Identifying Backyard Birds

Are you getting ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count? Start identifying the birds you are seeing in your yard. Don't forget you can also participate while on a hike or visiting beyond your backyard. Be sure to take a notepad to record your sightings.

See if you can ID the birds on this page.  Answers at the bottom.

Middle 1

The Merlin Bird ID and Audubon Bird Guide app can easily be downloaded on phones on tablets.  Not so easy on a desktop computer. 

Here's a free online resource with easy to find ID. BIRD WATCHER'S DIGEST:   [https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/]

There are plenty of books for identifying birds available through the Franklin County Library System. They are offering curbside pickup. Go to their webpage for CURRENT GUIDELINES for checking out books at this time. (http://www.fclspa.org/reopening/). Use the topic Bird identification in the Search box.

Middle 2

My favorites books are:

* Sibley Field Guide to Birds - This has drawings of male & female plus juvenile & breeding plumage on some.

* Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds
* Peterson Field Guide to Birds East of the Rockies 

 If you want a great bird song ID book get BACKYARD BIRDSONG GUIDE EASTERN AND CENTRAL (Cornell Lab of Ornithology). [  https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Birdsong-Guide-Eastern-Listening/dp/0811863425  ]  It has the sounds of seventy-five unique birds from Eastern and Central North America at the touch of a button plus short descriptions of each.

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GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT -2021

It seems being stuck at home there is much more birdwatching going on, at least on the Facebook pages of my Friends and others that I visit.

With that in mind, I'm thinking this year's GBBC will be highly successful utilizing many more citizen scientists to gather and report bird data. You just need to spend at least 15 minutes at a location. If you can spend more than 15 minutes, you’ll get a better sense of which birds are in your area. If you’d like to do more than one count at the same location, or counts at several locations, just  submit separate checklists each time you do so.

Here's some links to help you understand how this works.

Counting Instructions 

Bird Counting 101   This article gives you clear information about counting and is helpful if you are new at this.  Ex, "If you see a male Northern Cardinal in the first five minutes of your walk, and then see a male Northern Cardinal in roughly the same place on your way back you would count one." 

Bird Counting 102- At the Feeders This is the article that I review each year. 

Help Id'ling Birds  This link provides online reference sites, several with FREE apps to download.

The Merlin Bird ID and Audubon Bird Guide app can easily be downloaded on phones on tablets.  Not so easy on a desktop computer. 

Here's a free online resource with easy to find ID. BIRD WATCHER'S DIGEST:   [https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/]

There are plenty of books for identifying birds available through the Franklin County Library System. They are offering curbside pickup. Go to their webpage for CURRENT GUIDELINES for checking out books at this time. (http://www.fclspa.org/reopening/). Use the topic Bird identification in the Search box.

e-Bird Data Entry

Yes, you will need to set up an e-Bird account to enter your information; however, it is only once and they don’t ask a bunch of personal information (name, email, user name and password). Having an account ensures that your data will be associated with your efforts, allowing scientists to quantify participation to aid in analyses. It also enables you to keep track of your personal bird records and lists. 

You can also enter observations at other times of the year and because a location is not associated with your account, at different locations. Go to this link to set up the eBird Account. Once set-up, you can use the sign in information (User name and password) to participate in NestWatch . 

NestWatch is a nationwide nest-monitoring program designed to track status and trends in the reproductive biology of birds. Participating is easy and anyone can do it.

The Cornell Bird Lab has an abundance of online educational resources that may be of interest to homeschoolers and teachers with online education responsibilities. There are FREE downloadable lessons, clubs and citizen science programs for K-12 and information for Undergrad and Grad students, too.