{"id":2889,"date":"2014-08-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/birdhousesupply.com\/?p=2889"},"modified":"2017-05-19T19:36:52","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T19:36:52","slug":"easy-tips-to-identify-common-songbirds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/birdhousesupply.com\/blog\/easy-tips-to-identify-common-songbirds\/","title":{"rendered":"Easy Tips to Identify Common Songbirds"},"content":{"rendered":"
Magazine racks at the grocery checkout assume that celebrity watching is the favorite pastime. While this is true, it is the faces of the celebrities at the top of the popularity ladder that the publications got wrong! Bird watching is now the fastest growing hobby. So if you want to identify some real celebrities put down the TV remote and grab your binoculars. It\u2019s time for you to be a member of the songbird press.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n Birding is one of the few activities that serves ecological, activity and self-improvement goals. It can be enjoyed by anyone from the age of 5 to 95. You can log information from your window or hop on a plane and record bird migrations in India. How many hobbies offer so many choices? Jump into birdwatching at the depth and expense that suits your level and budget. You can pre-order that \u201c5 grand\u201d camera\u2026 or just pull out the lawn chair.<\/p>\n Most individuals get \u201cinto\u201d bird watching after setting up a feeding station<\/a>. Once they see the amazing variety of species winging in \u2013 it’s hard to resist getting hooked on birding. Become a helping hand to nature by setting out a few\u00a0nesting houses<\/a> to target your favorites during the mating season.<\/p>\n There are a few steps you will want to take to quickly identify songbirds. Before you hit the park or the backyard, birding becomes more enjoyable when you know what to look and listen for.<\/p>\n Ironically, bird watching is all about listening.<\/p>\n Sherlock Holmes was right. “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.\u201d Learning to pay attention to your environment is crucial to locating the birds. If you watch other animals, they are vigilant, listening, watching and being very present in the space and time. This is key. Become a tracker and be intensely aware of your \u201cnow.\u201d Listen for rustles, watch for moving branches, locate movement in your peripheral vision \u2013 you are now a BSI – bird scene investigator.<\/p>\n Once you view yourself as an integral element of nature the \u201cloudness\u201d of what is happening around you becomes readily noticeable. You will hear birds before you see them. Songbirds are master vocalists (listen to the song of the Eastern Phoebe<\/a>)!<\/p>\n Birds sing to attract mates, hold territory or to find each other. Songs vary by season, daily expression and by the bird\u2019s age. It is important to learn the variety of calls expressed by the birds that frequent your region.<\/p>\n Learning how and why songbirds vocalize is fascinating. Birds share the same FOXP2 gene with humans and many learn how to speak \u201cwhile still in the nest, a phase known as the critical period<\/a>, when nestlings listen to the adults singing around them… young birds attempt to replicate these songs, practicing until they have matched their tutor\u2019s song. Some songbirds, such as the catbirds, thrashers, and mockingbirds, learn to mimic other species\u2014frogs, cats, and even car alarms.\u201d<\/p>\n Walk outside and you will hear birds warbling. Early morning and evening are \u201chot\u201d times for singing, but songbirds are active during the entire day. Biologists use bird songs as the primary subject locater, identifier and as the most efficient way to record population counts. Do what the ornithologists do and record the singing. Focus on one sound at a time and notice the uniqueness of the volume, pitch, rhythm, tone and notes.<\/p>\n Cornell Lab of Ornithology<\/a> offers an easy-to-use song guide identification search on their website. The site includes photos, behavior and location ranges to help you quickly locate the species recently observed. There is also a link to the Macaulay Library<\/a> and its internationally renowned archive of animal vocalizations.<\/p>\n Begin your birding adventure by familiarizing yourself with the various species \u2013 those likely to visit your watching spots. Most readily available bird information pertains to the United States and Canada \u2013 so a simple search will yield fast results.<\/p>\n Spend some time perusing through Flickr and Youtube, as these still and video hotspots will offer exciting results caught by fellow birders. Learning how to recognize bird species is just like any form of learning \u2013 never limit opportunities to pick up information. Nature shows on television often highlight birds and many public or local stations have nature programs geared to your locale.<\/p>\n Think about types of behavior patterns, for example:<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you narrow your observation down, you can find your subject: \u201cExtremely large, long-legged grayish blue plumage and wading along the edge of a pond\u201d = Great Blue Heron! If the bird was quite similar but all white = Common Egret<\/p>\n Learning bird behavior and building a knowledge database to sift through makes birding much more enjoyable and rewarding. You hear drumming on the oak tree. You know it is a woodpecker, but which one? Grab your bird book and flip to the woodpecker section. Bingo\u2026 male Downy Woodpecker!<\/p>\n Peruse online \u201cclubs\u201d and resources as well. Most sites allow for you to contact their experts and get one-one-advice! Your favorite birding supply stores have blogs<\/a> and birders available to answer your questions and offer tips for attracting more songbirds to your yard.<\/p>\n Visit some of the online identification guides. These guides make figuring out what songbirds are frequenting your area. Spend some time surfing these sites, because the main tip for identifying any species of bird is to become familiar with their songs, behaviors and physical characteristics. Once you know what the silhouette (birders use shape to narrow down the species) and behavior of the bird is, you will then be able to zero in on the name of the individual you are looking at.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to get bird watching!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Magazine racks at the grocery checkout assume that celebrity watching is the favorite pastime. While this is true, it is the faces of the celebrities at the top of the popularity ladder that the publications got wrong! Bird watching is now the fastest growing hobby. So if you want to identify some real celebrities put … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,81],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nBeing a Bird Detective<\/h2>\n
Tips and Tricks<\/h2>\n
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More Online Resources<\/h2>\n
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