be better at identifying birds and bird calls

I went to a local nature reserve yesterday and listened to nightingales singing – such a wonderful experience and one that I never tire of.

I tried to make a recording, which can be listened to here.

I went on a guided bird walk the other day and was amazed how many birds I recognise now, compared with a year ago. I’ve not made a huge effort to get better at this, but I think I’ve been a bit more observant – and being a member of various wildlife photography sites has certainly helped with recognition.

The photo is of a siskin – a bird I wouldn’t have recognised a year ago.

The Gray Catbird.
I bought a new easy guide to birding and it’s really helping me out at identifying everyday birds I see. Today I heard the catbird before I spotted it in a tree in Wakefield, RI.

I’ve been on some organised bird walks and also spent a fair bit of time in bird hides (and the garden) armed with binoculars and guide books. I think I’m getting a bit better at identifying birds, but still get confused all too often!

A highlight of the spring has been listening to Nightingales – and recognising their song!

I am turning into a pretty good urban birdwatcher. Recently I observed the mallard and seagulls in Portland, ME; a hawk of some kind in North Kingstown, RI (near Allie’s Donuts); a grackle and a mourning dove in Providence, RI; and crows everywhere.

Speaking of birds, how many kinds of birds do you see in this picture?

Two. The Mallard and the Mallard/American Black Duck hybrid male. I saw one of these crossbreed ducks in Portland as well. They interbreed with mallard ducks and look very similar, but not quite identical. Note the lack of white ring around the throat and the green stripe on the head.

but nothing’s stopping me from going to some of these places on my own.
Block Island Birding Tours (now including Providence!)

The crested caracara.
Rachel had pointed it out in the bird book earlier in the afternoon, then I spotted it sitting on a fence post near Shiner, Texas. Unfortunately we couldn’t take a picture so this is just off the internet. These birds have bare skin right by their eyes that can change color in seconds. They’re common in Central and South America and fairly rare in the southern U.S.

So far we have driven through California, Arizona, New Mexico, and part of Texas with my trusty bird book in the passenger side pocket. We have seen:

-LOTS of red tailed hawks
-turkey vultures
-Swainson’s hawk (this was cool… it hovered above our car in an updraft at a gas station, so I could clearly see the underside of its wings in order to identify it. It had black wingtips and little black stripes partway down the ring)
-assorted crows, starlings, sparrows, etc

But no roadrunners yet. A woman we stayed with in Arizona told us they come to the parking lot of her work to beg for food. The bird book told me it is one of the few animals to attack rattlesnake. Pairs of roadrunners team up: one distracts the bird, the other pins its head, then they smash the head against a rock. What an awesome bird!

It’s too cold for women and birds outside! But I have been looking at my new bird book and noticing more birds as I go through the day. I saw a little grey bird in a tree outside my window while teaching a class, and a few days later saw a group of cardinals in the same little lawn. I see seagulls every morning while driving over the bridge, and yesterday I saw the saddest, coldest robin (the temperature was down to -10 with windchill). I’m spotting a lot more birds than I used to but so far they’re birds I already know. When it gets warmer, I will take more action on this goal.

My sister (who is studying ecology) gave me a Sibley guide to birds of North America for Christmas. It has maps, pictures, and descriptions of bird calls so I can sound like an idiot while trying to practice bird calls. It’s perfect!