From time to time I get the question, “Hey James, what’s that bird?” This happened recently. A regular reader emailed with details about a bird she had seen. I love this type of challenge, and she did a good job describing her bird. Even so, neither of us were confident in the end.
It was still a fun conversation and hey, that’s birding. Just as fishermen have a story about “the one that got away,” birders do too. I have many personal examples and I think about them regularly. In fact, a big one this summer was at Valentine Farm. On a morning walk, I heard what I was convinced was a rare, endangered bird for Maine. It was a hot day and mosquitos were swarming, so I didn’t stick around to get a positive confirmation. I tried to report the bird on eBird, an international database. They told me I needed more evidence. Several of us from Valentine Farm went back throughout the summer to find the bird, but had no luck. It was one that got away.
These things happen to every birder no matter your skill level. However, to increase your chances identifying the birds you see, let me share a few tips from The 4 Keys to Bird Identification, an article on www.allaboutbirds.com:
- Size. This can be tricky unless you compare the bird to others types you know well. To narrow your choices, I suggest you imagine how the bird you are viewing fits relative to a range of familiar birds like a sparrow, robin, crow or goose. Smaller than a sparrow – there aren’t too many birds that small. Bigger than a goose – again, your choices start to narrow.
- Color pattern. What colors do you notice and where is it on the bird? A bright red crest on a crow sized bird can only be one thing in our area – a Pileated Woodpecker.
- Behavior. Is the bird soaring over head or is it hopping on the ground under your feeder?
- Habitat. Is the bird in the water, high in a tree, or darting in and out of the grass in a hay field?
Train yourself to notice these four clues. They go a long way toward helping you narrow the list of possible options for the birds you see. If you are interested in learning more about birds, sign up for the Beginner Birding class at Valentine Farm on February 8th. The class is 10-12 and offers tips to help those interested in improving skills at identifying birds. Who knows, it might even help you identify the one that got away.
James Reddoch, of Albany Township and Boston, leads birding events for the Mahoosuc Land Trust. Visit Mahoosuc Land Trust at 162 North Road, Bethel, ME. To learn about upcoming events or to contact James, send your emails to [email protected]
James Reddoch. Submitted photo
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