Birding For Beginners - How To Identify Birds
If you like bird watching, it is a certainty that you’ll want to learn how to identify these birds. While it can be exciting to be able to identify birds, it isn’t always a simple task; in fact, it can be downright frustrating much of the time. A good field guide can be your friend in this regard. However, you’ll also need to glean some knowledge on your own before you can even use the field guide properly. If you’re just starting out as a bird watcher, then, there are a few things you can do that will help you identify birds more accurately.
The Size of the Bird
Take a look at the size of a bird if you don’t know how to identify it. Is it about the size of a large ostrich, maybe chicken size, about the size of a small sparrow, or perhaps the size of a robin? Also, consider whether the bird is plump, on the skinny side, short, or very long. Take a look at the entire body and take every feature into consideration, including the size and shape of the wings, tail and beak.
Note the Colors
The colors are another important thing to note when trying to identify birds. Look at the colors and try to match them with the size and shape. As you become more experienced, you’ll learn what colors certain types of birds usually are, which will help you identify them; sometimes you’ll even be able to do this by color alone! However, colors can trick you from time to time. The lighting can affect the color so that the bird appears a different color than he or she really is. Take the lighting into account and make a mental note of what parts of the bird are what colors. For instance are the wings differently colored than the rest of the bird? These details are important in identifying birds. Be certain to look at any markings the bird may have. With a decent pair of birding binoculars the features of these feathered creatures can be viewed more closely.
What’s Your Location?
Knowing where you bird watch is also going to be a help when you identify birds. Where are you when you bird watch? Are you on the water, inside a large forest? Are you enjoying some backyard birding? There are certain birds that live in specific habitats. If the bird’s in the water, wading or swimming, can it actually climb a tree, too? Does it fly, and if so, where and how? How does it move its tail? These are all questions to ask that can help you out when identifying the birds that you are watching.
Listening to Identify Birds
One of the most important things to keep in mind when you’re watching birds is that how they sound can help you figure out what they are, too. Every single bird has a unique song that they sing and if you listen you may be able to identify the bird just by what you hear. If you listen closely, you might even see some birds that you would never have seen otherwise. It’s not always helpful to listen when you identify a bird, but it’s another piece of information that can definitely help you.
So, next time you go out bird watching, keep all of these tips in mind. They’ll help you identify the birds you see, and this will make it a much more rewarding and fun experience for you, too.
Filed under Outdoors