Birding 101(according to me)

I wrote in my earlier post about how I got interested in birding. I have met a few people who are way into this hobby as amateur birders as well as a few individuals who are likely professionals where birding seems integral to their professional work as naturalists. Let me say listening to them is a mix of amazement and wonderment but can also be intimidating because I had no clue at all.

Kestrel. Mockingbird. American Goldfinches. Double-crested Cormorant. Burrowing owl. Redtail Hawk. Lincoln’s Sparrow. Virginia Rail. Cliff Swallow. Tree Swallow. Killdeer. Pipit. Curlew.

I was hearing all these bird names in one of the birding field trips I joined. I frantically typed notes on my phone, I didn’t even have a journal. I was typing the words as I heard them. I knew I could look it up on the internet later.

Pintails. Gadwalls. Widgeon. Green-winged Teal. Northern Shoveler. Cinnamon Teal.

I’ve seen a variety of ducks and geese with different feathers and beaks but could not identify them at all.

Since the two guided birding tips I joined this winter (December 2023 and January 2024), I thought about approaching this hobby in a more organized way (other than just looking them up on the internet). In one of my visits to a used bookstore, I found the book “Peterson Guide to Bird Identification in 12 Steps” by Steve N.G. Howell and Brian Sullivan and I am almost done reading it. It offers a good and simple framework to a newbie. From their introduction, the book is meant for people who are after recreational birding, those who have other jobs and just want to enjoy it as a hobby. I will share about the 12 steps in a later post.

” a good birder is somebody who enjoys birding” – Kenn Kaufman

Peterson Guide to Bird Identification in 12 Steps, Steve N.G. Howell and Brian Sullivan (2018)

Lastly, I want to share this photo I took of a bird in my backyard in June 2023. I had this pail that was always filled with water and caught him drinking! I always enjoyed watching birds and was so delighted to see it this close. This is a common backyard bird in my area, a California Scrub Jay.