Guide to Bird Watching

29 June 2010

Aristotle put together a list of birds (n =170) of which 74 can easily be recognized today

Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) did much the same thing◦ Also wrote that the people of Sri Lanka used birds

to find their way to land Frederick II of Hohenstuafen (1194-1250)

published The Art of Falconry By the 16th century, three encyclopedias

published information about birds

A Quick Ornithological History

For the purposes of this class… A bird-watcher is someone who enjoys

watching birds◦ May have a bird feeder set up but isn’t necessarily able

to identify bird species correctly A birder is someone who makes trips to see

birds and is able to identify most species seen in the field correctly

An ornithologist is someone who uses the scientific method to study birds

Note that an ornithologist may not necessarily be a birder!

Bird-watchers, birders & ornithologists

For the period 2004-2007, the NSRE (National Survey on Recreation and the Environment) estimated that there were approximately 82 million people who watched or photographed birds

The 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation estimated that 47.7 million people watched birds◦ 19.9 million took trips away from home to observe

and/or photograph wild birds◦ 30 million fished, 21.5 million hunted

Numbers

See http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/nrrt/nsre/IRISRec/IrisRec2.html for more information

Image from http://warnell.forestry.uga.edu/nrrt/nsre/IRISRec/IrisRec2.html

“October 8 [1492] – There were many small land-birds and [the sailors] took one which was flying to the south-west. There were jays, ducks and a pelican.”

“October 9 [1492] – All night heard birds passing.”◦ - Christopher Columbus

De Vaca (1528), Castenada (1541-1542) noted birds

John White (1585) painted watercolors The Ornithology of Francis Willughby

(1678) by Willughby and John Ray was notable

Fifteenth – Seventeeth Centuries:The New World

From 1712-1719 and again from 1722-1726 Mark Catesby explored the southeastern US with the goal of painting, describing and naming all birds◦ Now known as the “Founder of American Ornithology”

In 1758, Linnaeus published Systema Naturae which set off a huge collecting spree across the world (including the US & Canada)

In 1791, William Bartram published Travels Through North and South Carolina and was one of the first Americans to contribute to ornithological knowledge

The two-headed eagle was proposed in 1776 as a US symbol but was not accepted

In 1782, Congress settled on a crested, stylized eagle

The 18th Century

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)◦ Published 20 volumes, most interested

in birds in natural settings John Burroughs (1837-1921)

◦ Most important nature writer after Thoreau, hugely popular through 1920s

John Muir (1838 – 1914)◦ One of the first modern

preservationists◦ Essays on nature & wildlife of

Sierra Nevadas are still popular today

◦ Formed Sierra Club

Nature Writers of the 19th Century

Alexander Wilson (1766-1813)◦ In 1802, Wilson decided to publish a

series of books covering all north American Birds

◦ Illustrated 360 species over eight volumes, including 39 never before illustrated

John James Audubon (1785-1851)◦ Published Birds of America (4 volumes

of watercolors) as well as Ornithological Biographies (life histories of birds)

Ninteenth Century Ornithologists

A descriptive science No formal academic training was available “Professional” ornithologists were typically

curators at museums, many without college degrees

By late 19th century bird clubs began spring up

The American Ornithologists’ Union was formed in 1883◦ This was the first national ornithological

organization

Ornithology in 19th Century

George Bird Grinnell wanted to create a national group to protect birds◦ Only lasted from 1883-1888

In 1896, Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall created an organization to discourage the use of feathers for ornamentation and to promote the protection of birds – the Audubon Society

This eventually grew into the National Audubon Society under the guidance of William Dutcher (chairmen of the AOU bird protection committee)

Audubon Society

Image from: http://www.audubon.org/

Worked at the American Museum of Natural History

Acted as a bridge between amateurornithologists and professionals

Published Bird-lore Started Christmas Bird Counts

in 1900, asking people to count birds on Christmas day rather than shooting them

Frank Chapman (1864-1945)

Traditionally, ornithologists collected specimens

However, many amateur bird-watchers were interested in contributing sightings

Ludlow Griscom (1890-1959) believed that amateurs could learn to identify birds accurately◦ "One need not shoot a bird to know what it was.“

Roger Tory Peterson (1908-1996) took Griscom’s idea and added the idea of using arrows to identify birds

Field Guides

During the early 20th century, Cornell University was the leading institution for graduate training in ornithology◦ Fueled in large part by the arrival of Dr. Arthur Allen

His students included Ludlow Griscom, John Emlen, Peter Paul Kellogg, Olin S. Pettingill, Jr. and George M. Sutton

Dr. Joseph P. Grinnell at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC – Berkeley established an impressive ornithology program

Today, most Tier I institutions will allow you to pursue a PhD in ornithology (although they may not call it by that name)

Academic Training in Ornithology

1900 – The Lacey Act◦ Made it a crime to poach game in one state and

sell it in another. Also intended to regulate the introduction of non-native birds as well as add some protection to native birds

1918 – Migratory Bird Treaty Act◦ All migratory birds and their parts (including eggs,

nests, and feathers) were fully protected. 1973 – Endangered Species Act

◦ Protects species listed as “threatened” or “endangered”

Bird Conservation Laws

On your binoculars, you should see numbers such as 7 x 35 or 10 x 40.

The first number is the magnification◦ Generally, ornithologists working with landbirds use 7x or

8x binoculars The second number is the diameter of the

binocular’s objective lenses◦ This affects brightness

The best measure of a binocular’s brightness is the exit pupil diameter◦ Divide the second number by the first number◦ E.g. 40 / 10 = 4 mm◦ The human eye ranges from 2-7+ mm

Binoculars

Low quality optics will often have a grayish cast to the edges of the exit pupil area

Optics Quality

Easiest way: Pay attention to the world around you when you are outside

Can also…◦ Sit in one place and wait quietly for 10+ minutes◦ Pish◦ Squeak◦ Imitate screech-owl calls◦ Playback singing birds

(during the breeding season)

Finding Birds

“Pishing” (going pshhh… pshhh…)may be effective in calling in Passerines

“Squeaking” (loudly kissing the back of the hand) may also work◦ Try to get high-pitch frequencies with this

technique The idea is that “pishing” and “squeaking”

is like an alarm call, and so the birds will come to mob the predator

“Pishing” & “Squeaking”

Pishing movie

Mimicking an Eastern Screech-Owl (Eastern & central US) or a Western Screech-Owl may also bring in birds◦ Mimicking a Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl in the

Neotropics also seems to work well Using your hands as a soundbox can also

cause birds to respond◦ Mostly larger owls and doves◦ Extra credit! – 5 pts worth of extra credit to

anyone who can successfully use their hands as a soundbox by the test

Bird imitations

"the squeaking sound produced with the lips against the hand"...

it "elicits approach responses in a wide variety of wild birds and has been used extensively by field ornithologists as a lure.“

Concluded the birds will habituate to the sound◦ Emlen, J.T. 1969.  The 'squeak lure' and predator

mobbing in wild birds.  Anim. Behav. 17:515-516.

Emlen (1969)

Many bird groups have distinctive silhouettes

How many can you name in this image?

Silhouettes

Many birds have a distinctive posture

With practice, it is possible to identify the birds without seeing other field marks

Bird Posture

Finches & woodpeckers fly in an undulating flight

Buteo (e.g. Red-tailed Hawks) and vultures circle on thermals

Crows fly straight – ravens glide & circle

Flight Patterns

See the broken snag with fungi?

To the right is a double-trunked maple

Follow the right trunk up, look at second branch on right

The Screech-Owl is about halfway out from the trunk on the branch

Screech-Owl

When pointing out birds to others, it may help to visualize a clock superimposed over the tree

It is also useful when on a boat

Clock Method

When you come across an unfamiliar bird, take good notes