Finding the Birds (1 Viewer)

I'm getting better and better at ID. But not finding the birds.
I see people with their daily list being 15-20 and saying "oh well it wasn't too great of a day."

I can barely see 5 species a day. So what is better?

1. Flushing or listening and finding?
2. Stationary in a Hide or walking around?

And what are some other things to look for or do?

You need to know what to find in your area. Go to ebird or find a checklist of the birds in your area. You should learn about the habitat each species of bird prefers. Does a particular species of bird like it on the ground, in a tree or near a river? This will make it easier to find a particular species of bird you are looking for.
You should learn the songs of the birds in your area. You will often hear the bird before you see it.
You should also join a birding group in you area. Birders are very helpful. Try looking online or contacting your local Audubon Society. Also, look for bird refuges in your area.

Here is a checklist for the birds in your area.

Some paces to find birds in Utah.
http://www.utah.com/wildlife/bird_watching.htm

Hope this helps.

Finding a lot of birds does depend on some knowledge of the right time and the right place. There are times of day and times of year when birds are more evident, and there are places that attract more birds (e.g. water, to some extent). I think people who see many birds in a day either are aware of these times and places, or cover a lot of area in one day.

I have walked around woods that seemed pretty devoid of birds (usually afternoon, I think) and had walks around my neighborhood (in PA) that showed a surprising number of species. Now I try to think more about "what would make a bird want to be in this area?" instead of thinking I know where they should be - after all, birds are highly mobile! Thus, I look for water and possible food sources for birds (or attractive nesting areas).

All this is to say, as the Falcon mentioned, it is so helpful to go out with others and learn the places that birds like and the times they are more active, though sometimes going on your own with a little info, you may come across quite a few (but for me identifying them is then another thing )

Time is important I have found. I usually try to be out and ready to bird between 0730 -0800 a.m. What I have found is that the birds seem to get out & about between those times and by about 10 -10:30, the birds start disappearing and get quiet. This rule seems to generally apply to most areas I have birded in. There are times when you want to be up really early, before dawn to hear or see some nocturnal species. There are some places you will find, that you could really have great birding all day, with lulls here & there. If you are finding yourself trying to bird in the hours between 12 noon and say, 4 p.m. - you may not see much at all. The birds, not all, are usually more active again in the cooling evening hours.


Season is important - I have found that once migration is over and the birds are nesting, they are quieter & harder to find. Late summer seems to be the low number point for most birders I know, along with the fact that summer heat makes for uncomfortable birding!

Look at where you are choosing to bird - is it a city park with lots of people & dogs? Birding will be harder in those areas. I have found that the egdes of woody areas have more birds than I find if I venture deeper into the woods. Habitat is hugely important. Low scrubby bushes & trees will have different birds than woods with a lot of really tall trees (and there are specific species that love the tops of those neck breaking trees!!). Drier areas are homes to specific birds, while area near creeks and ponds host others.
Listen closely, try to follow the bird calls and spot the bird making the call, easier said than done a lot of times, but with practice you will not only find the birds more often, but also learn the calls. There are some birds that are so much more easily & often heard than seen - like a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Look in the sky and at the bases of trees & bushes - a lot of birds are missed because we look only in the trees and miss some great fly-by's or miss the bird foraging under the leaf litter.

There is a site called Ebird, it is free. You can sign in and use it to find area near you that peple may have birded and see what they have found, It will not only give you an idea of places nearby that you may not have been aware of, but you will get a great list of what is to be found through the year and also see what rarities have shown up. You can also use it to keep a list of your birds that you have seen & it will separate your lists automatically into life, daily, site specific, state specific, etc. lists. Quite helpful.

Good luck and keep looking - you will be amazed at what is around you if you keep your eyes & ears open!!

I'm going to agree with most of the things said above, I'm just going to be obnoxious and number them. In response to "1. Flushing or listening and finding?
2. Stationary in a Hide or walking around?", I'm going to say during breeding season, flushing birds kind of sucks, and introduces further pressure that the birds don't need. Otherwise, there's really nothing wrong with any of the other techniques. Sometimes birds will come real close if you just pick a good spot and sit there and watch, which can be really rewarding. On the other hand, if you keep walking you'll probably see more variety faster, but it's often easier to see movement if you yourself are stationary. Listening and finding is great, if you're good with audio.

1. Look in your field guides, check habitats & behavior. That will give you an idea of what you might see when you go somewhere, and where to look for what birds.

2. Early morning, and evening are definitely the best times to bird. Sure you might see stuff the rest of the day, but it'll quiet down.

3. Knowing general arrival and departure dates of species in your region. Some regional field guides have this specific data, but otherwise see ebird.

4. Learning calls, hearing a bird and knowing what it is can make it much easier to track it down. You could get something like a regional Cornell collection, or the Stokes bird calls cds, which could help you learn some calls. I can't really learn that way, but whenever I hear a bird I don't know, I go outside and track it down till I can identify it visually. Also, I keep whole collections of bird songs and calls on my ipod in case it's a bird that is difficult to identify visually, as a check (for example Empidonax flycatchers).

5. Ebird! Ebird is ridiculous. Depending on how many birders are in your region, the data can be very helpful. For example, http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?step...continue.x=41&continue.y=12&continue=Continue shows for my county sightings of species in months. This will tell you when you can find species in your region. For more info, click on any species on that list and it will show you where it was sighted on a map. You'll still have to know what habitat they're found in, but it should get you close.

6. Have fun If you found 5 species and had fun, you win. If you saw 40 species in one day but you're tired out and frustrated.... you lose.

I will go out and usually find between 15-20 birds at any one time..... One mistake I see people making is in the states they will go birding in the summer time (nice weather and all)...while that is great, don't expect to see alot given the hot weather and non migratory season. When I go out in the summer, sure, I might only see a few birds but when you think of it, crows, magpies, some sparrows, STARLINGS (why did Europe give us those anyhow?) are always around so right there, there is 4!

lmans66 said:

crows, magpies, some sparrows, STARLINGS (why did Europe give us those anyhow?) are always around so right there, there is 4!

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I read a thing a while back that said that the American Acclimatization Society in the late 19th C had a policy of trying to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeares plays into the USA -they released 100 european starlings in Central park about 1890.
However other groups had already started the 'work' with house sparrows , chaffinches and blackbirds etc European Fauna and flora were also introduced with varing degrees of 'success '

alison

Some places are bird deserts, you may live in one.
For now, try thinking in terms of wildlife and plants. You might have better luck looking for bugs and spiders in your area. Lizards.
Really, the advise the other posters give is excellent, but North Utah may not be the best birding place. Try some astronomy, which is pretty much impossible in my neck of the woods.

carjug said:

Some places are bird deserts, you may live in one.
For now, try thinking in terms of wildlife and plants. You might have better luck looking for bugs and spiders in your area. Lizards.
Really, the advise the other posters give is excellent, but North Utah may not be the best birding place. Try some astronomy, which is pretty much impossible in my neck of the woods.

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It's not exactly a hotspot, but I've seen enough birds that I wouldn't classify it as a "deadzone".

I just looked at Utah on Ebird and it shows a total of 412 birds posted for that state. I am looking at the "first/last/high" category and there are several people who have posted as recently as Oct 4. Unfortunately, I don't know your location as opposed to theirs, but if you sign in (free) you can get an idea of who is seeing what & where. 412 isn't a shabby number - just depends on how many of those 412 birds fly your way or what migrates through!! Checking out this portion of Ebird may give you ideas on where you can go to bird, hopefully some of the areas will be available to you via bicycle or your parents willingness to drive you there. Deserts can be good places to bird!!

Hope these help:

http://www.utahbirds.org/

http://www.utah.com/wildlife/bird_watching.htm

http://www.utahbirds.org/PrintCenter/PrintCenter.htm - this site looks to have quite a bit of info available on the page if you scroll down!

Wow, do you guys really put yourself under that much pressure to go birding?

Walk down the street and let the birds find you.

Some of the best advice I've received was from a local birding guru. He told me to get very familiar with the common birds songs and calls (and when I say common I mean always around and easy to spot). After learning what the cardinal, chickadee, titmouse, carolina wren, and etc. calls sound like, I never went chasing them again. This will give you more time to focus on birds you haven't seen before. If you spend the whole morning chasing a chickadee, then you might miss an opportunity to see much else (as the day can get away from you quickly.)

Also, check out ebirds or a checklist for the area you wish to bird and pick 2 or 3 "target" birds. Before you go out, look at several pictures, read about their common habitats, listen to their calls/songs. This will imprint them in your memory and make the information easier to recall when you get outside. It works best if you research the night before and do a quick refresher in the morning before you leave. I've been doing this almost since I started and it yields great results.

As to your flushing vs. walking question, I think the most effective way is to learn to walk quietly and stop every 100 steps or so. When you stop, stand there for a minute or two and listen/look around. Don't forget to look on the ground under the trees and along trunks/thick branches. Every species occupies a place within the woods, so be careful not to assume that all birds exist in the tops of the trees.

Does the time of the day make a difference, when it comes to looking out 4 different types of birds? I tend to find that I have much joy at certain times of the day than others. Is this just pure coincidence or is it based on science? I would reallly like to know.

James1 said:

Does the time of the day make a difference, when it comes to looking out 4 different types of birds? I tend to find that I have much joy at certain times of the day than others. Is this just pure coincidence or is it based on science? I would reallly like to know.

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I just try to make the best of it, time of day or not....it depends also on when I have the "time" to get out and look too. And even if I find the same type of birds, it is fun to attempt to view them doing something odd in behavior or the like.

James1 said:

Does the time of the day make a difference, when it comes to looking out 4 different types of birds? I tend to find that I have much joy at certain times of the day than others. Is this just pure coincidence or is it based on science? I would reallly like to know.

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Most landbirds are active and, depending on season, singing begining at dawn and starting to taper off around late morning. Diurnal raptors usually wait until the air heats up and thermals arise, so they can often be best seen late in the morning or in the afternoon. Timing is less critical for water and shorebirds, though receding tide is often best near the ocean for shorebirds and gulls.

Best,
Jim

I'd say 15-20 is pretty poor really. Although I'm in England, I'd expect to see 30-40 bird species in an hour's walk on my local patch, which is about 8 miles from central London. Given that the US has twice as many species as we do, I don't understand how you can get 5 species? Do you live in a concrete jungle?

Hi UtahnBirder
Can I ask are you using binoculars when you go birding ? When I go out on my favourite walk which is upon a local cycle track I count 20 -25 species. These are only birds I see not hear. This walk is probably less than a mile stretch.
If I go without my binoculars this would drop considerably as my 40 year old eyes aren't what they used to be. One Sparrow looking bird pretty much looks the same as another one without my bins so maybe this is where you're going wrong.
Cheers,
Ian