Hi, Blaine.
I'm posting this to the listserv, in case other
beginning birders may benefit from my two cents. I'm
not an expert birder but I have been doing it for a
long time. These comments reflect my experiences but
may be applicable for many birders. First of all,
Blaine, welcome to the world of birding! It's a fun
and addicting hobby, as you most likely have found
out. You seem to be doing your homework so far, which
is great. And it is easier to learn the residents in
the winter while the trees are bare, and before the
myriad of migrants pass through in a couple of months.
The migration periods can be frustrating for
beginners, with all the songs and calls and plumages
to try to sort out.
Besides getting a good field guide or guides (in my
humble opinion, Kaufman and Peterson are good ones for
beginners, Nat'l Geo and Sibley for more advanced
birders), it may help to go on birding walks. That
way you can benefit from the experience of others and
ask questions. No. Va. Audubon, the Audubon
Naturalist Society and the Northern Virginia Bird Club
all sponsor bird walks in No. Va. Most are free and
open to all. I find that I can only learn so much
from birding alone and reading. Going with others can
improve your skills, while adding a social component.
I have to say that out of all the groups of birds, I
like IDing raptors the least. I find them difficult.
And accipiters are probably the hardest for most North
American birders. Even experts have to leave some
birds unIDd, and that definitely includes accipiters.
Me, I'd rather do GULLS, which a lot of birders
ignore, than raptors! Hawks In Flight is a good
raptor guide. Being patient and practicing will
eventually help you to become more confident with
birds of prey, as it will for other groups.
Besides good field guides, it's good to have an idea
of what birds occur when. For No. Va., Claudia Wilds
"Finding Birds in the National Capitol Area," although
a little old, is still a good resource. Primarily a
birding site guide, it does list each species that
occurs in the Mid-Atlantic with status and dates, for
ex. "common in woods and thickets from late April to
early October." That's not to say that it's
impossible to have a Broad-wing in early March, but
probably 99.9% of "Broad-wings" in winter are misID'd,
probably by beginners and probably mostly they are 1st
winter Red-shouldereds. The ABA Guide to Virginia is
similar to the last title in that it's a site guide
that includes other info but the dates given are often
more general ("uncommon breeder") and I find the
status given to be on the optimistic side.
Finally, Peterson's Advanced Birding guide has short
chapters on lots of hard to ID groups, including one
on accipiters. It's a nice compliment to field
guides, going more in depth on such groups as scaup,
accipiters and sparrows.
Hope this helps some. Good luck and have fun!
Scott Baron
Fairfax
--- Blaine Elliott <alcanblaine@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi. This is my first spring as a birder. I took up
the hobby with the new
year and have been very gratified on many different
levels. I am antsy
about trying to learn as much as I can before the
trees fill out and the
birds really start arriving. However, I have
encountered one major source
of frustration (among many minor sources): raptor
identification.
Specifically hawks. I have been privileged to see a
ton of hawks, either at
work at the National Cathedral or from my own
backyard in Arlington. If
there is a hawk "visiting" my feeder, I know that it
is probably a Cooper's
or a Sharpie, but then I get a good look and it
really doesn't look like
either. I seem to get greast looks at these
magnificent birds, positively
id them according to as many field characteristics
as I can think of, only
to find myself doubting and never feeling sure that
my id was correct.
For example, Saturday at Dyke Marsh, I saw a
gorgeous hawk soaring high. I
consulted my field guide and came to the
unmistakable conclusion that it was
a Broad-Winged Hawk...only to find later that a
Broad-Winged Hawk is highly
unlikely in early March and that everyone else at
Dyke Marsh that day was
seeing Red-Shouldered Hawks.
How do you ever feel comfortable IDing these birds?
Any tips would be highly
appreciated. I am tired of listing Hawk sp.
everytime I go out.
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