Places go bird watching in Idaho Spring valley Reservoir,Lewiston-Confluence of Snake and Clearwater Rivers, Hells Gate State Park,Mann Lake,Nez Perce National Historic Park (Spalding Picnic Area), Coyote Grade,Pierce-Weippe-Grangemont Subloop,Winchester Lake State Park, Oden Bay and Sunnyside Loop, and Aquarius Campground

Best time to bird watch Best time bird watch would be anytime of day depends on what kind bird species you want look for. You will learn different species come out at different times during the day. If you want find many species you will go out at different various times day.

Bird Watching in Morning Most birds are more active and alert during the morning. Because they are trying to find some food to scraf down. Advantage for early morning bird watching no one else is around disturb birds. In early morning your more likely to find song birds.

Late Morning or Early Afternoon Is worst time go birding because birds are less active and aren't feeding. Best time to observe birds of prey like hawks, eagles, accpiters, and falcons. They like utilize the thermals which are coulmns of thin air. There able to scan ground better for mice, voles and squirrels.

Late Afternoon and Early Evening If our not morning person still can catch song birds at bird feeders for another meal. But when light starts to dwindle you can start seeing the appearances of owls. Some species will come out random during different part of day

Night time birding There are different kinds of birds come out at night. Species that come out at night are owls, night jars and rails. Even different kind swallows will come at night.

Building Skills: The 4 Keys to Bird Identification Put The 4 Keys Into Practice Bird watchers can identify many species from just a quick look. They’re using the four keys to visual identification: Size & Shape, Color Pattern, Behavior, and Habitat. Practice with these common birds to see how the 4 keys work together:

Life List Most serious birders compile a Life List. It's a list of all the bird species they've identified with absolute certainty during their whole lifetime of serious birding. Being "serious" implies knowing about look-alike species and subspecies, the various plumage states, and having a systematic-enough mind to not be sloppy and haphazard when it comes to making the lists. Life Lists are extremely important to many birders. Wherever particularly interesting birds congregate, you can bet that birders will be there "searching for the rare ones" to add to their Life Lists. Expensive cruises to the Antarctica and river trips to isolated regions of the Amazon are staged just for people hoping to add new birds to their Life List. HOW MANY BIRDS WILL YOU LIST? If you should start your own Life List right now, and for some reason during the rest of your life you never travel beyond your neighborhood, you might well end up listing a hundred species or more -- many species being spotted during migration. If you should expand your birding trips to include local parks and nature reserves, you could end up with 300 or more species. If somehow you were to see all the bird species ever sighted in all of North America, your list would hold about 850 names. So far no one has seen all the earth's more than 9,000 bird species. There's a "600 Club" for birders who have listed more than 600 species, so listing that many is considered doing pretty well. ORGANIZING YOUR LIST There are many ways to organize a Life List, including just writing down the English names in the order in which newly identified birds are seen, and this may be the most common approach for rank beginners. What follows, however, is a small sample from my own Life List, which is organized in "checklist order," sometimes called "phylogenetic order." This method, using Latin names, is useful for lists holding several hundred names and compiled in various countries where English names may not always be standardized. Here it is:

Woodpecker Identification Tips Size: How large is the bird compared to the tree? How do the head and neck compare proportionally to the body? Plumage: What are the most prominent colors in the bird's plumage? Are there any color patches on the back or wings? Is there any streaking, barring or spotting? Head Markings: Does the bird have any cheek stripes, eyebrows, mustache lines or cheek patches? What color patterns are present on the face? What are the colors of the forehead, throat, cap and nape? Does the bird have a crest? Underparts: Are the underparts plain, barred, spotted or streaked? Are there any color washes on the chest or lower abdomen? Does the bird have a bib? Bill: How long is the bill compared to the bird's head? What color is it? What is the bill's thickness? Back: Is the bird's back a solid color or does it have a white patch? Is there any barring, streaking or striping on the back? Wings: Are wing patches or markings visible when the bird is perched? What is the wing pattern of the bird in flight? While birders will rarely be able to see all of a woodpecker's field marks at once, observing the bird carefully can reveal enough clues for a positive identification.

Other Ways to Identify Woodpeckers If it is not possible to be certain of a woodpecker's identity just by looking at the bird, there are other clues to consider to puzzle out which bird it is. Sounds: While woodpeckers do not sing, their drumming is as distinctive as any song. Listen for the tempo, pitch and frequency of drumming to help determine a pattern that can identify the bird. Listening to drumming carefully can also help birders more easily locate a bird to see it better. Range and Habitat: Most woodpeckers stay in a general range throughout the year, and knowing what woodpeckers are likely to be in a certain range can be helpful for identification because there are no migrant birds to consider. Furthermore, some birds prefer larger, older trees, while other woodpeckers have different habitat preferences or may be more regularly seen in certain types of forests or at certain elevations. Holes: Birders who are fortunate to see woodpeckers excavating holes can use those holes to help determine the bird species. Different woodpeckers drill different sizes and shapes of holes, and how the holes are arranged – either as a single, deep cavity or a row of smaller, uniform holes – can also give clues about the bird that drilled them. Foraging Behavior: If a bird can be observed long enough, birders can use its behavior as clue for what bird it is. Different woodpeckers forage differently, with some pecking lightly to get surface insects from the bark while other birds pry under the bark or even peel it away to find food. By studying not only how woodpeckers look but also how they sound, where they live and how they behave, birders can learn to identify different woodpecker species with ease.

Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawks Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned hawks pose a real ID challenge, even for longtime birders. Throughout the year, there is great variation in plumage and in size for these two species. They look so much alike that no single field mark stands out to help bird watchers easily tell one from the other. Size is the defining factor, but that’s sometimes hard to judge with a single bird. The rule of thumb is that a Cooper’s Hawk is about the size of an American Crow and the Sharp-shinned Hawk is more the size of a jay. Below are a few ID guidelines that may help–at least some of the time! Clicking on the bird name will also take you to more information in our Online Bird Guide.

Coopers and Sharp Shinned Hawk Keys to ID: Crow-sized, on average 14-20 inches long; female larger than the male Thick body and broad chest– lower center of gravity than Sharp-shinned Thicker legs than Sharp-shinned Long, rounded tail with a broad white band. The middle tail feathers are usually the longest. Dark cap; feathers on back of head often raised, giving it a crested look never seen on the Sharp-shinned. Slow wing beats that could easily be counted; the head projects far beyond the wings Blue Jay-sized, on average 10-14 inches long; female is larger; can be similar to small Cooper’s. Narrow hips and broad chest; center of gravity higher than Cooper’s Thinner, pencil-like legs than Cooper’s. Square, long tail; outer tail feathers usually the longest Hooded appearance from dark feathers on crown and neck Quick, erratic wingbeats; small head barely extends past the

Picture of Coopers and Sharped Shinned Hawk Coopers Sharped shin