Why Bird Again?

Barn Swallow

Why do birders continue to go out in all sorts of weather, spending all sorts of money, and traveling all sorts of miles sometimes, just to look at birds they have probably seen before? Some birders have done this for many, many years. Why do they continue looking for birds they already know? Think about it...why does anyone do something over and over again?

Gold Finch

I started photographing birds at the same time we started to watch them. I wanted to be able recall what I'd seen, or just prove that I actually had seen it at all!

Green Heron

For familiar birds, I am always looking for a better, clearer photo than one I got a few years ago. As an amateur, this is an ongoing struggle. I refuse to carry one of those cameras that take expensive accessories and weigh many pounds. Mine is a point and shoot that I leave on automatic most of the time. I am a serendipitous photographer, just grateful to get a new photo based on luck and persistence.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

We have been birding for about ten years, and there are still many kinds of birds we haven't found yet. We only keep a "life" list, while other birders keep separate lists for each year and every location they ever bird. Our life total is 572, including those found in the Galapagos and Costa Rica, and also including 5 new birds found on this trip to Magee Marsh. We struggle with finding and identifying warblers, sparrows, and shore birds, but are pretty good with ducks and woodpeckers.

Rusty Blackbird

My friends were amazed that we had never found a Rusty Blackbird before. Now that we found it here, and someone else positively identified it, we learned that it looks like a Grackle with a short tail. Maybe we did see it before and didn't know it. Education is ongoing.

Wilson's Phalarope

When there are large gatherings of birders like this, you learn to stop whenever there is a crowd and ask what they are looking at. Somebody in the group is probably very good at this, and will help you find a new bird. They even share views in their scopes. The female Wilson's Phalarope is brighter colored than the male and we would never have found it on our own. Now we need to learn how to work our own scope better!

Snowy Egret

You learn not to assume that every white bird here is a Great Egret. We found a Snowy Egret along the road, and I never expected to see this southern bird so far north. I'll have to check his range again. Sometimes a bird that you think is just another Turkey Vulture ends up being a Bald Eagle. Birders are optimists if nothing else!

Baltimore Oriole fanning tail

There's always new behavior to observe. At times, the behavior and habitat give better clues on ID than anything else.

Black and White Warbler

Then there's the matter of self-discipline. Just because that little bird is hard to find, don't let it stop you. Try, try again!

Black-throated Green Warbler

If nothing else, you can get a good laugh wondering how in the world some birds got their names. I don't see any green in this bird!

Blackburnian Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

White-crowned Sparrow

You learn by observing familiar birds in new environments or seasons. The White-crowned Sparrow comes to Kentucky to spend the winter, so I never hear him sing, but they sing all the time in Ohio in the spring.

Dunlin

We see Dunlins in Florida, but always in the winter. Now I find they have a beautiful black belly as their breeding plumage. This is such fun! There is always something to learn!