Tag: birding

Posted on in Birding Tips, Birds

How to Name a Bird, Part 1

Golden-crowned Sparrow_CosumnesRiverPreserve-CA_LAH_0338What in the world is that bird? Birding someplace new is fun and exciting, but it’s also a challenge. How do you make a trip list if you can’t identify the birds you are seeing?

I normally post a bird ID quiz on the first Monday of the month. Today and next week, I thought I’d share about the mental checklist I go through when I’m trying to ID a bird I don’t immediately recognize.

I get to travel a bit. In addition to field trips here in Colorado, I’ve been birding in southern Texas, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, and the west coast. I was really excited when we went to Puerto Rico several years ago. We stayed at a friend’s time share ideally situated between a wildlife refuge and a bird sanctuary. I was having so much fun, I almost didn’t notice the 99° temperatures or the 99% humidity. Almost.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds

Eleven Mile Canyon

ElevenMileCyn-CO_LAH_6015It was cold. Really cold. The car thermometer read -3 (yes, that’s a minus sign) and the wind was howling. That’s what you get when you’re birding at 8,500 feet in the Rocky Mountains at the end of December. Despite four layers of winter clothing, knit hat plus fleece-lined hood, and gloves, I was shivering—and having a tremendous time!

Eight of us set off last Saturday morning for Eleven Mile Canyon, on the west side of Pikes Peak. It was all of 4 degrees as I pulled out of my driveway north of Colorado Springs, but it was early, the sun was out, and I figured it would warm up. So much for being optimistic.

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Posted on in Birding Trips

Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR

Saturday was such a gorgeous day in Colorado, my husband and I headed for the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, just northeast of Denver. There’s something inherently satisfying about taking a place that was once a chemical warfare factory and turning it into a shortgrass prairie abounding in wildlife.

Or at least it was supposed to abound. We’ve been there before, in late spring, when the numerous scrubby areas were full of birds. This visit was quite different.

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Posted on in Birds

Good Birds

red-winged-blackbird_kiowacreeksanctuary-blkf-co_lah_07081“Have you seen any good birds?”

It’s the expected question when you meet another birder on the trail. We’ve all heard it, and probably asked it ourselves.

The first time I heard this I was a bit confused. What’s a “good” bird? Does that mean there are bad birds? Since that time I’ve learned that the question actually means, “Have you seen any unusual birds?” This makes a lot more sense. We all want to catch the rarity. But if seeing a rare bird is the only reason to go birding, we’d get bored pretty quickly.

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Posted on in Bird Profiles, Hotspots

Valentine Finches

rosy-finches-on-wire_lavetaco_20100320_lah_0036nef

In honor of Valentine’s Day and all things pink, today’s post features Rosy-finches.

There are currently three species of Rosy-finch. The most widespread are Gray-crowned Rosy-finches (2nd and 5th in photo above), which winter in the inter-mountain west and breed throughout interior British Columbia, Alaska and the Yukon.

Next are Black Rosy-finches, which have a more restricted range, being found throughout the central Rockies from southern Montana to northern New Mexico, and east into Idaho and Nevada.

Then there are the Brown-capped Rosy-finches (Nos. 1, 3, and 4 above, and all 3 birds below), which are only found from southern Wyoming though Colorado to northern New Mexico.

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Posted on in Birding Trips, Birds, Hotspots

Birder Heaven: Birding the Beach

bocachica-brownsville-tx_lah_3743The sun was already low in the sky when my husband and I arrived at Boca Chica beach, just north of Brownsville, Texas. We had spent most of the day at Laguna Atascosa NWR, and wanted to make the best of the few hours of daylight that remained.

bocachica-brownsville-tx_lah_3817Although it’s legal to drive on the packed sand, we opted to park at the entrance. Peeling off our shoes and socks, we rolled up our jeans and strolled down the packed sand. It was late December, but the temperature had reached the upper 70s that day, and the humidity retained the heat. The water was cool and refreshing, and two little girls were splashing in the surf. I had to try it out as well, but only ankle deep.

This was sure a lot more comfortable than birding in Colorado this time of year!

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Posted on in Birds

Who Gives a Hoot?

burrowing-owls_bixleynwr-ca_lah_9641At some time of another, most birders have a “nemesis bird”—that species you really want to see but you always seem to show up a minute too late. Or you show up in the wrong spot. Or you hear, “We always get that bird on this trip; I don’t know why it’s not here now!”

I’ve come to realize that I don’t just have a nemesis species—I have a nemesis family! For some reason, I have an extraordinarily hard time finding owls.

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Posted on in Birds

An Anthropologist’s Take on Birders: Part 3

birding_venetucci_20090916_lah_0667This is the third and last part on how my daughter the anthropologist looks at birders. Don’t miss Part 1 or Part 2!

Taboos
The Code of Birding Ethics is essential reading for every birder. Some topics covered include the excessive playing of recorded bird sounds (or playing these recordings at all, in many places), disturbing nesting birds, trespassing, and other ways of being considerate to the birds and to one another.

birders_burntmillrd_20090905_lah_0126I’ve already mentioned clothing, but in general, wearing white is frowned upon. It scares many birds, thus annoying many birders. The same thing applies to loud noises. Most birders talk in hushed voices, at least while on the trail.

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Posted on in Birds, Humor

An Anthropologist’s Take on Birders: Part 2

birding_venetucci_20090916_lah_06671If you missed Part 1, I’m summarizing some observations made by our daughter, the anthropologist, about our birding tribe.

Language

Any interest group will have it’s own special vocabulary, and birders are no different. For example, there’s a difference between birdwatchers, birders, and listers (or twitchers, if you’re British). Each word has its own nuance. “Birdwatchers” are recreational birders, enjoying birds wherever they find them but not really going out of their way or keeping track of what they’ve seen. They may actually have the most fun, since there’s no pressure and they take the time to really look at the birds they see.

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Posted on in Birds, Conservation, Nature, Public gardens

Mid-Summer Abundance

american-robin_juv_blkforest-co_lah_4249a

July is not the best time to go birding. The sweat drips from under your floppy hat and smears the view through your binos, and there’s a puddle soaking your shirt under your sling/backpack/fanny pack. It’s a challenge just carrying enough water to stay hydrated.

The birds aren’t cooperating, either. Most of the males have stopped singing now that they have their mates and their territories. Soon they’ll be molting out of their breeding plumage into something much duller and harder to identify. Some are already thinking about heading south, although they won’t actually leave town for a few more weeks.

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