Birding Basics

Birds are some of the most visible and abundant animals available. They come in all sizes and are found everywhere in our area. There are over a hundred species which live year around in the Skykomish Watershed, and there are still more that spend some of their life cycle in our fields, forests and mountains. They often call or sing making them easy to find. These pages are designed to introduce some basic skills to identify birds. With practice you can learn the most common birds in our area.

The science of studying birds is called ornithology and there are many scientists around the world doing research on birds. Many of the discoveries about birds have been, and continue to be found by amateur bird watchers who collect detailed data about birds in their area.

Tools for bird watching

About Binoculars

Binoculars are the primary tool of the bird watcher. Binoculars come in many models and sizes and birders are often full of opinions about which binoculars are the best ones. All binoculars share some basic features. Printed on the binoculars you will see two numbers, such as 7X35 or 8X40. The first number tells you the magnification power of the lenses. So a 7 means a magnification 7 times that of the normal eye. The second number is the diameter in millimeters of the larger lens, which is called the objective lens. The larger this lens is, the more light can enter and also the more you will be able to see. A high magnification such as 10x, coupled with a small objective lens, such as 35, means that when you look through the binoculars you will have a very narrow view of the world. If you are new to binoculars, you should use a 7 or 8 power lens and the objective lens size should be at least 4 times the power. The higher the magnification, the harder it is to hold the binoculars steady, so a 12 power binocular is not very useful because any movement in your hands tends to cause blurry images.

Another consideration of binoculars is their size and weight. Large heavy binoculars can be tiring to use and literally a pain in the neck. For students, a smaller compact binocular might be a better choice. If you wear glasses another feature is called eye relief, which is the distance your eye is from the viewing lens of the binocular. Some binoculars have a rubber eyecup which can be folded back so you can place the eyepiece right up on your glasses.

How to adjust binoculars

Binoculars usually have an adjustable focus on one of the eye pieces called the diopter adjustment. This is usually the right lens and it turns, allowing you to adjust the focus in that eye. There is typically a set of numbers or marks on the casing and an arrow or mark on the lens.

To adjust your binoculars to your eyes:

1. Close your right eye (or the one that has the adjustable lens) and using only your left eye, focus the binoculars on something using the main focus wheel.

2. Close your left eye, and using only your right eye, check the same object you focused on before. If it is in focus, you are done.

3. If your right eye is out of focus, adjust the lens by turning it until it is in focus. Note the setting on the binocular. This is your diopter setting for that binocular.

Note: If binoculars get dropped or banged around they can go out of adjustment so that the two lens can not be aligned. In this case you need to repair the binoculars. Inexpensive binoculars usually go out of adjustment very easily.

How to use binoculars

1. Put the strap around your neck. If you drop binoculars they may go out of alignment and need repair.

2. Spread your feet a comfortable distance, one slightly in front of the other. This way as you look up you won't lose your balance or fall over backward.

3. Turn your body towards what you are looking at and move your head so it is tilted towards the bird.

4. Without taking your eyes off the bird, bring the binoculars up to your eyes and focus. The bird should be right in your field of view.

You can practice this with stationary objects. Pick something such as a branch on a tree, turn and look then bring up binoculars and focus. Practice so that you can quickly find and focus on objects.

About Spotting scopes

Another tool birders use is a spotting scope. This is a telescope, mounted on a stand, which can be used to view birds at considerable distance. They typically start at 20 power magnification and can go up to 60 power or more. The higher the power used, the narrower the field of view and so having an adjustable magnification setting is a nice feature.

Because of the higher magnification power of a scope, it must be on a tripod or held against some surface to steady it. The slightest vibration at high power makes a blurry image.

The trick of using a scope is finding your target, and the wider your field of view the easier that is to do. Spotting scopes are useful for birds which don't move too much such as floating bird like ducks or perched birds like hawks.

How to use the scope:

Turn the power to the lowest setting.

Using the sighting guide, or your eyes, find your target.

Place the target in the center of the view, then increase the power.

Field Guides

The most important tool for bird watching is a field guide. There are many field guides to birds available and each has its own set of features and attractions. In addition to pictures of the birds and descriptions, it is useful to have range maps which show where the bird is found. This often helps you eliminate birds which might be similar to the one you are viewing but do not live in the area you are in. Some bird guides are regional, and focus on birds only found in the west or east, or even birds in the state of Washington. A couple of bird guide titles to consider are The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and the Stokes Field Guide to Birds Western Region. Both these books are good starting resources for bird watching and both have range maps adjacent to the descriptions.

Field guides are arranged in a certain order and it is useful to spend some time looking at your field guide to get a sense of how it is organized. Where are woodpeckers? The gulls? The ducks? Field guides typically group birds by family and so knowing the relative section the common families are in will save you time in the field.

Basic strategies to identify birds

When you see a new bird your goal is to try and narrow down the possibilities of what it might be to only a few choices. The things that help narrow down a birds ID are it's overall size and shape, its group, and finally its' field marks. An experienced birder filters all this information in less than a second and searches for expected field marks. For example look at the picture to the right. It is a fast flying soaring bird with a short body and curved pointed wings. It can be narrowed down to either a swift or a swallow. Further examination shows that color is black with no other markings and the wings are narrow and longer than the body, so it is a swift. A quick look at the field guide shows that there are two swifts common to our area, the Black and Vauxes, and since this bird shows no lightness, it is a black swift.

As you first begin to watch birds, this sort of winnowing down of the choices based on a few characteristics will seem like magic. But in time, as you become more familiar with the aspects of birds it will become much easier. Remember seeing is done with your brain. As you progress, you will see things that you did not look for before. This takes bush and book time, going out looking at birds and looking them up. As you begin there will be birds you don't identify, but the process of looking it up will teach you many things as you compare and discard choices. For example a black and white woodpecker flies up into a tree and you get a pretty good look at it before it flies away. As you look through the woodpecker group in the field guide you quickly see that your bird was either a downy or a hairy woodpecker. As you read the descriptions of the field marks of those two birds you will learn what characteristics separate them and the next time, you will look for only those field marks that separate the two. Learning takes time and practice.

Location-Habitat

Like all animals, many birds show a distinct preference for specific kinds of environments. For example, ducks are generally found on or near water, and not usually found perching in trees. Sandpipers are found on the ground along shorelines and not in bushes or trees. As you become familiar with birds you will learn the kinds of habitats they can be expected in and this will narrow your searches. Field guides describe the typical habitat for a bird, but of course birds can move freely and may choose habitats which are not typical for its species. Habitat can also be a help when you are stuck between two similar looking species. For example, in the Skykomish watershed we have both crows and ravens. However ravens are rarely found in towns here, and it would be highly unusual to find one scavenging french fries at a fast food place in the lowlands, and so the dark bird in the parking lot in town is most certainly a crow.

Overall size, shape and habits

One of the confusing parts of field guides is that they often measure birds in inches, which is not very useful except as a relative determination of size. However most birders evaluate size relative to some other well known bird such as a robin or crow. So as you become familiar with more birds, compare them in size to others that you know. For example a Robin is about 10 inches from bill tip to the end of its tail and stands about 7 inches tall. Also some birds have a very distinctive shape. For example the wading birds such as the herons have longish legs and longish necks. Owls have their own shape. Wrens have upturned tails. Many birds have particular habits which help define them. For example woodpeckers forage on trunks and branches, grouse forage on the ground, a flycatcher will perch, fly out then return to the same perch. Two very similar looking birds are the Hutton's vireo and the Ruby-crowned kinglet. One of the ways to distinguish these birds is by habits. Ruby-crowned kinglets move constantly and often flick their wings frequently, the Hutton's vireo perches more and does not have the nervous, wing-flick habit of the kinglet. As you become familiar with birds, the habits of birds will become noticeable.

A small brown bird, with a curved beak and an upturned tail. A wren.

Groups of birds

Like all things in nature, birds are organized by similar features into logical groups. Field guides are arranged by groups, so all the woodpeckers for example are in a group and share characteristics in common. Many of the groups have easy to note characteristics and over time and with practice you can learn most groups and quickly place any bird you see within one or two groups, thereby narrowing the choices to look up in a field guide.


Ducks		Sparrows	Warblers		Hawks

Field Marks

Every individual bird has particular features which combined with habits and location are used to identify it to species. Most field guides describe the specific field markings which distinguish one closely aligned bird from another. The feather colors and patterns are known as plumage and can be very distinctive. However, feathers also change throughout the year. In most species the males have a breeding plumage which is more distinctive than their winter, non-breeding plumage, and juveniles and females may also have a unique feather pattern. There are some features of birds that remain consistent, for example their bill shape and size and also their legs. Some birds are easy to identify once you learn the field marks and there are some groups, such as flycatchers which confound even expert birders.

The field marks which are most useful vary from group to group. Ducks have a different set of field marks than sparrows do, and so you must spend the time reading descriptions for each family to understand what to look for. This is an ongoing process, and even the best birders often need to rely on field guides to identify certain birds. Many expert birders study a particular group of birds for awhile. For example, in the fall you might want to study ducks since in our area there are many wintering ducks, in the summer you might want to study warblers since these birds migrate up into our area in the summer.

Field marks: short slightly curved bill, yellow stripe on top of head bordered with a black stripe. White stripe above eye, white bar on wings, forked tail.

Birding in the field

With binoculars around your neck you are ready to go outside and start looking for birds. Here is a bit of advice on how to make the best use of your time.

Do a bit of research before you go. Become familiar with your area so you understand where the various groups of birds are located. Become familiar with the common birds in your area by looking at range maps or checking bird lists.

You can look at pictures of some common, local birds by clicking here.

The local Audubon chapter, Pilchuck Audubon sponsors field trips and the field trip reports can be accessed by clicking here.

When you see birds, spend the majority of your time looking at the bird not your bird book. The field guide will be there in another minute, the bird may not be. Look at as many details as you can, the bill, the wing marking, the color of the legs. Often when you begin to look up a bird, the descriptions will alert you to field marks you need to pay attention to. Then when you see the bird again, you will know what to specifically look for.

Move quietly and slowly. Birds are keyed to sounds and visual cues. When you see a bird, move slowly towards it.

Watch for movement, listen. Keep your head up, and eyes scanning the brush and trees. If you see movement, train your binoculars on the area. Move back and forth between your eyes, which can scan a large area, and the binoculars to focus in on movement. Birds call and sing to announce territory or alarm. By following a call you may find the bird that makes it.

Keep records of where you see certain birds. For example warblers tend to prefer deciduous forests and forage at the top of trees. So next time you are in that environment you can look in that particular place. Some spots attract more birds than others. Sometimes one particular tree will be filled with birds, while an adjacent tree that looks the same will be empty. As you travel and get experience in the field, you will begin to collect these birding hotspots in your area.

There are local birdwatching groups which have field trips that anyone can join, whether they are a member or not. These kinds of trips often can be invaluable for learning local birds, finding local hotspots and meeting other birders that you can learn from.

Some Resources for Birding

Birdweb: This site has information about all the spp. of birds found in Washington, including photos.

The Bird Guide: This site has several general links to NW bird information.

Birding Sites in Cascadia: This is a long list of links which includes almost everything of use about local birds on the internet.