Very new to birding, few questions (1 Viewer)

[stlouisguy]

Hi all, love the forums. I have posted a few shots in my gallery. Just started birding about a month ago, even though I am in my 40's. Have always been huge in conservation movement and have enjoyed birds, but lately have been fascinated with them. I am starting my "collection" or trying to photograph all birds in Missouri (400 of them offically so I am told) enough background. I have a few questions about "birding" and I am sure some are dumb so bear with me please

1. Whats a "lifer"
2. When is the best time to go birding
3. Been looking through the gallery, but when I go out I mostly see a sparrow, and think "great, how the heck am I going to figure out what this one is" whats a good fieldguide. Went to borders and soooo many books on it
4. (very specific) where are some of the top birding locations in Missouri or Illinois (told you it was specific LOL)

Thats enough to show what a newbie I am Thanks in advance

Clark

 

[Matt_RTH]

1. Whats a "lifer"
2. When is the best time to go birding
3. Been looking through the gallery, but when I go out I mostly see a sparrow, and think "great, how the heck am I going to figure out what this one is" whats a good fieldguide. Went to borders and soooo many books on it
4. (very specific) where are some of the top birding locations in Missouri or Illinois (told you it was specific LOL)

Also new-ish but will give it a whirl.

1. A new bird that you have not positively identified before. Birders range from not keeping any list, to having a "life list" to having a year list, county, state, garden and other lists. A life list is great for "collecting" birds. Your popular bird field guides have check lists in the back to facilitate your list.

2. Early AM is overall best, sun up to probably 2-3 hours after, depending. There is also bird activity late in the day, prior to sunset, when birds are getting ready to take the night off. Evening is good for owling (as our local resident Western Screech Owl will agree). Water birds are often good all day though morning is still preferable.

3. I like Kaufman due to its size, construction and layout. Others like Sibley, Peterson and National Geographic. My main books are Kaufman in the field and Sibley at home! Read up more on this here as the local stores are going to have the "flavor of the month" which aren't always good! As far as sparrows, and other LBJs (little brown jobs), the best bet is to know what's likely in the area prior to going there (due to season, geography and distribution), then look at the distinguishing features of that narrower list. Easier said than done! Places like your local Audubon and even ebird.org will help with lists for your area.

4. No knowledge of these areas.

BTW, it's a great idea to photograph all the birds of Missouri but despite that some won't agree with me, I firmly believe that bird photography is not birding and that you might consider doing birding and bird photography separately in order to really get the most of either.

Matt

 

[Gretchen]

3. Been looking through the gallery, but when I go out I mostly see a sparrow, and think "great, how the heck am I going to figure out what this one is" whats a good fieldguide. Went to borders and soooo many books on it

Clark

I too am pretty new

Everyone will have different feelings about guide books, but figure eventually you may want more than one, so just choose the one that looks like the right amount of detail for you now.

Initially I like a book organized so it's easy to find my bird when I'm "in the field". This could be organized by type of bird (hawks, songbirds etc), or even by color. I began with a photo guide because that was easiest for me to see something that looked like the bird I saw. I really liked the National Audubon Soc. one (for Eastern Region) as it was pretty complete but also sort of portable - not sure how well that covers MO, but getting a guide which focuses on your region can make it seem less overwhelming at first.

Later I got Sibley because the drawings actually helped me see an "average bird" in a "basic pose", and also showed common variations and juveniles etc. Like Matt said, it's a good "at home book" - big to carry around in the forest, but since it also has the whole country, it is good if you're out of your region.

I really enjoyed reading Sibley's Birding Basics which gives lots of interesting basic information about birds and identifying them - it's short and pretty easy reading - it was a great intro to birds for me.

best, Gretchen

 

[JeffMoh]

Additional Points

Most birders say early morning is the best time but I've never found this in the USA (California and Texas). I find that most birds don't emerge until the sun has been up for a while. This obviously makes particular sense for insectivorous birds, because flying insects usually only get active when the sun is up.

The big Sibley guide is certainly too big to carry around but there is an excellent pocket-sized version for the eastern USA. I strongly recommend it.

BTW, I find the boundaries between different habitats are the best places. (So the edge of a wood, for example, rather than in the middle of a wood.) I suppose thisis because the birds have their choice of two kinds of habitat in one place.

Jeff

 

[Jim M.]

[EDIT: Posting at the same time as Jeff]
For a beginner field guide, I would go with either the regional Sibleys (Eastern North America for your area), Kaufmann, or Peterson. These tend to try to keep things pretty simple. The big Sibley's ("The Sibley Guide to Birds") is a good reference once you become more advanced.

I really enjoyed reading Sibley's Birding Basics which gives lots of interesting basic information about birds and identifying them - it's short and pretty easy reading - it was a great intro to birds for me.

This book sounds like an excellent idea also. National Geographic has a similar book titled "Birding Essentials".
For information about finding birds in your area, this looks like a good book: http://www.abasales.com/index.php?main_page=pubs_product_book_info&products_id=155

Hope this helps

 

[Jim M.]

Another great book for all levels of birders is Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion. See a glowing review here: http://www.birderslibrary.com/reviews/books/advanced/dunne_companion.htm I wish I had had it when I was starting out.