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Birding is a hearing based activity, not binoculars based. (1 Viewer)

H

Highway Dog

Well-known member
United States
Now that I have been on two bird counts, associated with expert birders in the local club, I have found that most assessment, locating, and identification is done by hearing and not by binoculars. I started this hobby because I love using binoculars. Now it seems that this birding is not primarily about visual details of birds. Birding has betrayed me. What will I do with my binoculars if birding is not a binoculars sport?
 
Binoculars you need when you want to see them, also when birds don't make a sound or you can' hear them but now you know you also need a sound listening/recording device :)
Welcome to the "bird sounds recording and equipment & discussions" section at BF .

Anders
 
It seems to me that there will be as much human variability in the ability to hear as there is in the ability to see.

One of the reasons binoculars are used in birding is to balance out these differences among us. I don't know how this problem could be addressed when identifying birds solely by their calls is used.

On bird counts it would seem that identifications by hearing should also be backed up by sight confirmation.

Bob
 
Highway Dog said:
Now that I have been on two bird counts, associated with expert birders in the local club, I have found that most assessment, locating, and identification is done by hearing and not by binoculars. I started this hobby because I love using binoculars. Now it seems that this birding is not primarily about visual details of birds. Birding has betrayed me. What will I do with my binoculars if birding is not a binoculars sport?
Click to expand...

I don't think you are serious, but I'll bite.

That's only true during the breeding season, and when all you are doing is counting birds on a BBS route or similar. Otherwise, sure, your ears and familiarity with the songs, call, chip notes etc of birds are extremely useful for making a huge percentage of total IDs for the day, and for providing cues as to where to direct your attention (to avoid "wasting time" looking at common species over and over), but there will still be plenty of birds that are silent or too far away to hear. Those are the ones you will find excellent subject matter for binocular examination. Also, when you are travelling, and thus in places with many species with which you may not be intimately familiar, most birders find more satisfaction in seeing the birds than just hearing them.

If the above answer is unsatisfying, I hope your bins have close focus. If so, I recommend converting to being a butterflyer. Most butterflies are silent, so visual ID is essential, and nearly all can be IDed with bins. Have a look at Jeffrey Glassberg's book, Butterflies Through Binoculars: East, or at his Swift Guide to Butterflies, or at the Kaufman guide to Butterflies by Jim Brock.

--AP
 
ceasar said:
...On bird counts it would seem that identifications by hearing should also be backed up by sight confirmation...
Click to expand...

No, Highway Dog is right. Bird counts along the BBS model are done 99% by ear in most locations. Requiring sight confirmation would be impractical (and so would greatly compromise the completeness of such counts and the feasible route length, thus reducing sample size and consequently ability to make inferences from the data) and unnecessary (since most such IDs will be very solid). Bird counts of those sort (including most smaller scale line transect surveys for habitat studies, or environmental monitoring/assessment etc) are about censusing population sizes of regularly occurring species, so if a few silent rarities are left out, or if the occasional bird is misidentified as something rare, it is of little consequence because those sightings will not be of high enough frequency for statistical/practical use in the study anyway.

--AP
 
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I bird by ear all the time. Depending on season and locale it will get you far more birds than otherwise. It will also relieve you from looking at your 100th Red-eyed Vireo of the day. ;)

I count audibles on my year list, though of course I'd prefer a sighting. Barred Owl this year. Heard it a few times, haven't seen it.

I find learning birdsongs a bigger challenge than learning birds, though. Seems like every spring I have to relearn the warblers.

Mark
 
strange to tell but I cannot seem to hear ducks, scoters and the like when they are half a mile out to sea and with an offshore wind ?

Barrie
 
Alexis Powell said:
No, Highway Dog is right. Bird counts along the BBS model are done 99% by ear in most locations. Requiring sight confirmation would be impractical (and so would greatly compromise the completeness of such counts and the feasible route length, thus reducing sample size and consequently ability to make inferences from the data) and unnecessary (since most such IDs will be very solid). Bird counts of those sort (including most smaller scale line transect surveys for habitat studies, or environmental monitoring/assessment etc) are about censusing population sizes of regularly occurring species, so if a few silent rarities are left out, or if the occasional bird is misidentified as something rare, it is of little consequence because those sightings will not be of high enough frequency for statistical/practical use in the study anyway.

--AP
Click to expand...

That clarifies things quite a bit. I think I was looking at it from the perspective of participating in a tour.

Bob
 
Highway Dog said:
Now that I have been on two bird counts, associated with expert birders in the local club, I have found that most assessment, locating, and identification is done by hearing and not by binoculars. I started this hobby because I love using binoculars. Now it seems that this birding is not primarily about visual details of birds. Birding has betrayed me. What will I do with my binoculars if birding is not a binoculars sport?
Click to expand...

Take up nature study in general. You hear that sound you dont recognize, start looking.
 
I've lost 50% of my hearing, it's made birding a lot more difficult, you don't realise until it's gone.
 
Highway Dog said:
Now that I have been on two bird counts, associated with expert birders in the local club, I have found that most assessment, locating, and identification is done by hearing and not by binoculars. I started this hobby because I love using binoculars. Now it seems that this birding is not primarily about visual details of birds. Birding has betrayed me. What will I do with my binoculars if birding is not a binoculars sport?
Click to expand...

Switch to 'bird watching' as apposed to 'birding'. You can enjoy looking at birds and observing their behavior, learning about their lives. Plus, you get to still use your binoculars. o:)
 
Birding is an observational activity. Hearing is important, knowledge of behavior is important, knowledge of habitat is important, where you look, when you look, how you conduct yourself while you are looking, what you wear while looking, and yes folks how you you use your eyes and the binoculars you use are important. I think I see too many people relying far too much on the binocular they have, or the binocular they think they might want rather than sharpening other skills needed. This of course is just my own opinion ;).
 
Sorry, but if I don't see 'em I'm not interested. And if I do see 'em I want it to be eye candy. Forcing myself to identify bird songs will simply never become a major objective for me, and if I'm not considered a "real birder" for that reason, — so be it! My birding is a private thing, so I don't talk about it much and probably ever will.

Over the years I've had enormous satisfaction just observing common species with ever improving optics. The most dramatic improvements came with the Swift 804ED, and more recently the Swaro SLC-HD. I am not trying to satisfy anyone else's definition of a bird watcher.

Ed
 
ceasar said:
On bird counts it would seem that identifications by hearing should also be backed up by sight confirmation.Bob
Click to expand...

Not necessary - so long as the field worker is 100% sure of the identification - if we had to confirm all sound records with sight confirmation we would collect a lot less valuable data.

However, when counting/censussing seabirds, shorebirds or raptors then sound is close to useless and binoculars and even a scope is essential.
 
elkcub said:
Sorry, but if I don't see 'em I'm not interested. And if I do see 'em I want it to be eye candy. Forcing myself to identify bird songs will simply never become a major objective for me,
Click to expand...

Nothing to do with being a "real" birder (if there's such a thing!) but identifying bird sounds will help you SEE a LOT more.
 
perterra said:
That right there is the gospel.
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My daughter-in-law is EXTREMELY loud! Sorta' like a TEXAN. :eek!:

The day I got my aids, Debbie and I went to visit them. When she started speaking, I rose up on my toes and yanked those suckers out. I found what I really needed was NOISE SUPPRESSORS! :t:

Bill
 
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