I don’t make New Year’s resolutions for myself, since I know I won’t keep them. I’ll make them for you instead.
My New Year’s resolution for you is this: Up your birding game.
This is going to be fun, because no matter what your level of experience, everyone can get just a little bit better at identifying birds.
For instance, let’s say you are a total beginner. Give yourself credit. You can already identify crows, chickadees and blue jays. You’re familiar with robins, pigeons and mallards.
You likely know most of the birds at your feeder. You may be aware that the flycatcher nesting on your porch is an eastern phoebe.
Every Mainer knows what a loon is. You already know more birds than you think you do.
Beginners get the easiest assignment. In 2024, look around your yard and neighborhood and find a bird you don’t know. There are lots of them.
There are birds in the bushes and treetops that don’t visit feeders but are otherwise around regularly. More than 300 birds show up in Maine every year. Ignore them. Your New Year’s task is to get familiar with the really common ones.
Those with a little more experience have an advantage. You know what you know, but also what you don’t know.
A beginner says, “I don’t know any birds.” An advanced beginner says, “I know some birds, but I sure don’t know that one!”
An unfamiliar bird catches the eye. You might be experienced enough to look for colors and field marks that will help later. Spend 2024 adding more species to the list of birds you know, and the rest get easier.
Experienced birders can take their game to the next level by exploring new places.
Many species are generalists and can be found anywhere. But other birds are specialists. Outside of migration, they are only found in specific habitats.
Truthfully, the huge variety of habitats in Maine is one of the reasons our state is so good for birding.
We have vast and diverse wetlands and woodlands. Elevations run from sea level to the top of mile-high Katahdin. The Gulf of Maine has birds that are found virtually nowhere else in the eastern United States.
OK, so you’re good at identifying birds by sight. You probably know a few birds by ear. Your challenge is to finish 2024 knowing more birds’ songs than you started with.
Actually, the secret is the same as learning more birds by sight. Start with the ones that are easiest and closest to you, and just keep adding on. The more songs you know, the easier it gets. Trust me, I’ve been birding a long time, and I’m still adding a few new songs to my repertoire every year.
Proficient birders have already done most of these things. For some, the next step is birding-by-habitat.
It’s one thing to visit new places and discover new birds. It’s another thing to visit a habitat, knowing in advance what you expect to find. I do this so often, I don’t even really think about it anymore. I look at a patch of woods or marsh, and mentally compile a checklist of birds I would expect to find in there.
The most experienced birders get the toughest challenge for 2024.
Guidebooks are terrific for helping to identify birds by color and field marks. But birds provide other identity clues. General impression of size and shape (sometimes referred to as GISS, pronounced “jizz”) is a useful way to identify birds at first glance.
Shape and size are the first clues you’ll get, often before color and field marks come into view.
Behavior is another big clue.
Consider feeding habits. Is the bird typically on the ground or in a tree? Sparrows are usually on the ground. Warblers are usually in a tree. Both are roughly the same size, so behavior can be a valuable aid to identification.
Warblers and flycatchers dine on insects. Both may fly off a branch to snatch a bug from the air, but that action is more typical of flycatchers. Warblers more often forage by gleaning insects from leaves and needles.
Ducks feed in water. Half of them dive. Half of them don’t. That’s a clue you can observe from a half-mile away.
All North American birds fly, but their flight styles vary tremendously.
They’re clues.
No matter where you are on the learning curve, you can get better in 2024. Experience is the best teacher. Just do it.
