Birding without Optics

So, I spent the day at the surgical center, waiting for my daughter to have surgery (BTW all went well).  I was not very prepared.  All I had was one book and my iPod.  The book was Good Birders Don't Wear White (50 tips from North Americas Top Birders), which I read almost all of.  Our own Chuck Hagner had a nice chapter on observation of birds that was really good.  I recommend the book.  It has some good tips and is a good light read.

     Anyways, to the point of my post... I went outside because it was going to be awhile and it was a beautiful day.  I mean 80 degrees with a nice breeze.  And I heard a number of birds in a tree that were busily looking for food.  They moved like a Black-and -white Warbler or a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher.  I mean they never sat still!  I heard them constantly making a "Zeee" sound to each other.

     I did not have a camera or a pair of binoculars so everything would have to done bare eyed so to speak.  I decided that I would try my hand at taking notes and trying to draw my observations so that i would remember what I saw to ID when I got home.  My first impression was that it was a grey warbler sized bird that was long and sleek  and had a long tail.  My son-in-law came out so I went to talk to him when I heard a bird song from the tree.  It was two higher notes followed by four lower notes.  It turned out that the color was off because of the light and it actually turned out to be brown with a lighter colored abdomen.  Finally, one came close enough that I saw the diagnostic light colored eye line.  It was a Wren!  It seemed skinnier and smaller than a Carolina.  I didn't have a field guide with me but when I got home I decided that it was a Bewicks Wren.  I had seen them in the area previously so I knew that they were here, but I didn't expect them to be so small, and long.  I also didn't expect to find what appeared to be a flock of at least 8 of them in the tree.

So, I probably learned more by observing the way Chuck mentioned in my book and I probably won't have a problem IDing them next time.  The camera is great for ID purposes but I forget to watch the birdie when I am birding with my camera.

Here is a picture showing the characteristics that I saw:

Ths picture shows the coloration of the birds, but they look more like the Carolina Wren that I know better, who is typically shorter and fatter.

Here is the Carolina for comparison

8:08 PM - June 3, 2009 - post comment

another great post, Dave

Hi Dave, glad your daughter is doing well and may she get well soon.

Birding without optics is something that I really love doing, and often recommend to my birder and birdwatcher friends - it really puts what you know to the test, and quickly highlights what you don't know ;-) the great thing is that you tend to pick up and learn all sorts of new things about the birds you are seeing - it is a great way to become a better (and more observant) birder.

happy birding
Dale
http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com

Dale Forbes - 2:03 AM - June 4, 2009

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Some years ago, I used to video birds rather than taking still photos. I learned a huge amount by watching and rewatching how the various birds behaved. As you imply, one problem with doing still photography of birds is that it encourages you to ID them mainly by fieldmarks. This is okay if you have binoculars with you or the birds are really close but is not usually so easy with the naked eye.

jeffmoh - 6:51 AM - June 7, 2009