Outdoors
The BDN outdoors section brings readers into the woods, waters and wild places of Maine. It features stories on hunting, fishing, wildlife, conservation and recreation, told by people who live these experiences. This section emphasizes hands-on knowledge, field reports, issues, trends and the traditions that define life outside in Maine. Read more Outdoors stories here.
Here it is — a bird identification tutorial for beginning birders. Yes, I know, that’s something that’s traditionally offered in the spring. Literally hundreds of bird species are in their finest spring colors, singing their finest spring songs. We all take walks, attend talks and go to festivals, just to learn more and see more. Then, when the birds are done singing, we stop.
That’s a problem. There’s still a lot of bird activity going on right now, and yet you seldom find anyone describing how identification skills change with each season. Birds in late summer often look different and act differently.
Spring birding occurs within a compressed timetable. Every species is in a hurry to return, establish a territory, entice a mate and make babies. The timing of their arrival is determined by weather and food. Towards autumn, our migrating species trickle out when they feel like it, no longer in a rush. Some have already gone. Some won’t go until October.
Spring birds defend their nesting areas. That aggressive behavior ends when there’s no longer competition for food to feed chicks. By autumn, the youngsters are feeding themselves and parents can relax. Former rivals flock and forage together cooperatively.
Experienced birders notice these foraging flocks — small waves of birds passing through the yard, flitting from tree to tree. The birds recognize the value of having more eyes in a group to watch for trouble. The movement of multiple birds may also flush insects for easier dining. The flock chatters call notes to keep itself together.
Foraging flocks often form around chickadees, the sentinels of the forest. Chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice are famously good at spotting trouble and raising the alarm, and the other birds know it. I encourage beginning birders to pay attention to the chickadees. They’re always trying to tell you something.
Chickadees and nuthatches keep their families together through summer. You can hear them talking to each other at this time of year. They are noisier than ever.
As autumn approaches, songbirds get increasingly restless, feeling the need to fatten up for the long migration ahead. The foraging flocks get larger and the chatter gets louder. The signs are subtle. Most people wouldn’t notice them, but now you know what to look for.
In spring, songbirds rush to their nesting grounds and remain until the kids are raised. For a brief time, northbound birds may pass through your yard — a quick early morning surprise, and then they’re gone. In late summer, when the birds are merely wandering around prior to migration, any bird can pop into the yard at any time. Don’t be surprised by surprises.
That is, don’t be surprised if you can’t figure them out. Quite a few warblers prepare for winter in the tropics by switching to colors that are less noticeable to jungle predators. The plumage changes can be tough for even experienced birders to recognize.
On the other hand, most birds barely change at all. Some of them will show up any minute now in Essex Woods in Bangor. Wading birds remain the same year-round. Egrets should settle into Bangor’s Essex Woods wetland soon. Although the species doesn’t nest farther north than Thomaston, egrets can wander right up to the Canadian border in late summer.
Hawks are about to migrate. They’re already milling about. You would be, too, if you were a broad-winged hawk about to fly to Bolivia. Red-tailed hawks are moving closer to their favorite wintering spot, the I-95 median strip. I’m seeing American kestrels in places they haven’t been all summer.
Barred owls hoot more in late August, notifying each other where they are roosting. They need to defend feeding territories they can depend on throughout the winter.
Shorebirds are starting to pass through. This phenomenon will continue through autumn, but the bulk of observable migration will happen before Labor Day. The tiny peeps will stop to feed on tidal mudflats all along the Maine coast. Some will visit the muddy edges of inland lakes and ponds, as seasonal water levels drop. This is the kind of identification skill that’s not taught in spring, because those birds aren’t here in spring.
In summary: birds in autumn have different habits and habitats, and often different plumages. Don’t even get me started on ducks. Males have gone to an eclipse plumage that defies easy identification.
This is all stuff that experienced birders should teach to novice birders in late summer. Somehow, we seldom remember to do it. I apologize.
