves. I've hatched many committed birders over the years on walks I led. Important things for a beginner to know: color is not as important as size, shape, behavior and location. A good field guide or app like Cornell's is just as important (or more) than the binoculars around your neck. Short neighborhood dog walk this morning:

Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds,
Brown-headed Cowbirds,
Stellar's Jay,
Song Sparrow,
White-crowned Sparrow,
American Crow,
Black-capped Chickadee,
Bushtit,
Olive-sided Flycatcher,
Orange-crowned Warbler,
House Finch,
American Goldfinch

And that was in a few blocks without binoculars, while preoccupied with our pup. Also shooed three bucks out of my front yard because they like to eat the expensive stuff, and encountered a few more deer on my way to work. There are so many deer around here that spotting them any time you leave the house is a certainty.

What I discovered is that Magee Marsh Wildlife Area is a birder destination. People come from neighboring states. Yesterday there were mostly veteran bird watchers... all equipped with binoculars and many with impressively large cameras and lenses. And all were very friendly and eager to share their enthusiasm with a beginner. Many photos taken at Magee Marsh are posted to the Birding Ohio Facebook group. My cousin and sister both had binoculars yesterday. When we arrived I downloaded the Cornell Merlin Bird ID app and we used it to alert us as to what was about us. Many of the veterans we met raved about the app. Here is what the Merlin Bird ID identified on my walk this morning with my dog in the neighborhood and next to Norwalk Creek:

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Chimney Swift
European Starling
Blue Jay
American Robin
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Northern Cardinal
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Osprey
House Sparrow
Blue Jay
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
House Finch
Common Grackle
Gray Catbird
House Wren
Yellow Warbler
Cedar Waxwing

[John B]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

We don't have the range or variety you guys have and I've only been interested since moving to our place next to a reserve, and by extension part of it.
every day..
keruru ( wood pigeons)
Tui, Hilariously aggressive flyers,
Matuku, white faced heron/ pterodactyls
Kotare / kingfishers
Pied shag
Taranui / giant tern
Pukeko/ swamp hen
Piwakawaka/ fantail
Grey warblers and waxeyes
blackbirds, song thrush and starlings and sparrows, occasional finch.
Ruru/ owl. I can track them sometimes in daylight and grab a snap, very rewarding to see them.
Kiwi( heard only, about 3 to 4 on or around the property)
Harrier hawks
Doves.
Rarely.. Fern bird, shining cuckoo( seasonal). Banded Rail.
and the ducks. There's a cadre of 9 living on the property ,the covid ducks we fed from ducklings...they come when I whistle.
The Tui.. fly like a fighter plane
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additionals.. Rosellas, there's a gang of 5 to 10 that fly through most days. Myna, pests .
Reputably Bittern , and once I've seen and heard Kaka( a NZ parrot)

[AlanMc]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

I never saw bald eagles growing up, and now the things are just about like pigeons. You see them in the city all the time, and more outside. Some progress, anyway..

saw one carrying someone's cat away in my neighborhood last year. i don't let my bischon out alone anymore!

[Jimmy W]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

I rode through Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. It is said to be the largest bottomland hardwood habitat in Northwest Mississippi. Pretty sure that is for outside of the Mississippi River levees. I didn't see many birds, but I did see a Barred Owl, a number of Indigo Buntings, what I'm pretty sure was a Eastern Wood-Pewee and what looked like a female Cardinal flying. The list of bird calls from the Merlin app was:

Summer Tanager
Acadian Flycatcher
Tufted Titmouse
Indigo Bunting
Carolina Wren
Blue Jay
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Prothonotary Warbler
Carolina Chickadee
Eastern Towhee
White-eyed Vireo

[Lugs]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

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One of only a couple left over from the curiosities cabinet.

[David G]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

Can you take B with you? How do you figure to rig him for binoculars??

[John B]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

One amusing thing that happens here is the Keruru/ wood pigeons gobble so many berries they ferment in their bellies and the birds get drunk. Yesterday after posting here , one buzzed me so close I felt the wind off his wings. High wing noise so I was ducking anyway, but a bird the size of a small chicken whizzing past your ear gets your attention, especially when there's a good chance its impaired.
There's a pair hanging around by the house because of a palm in berry at the moment.
Photo from last year, or so.
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[JayInOz]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

Bird watching is so old fashioned. My wife has gone to Fern Tree Gully near the town of Rylstone today- part of a group spending the day looking at Mycelia in forest soils. She looked quite surprised when I said I was staying home.

[Lugs]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

Bird watching is so old fashioned. My wife has gone to Fern Tree Gully near the town of Rylstone today- part of a group spending the day looking at Mycelia in forest soils. She looked quite surprised when I said I was staying home.

If she finds some ascomycete, let me know please.

[Lugs]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

and back on topic

This tiny fella was having a snooze on the patio at the camp I was staying at in Cuc Phoung National Park - the first NP in Vietnam, opened by Uncle Ho, in 1962

[phiil]

Re: My first bird watching outing.

I have the Cornell Merlin app and love it. It’s the second most important thing after my binoculars.
I’ve been toying with the idea of hiding in the bushes and playing back rare bird songs, see if I can fool other birdwatchers.