Online Bird watching In Indiana Welcome class

Bufflehead The Bufflehead nests almost exclusively in holes excavated by Northern Flickers and, on occasion, by Pileated Woodpeckers. Unlike most ducks, the Bufflehead is mostly monogamous, often remaining with the same mate for several years.

Mourning Dove During the breeding season, you might see three Mourning Doves flying in tight formation, one after another. This is a form of social display. Typically the bird in the lead is the male of a mated pair. The second bird is an unmated male chasing his rival from the area where he hopes to nest. The third is the female of the mated pair, which seems to go along for the ride. Mourning Doves tend to feed busily on the ground, swallowing seeds and storing them in an enlargement of the esophagus called the crop. Once they’ve filled it (the record is 17,200 bluegrass seeds in a single crop!), they can fly to a safe perch to digest the meal.

Picture of a Mourning dove

Dunlin Dunlin breeding in northern Alaska apparently move west, migrating down the eastern side of Siberia and Asia to Japan and China. The oldest recorded Dunlin was at least 12 years, 5 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California.

Barn Owl Barn Owls swallow their prey whole—skin, bones, and all. About twice a day, they cough up pellets instead of passing all that material through their digestive tracts. The pellets make a great record of what the owls have eaten, and scientists study them to learn more about the owls and the ecosystems they live in. Up to 46 different races of the Barn Owl have been described worldwide. The North American form is the largest, weighing more than twice as much as the smallest race from the Galapagos Islands.

Picture of a Barn Owl

Green Heron The Green Heron is one of the world’s few tool-using bird species. It creates fishing lures with bread crusts, insects, earthworms, twigs, feathers, and other objects, dropping them on the surface of the water to entice small fish. Like many herons, the Green Heron tends to wander outside of its breeding range after the nesting season is over. Most of the wanderers stay nearby as they search for good feeding habitat, but some travel long distances. Individuals have turned up as far away as England and France.

Picture of a Green Heron

How Go birding by ear How to Go Birding by Ear It takes practice to effectively identify bird sounds. To begin birding by ear… Get Familiar: Listen to common bird calls and songs for your regional species so you know what tones and sounds to listen for in the field. Recordings are available from bird compilation CDs, websites, specialized books and electronic downloads. Use multiple resources to help you practice listening to bird songs and tune your ears to the right notes. If you can easily recognize the most familiar, common birds, you will be quicker to recognize when a bird sounds different.  Visit Early: Birds are more vocal with distinctive songs in the early morning since still, cool air will carry their songs further and louder. This also makes the songs easier to identify if you are birding early in the day. This is especially important during spring and early summer when birds are part of the dawn chorus, and more birds will be vocalizing.

Videos birding by ear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9dy3rbBXJA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZE8vGhOs5c

Birding by sight You need spot birds fast even smaller birds. Be able to know how to use your eyes to spot and then use your binoculars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_cy6- qKy3s&t=12s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvHHVhdRZtA

Up and down flight pattern Wood peckers: moderate rises and falls Finches: steep roller coaster pattern

Flapping VS Gliding Northern goshawks, sharp shinned hawks, and Coppers hawks: several wing flaps, then glide Buteo Red tail hawk: soaring sky pattern

Crow vs raven Crows perform several wing flaps and glide Ravens flap, then soar in the sky

Head on flight patterns Turkey vultures: shallow V Bald Eagles: hold their wings flat Red Tailed hawk: is somewhat flat but not completely flat Most hawks and eagles hold their wings flat

Alphabetical order vs taxnomic order Alphabetical order is not best way or either by arranging them by habitat. By trying to sort birds by color is hard, because both male female and young are different colors. Because Alphabetical order in no help if you don’t know birds name. Because these birds have different habitats. Taxonomic order is largely used in bird identification because of the association between species in families; however, a downside to this categorization occurs when scientists make discoveries which change bird names or the family they belong to.

The best way to Study Birds Is through your book. By studying bird families here, you can become more familiar with the field as you go out. Illustrations are important in learning how to identify the field marks of birds. Bill shape Facial pattern Body size Manner of flight

Finding The Correct Bird Guide Fundamentals: your guide should detail the different bird family groups, and information on where and when you can find each bird. Photos can aid you in identifying birds in the field, but some people prefer and work better with illustrations. Some field guides only cover birds from America. Others cover birds all over world. Popular field guides: Stokes Peterson Sibley National Geographic Wildlife Federation.