GET READY, GET SET, BIRD! - SPRGallery€¦ · looking in a book, called a BIRD FIELD GUIDE, or by...

GET READY, GET SET, BIRD!GET READY, GET SET, BIRD!

Birding Is Cool!

Birding is a Sport and a Science!

Get Ready, Get Set, BIRD!

Copyright 2010 S P Robinson Page 1 of 20 Rev 1.0 7/2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

2 What is Birding?

Birders and Science

3 Get Started in Birding

IDENTIFY the birds you see

4 BIRD LISTS

BIRD FEEDERS

5 BIRD MIGRATION

6 BINOCULARS

7 RANGE MAPS

10 MIND OPEN, EYES SHARP!

11 BIRDCALLS

12 Birding is a SPORT!

13 The GREAT FLORIDA BIRDING TRAIL

14 Appendix I - Bird NETTING & Bird BANDS

15 Appendix II - The PURPLE MARTIN 16 Appendix III – Migratory Flyways

17 Appendix IV – TAXONOMY

19 Back cover: FIELD MARKS



What is Birding? Adults and kids who watch birds and keep a list of the birds that they see are called BIRDERS. Birders call their sport BIRDING. There are approximately 914 different bird species in North America. 180 of those birds are seen regularly in Florida! Searching for 180 birds is like a really big scavenger hunt!! Birders and Science Birders help scientists who study birds by reporting what they see. Some of the best birders in the world are kids! If you keep a list of the birds you see, then you are ready to help with real scientific research! Scientists who study birds are called ORNITHOLOGISTS. Say it: or-ni-thol-o-gist

An ornithologist determining the age of a Blue Jay Birders submit their lists online to help researchers track bird populations. Here is a website that is used by a lot of birders:

http://ebird.org/content/ebird



How to Get Started In Birding

1. Start NOTICING BIRDS. Birds are everywhere! When you are in your yard, on the playground, in a park, or at the beach, take a moment to look at a bird that you see. Notice the color, shape, markings and size. Look at where it is feeding, what it is eating, and listen for any sound it might make.

Ducks Doves Woodpeckers Gulls Hawks Owls

2. IDENTIFY the birds you see. Jot down what you notice about the bird in a notebook that you keep handy. Later, try to find the name of the bird by looking in a book, called a BIRD FIELD GUIDE, or by using the Internet.

Here are two excellent BIRD FIELD GUIDES:

Young Birder’s Guide to Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America Birds of North America by Bill Thompson III by Kenn Kaufman

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a free website to help you identify

a bird if you don’t have a field guide:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/browse.aspx

S H A P E S

Great for Beginning Kids: Great for adults & serious kids:



3. Keep a BIRD LIST. Use a spiral notebook or start a worksheet in EXCEL. Keep track of the bird’s name, when you saw it, and where you saw it.

Here is a list from a birder’s very first day of birding. It lists the birds seen that day at Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin, Florida. All of the birds were seen on the Osprey Trail. Some birds have two names, like American Robin. Others only have one name, like Osprey.

First Name Second Name Date Where Seen ST Comment 1 American Robin 4/18/09 Honeymoon Island, Dunedin FL Osprey Trail 2 Blue Jay 4/18/09 Honeymoon Island, Dunedin FL Osprey Trail 3 Northern Cardinal 4/18/09 Honeymoon Island, Dunedin FL Osprey Trail 4 Osprey 4/18/09 Honeymoon Island, Dunedin FL Osprey Trail 5 Bald Eagle 4/18/09 Honeymoon Island, Dunedin FL Osprey Trail 6 Great Horned Owl 4/18/09 Honeymoon Island, Dunedin FL Osprey Trail 7 Northern Mockingbird 4/18/09 Honeymoon Island, Dunedin FL Osprey Trail

HINT: While your mom or dad is paying the entry fee at a park entrance, politely ask the ranger for a BIRD CHECKLIST for the park. This list will give you an idea of the birds you might see.

4. Put up a BIRD FEEDER. A great way to identify birds is to have them come to a feeder in your own backyard! Birds spend a lot of time at a feeder, which gives new birders time to study and identify them. Ask your mom or dad for permission to install a feeder. Be sure to take responsibility for filling and cleaning the feeder.

A fun home-made feeder, A store-bought feeder, such as made with two wooden the “squirrel buster”, keeps the spoons and a water bottle. squirrels from getting the seed.



5. Watch for birds during MIGRATION. Birds are fun to watch all year. But

twice a year it can be extra exciting. That’s because some birds fly to South America for the winter, and then they return to North America for the summer. This bird travel is called MIGRATION.

Birders living in Pinellas County, Florida are lucky, because a major MIGRATION FLYWAY (think of it as Interstate I-75 for birds) passes right over both Fort Desoto and Honeymoon Island parks. Living on a migration flyway means that Pinellas County birders can add LOTS and LOTS of unusual birds to their lists during migration. Birds that we don’t normally see in Florida are flying right through our county!

MIGRATION SEASONS FOR PINELLAS COUNTY: SPRING Early March through Late May FALL Late August through Late October Here are some amazing birds that are seen in Pinellas County only during migration (notice the difference between the males and females):

Scarlet Tanager Painted Bunting Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (Male) (Male) (Male)

Scarlet Tanager Painted Bunting Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (Female) (Female) (Female) THINK ABOUT IT: Why do these female birds have so little color, compared to the males of their same species?



6. Use BINOCULARS. Most hobbies have special tools of some kind. Birding is no exception. We’ve already talked about BIRD GUIDE books and the internet. Binoculars are another tool used by all birders:

FOCUS: To use a pair of binoculars, begin by looking at something far away that isn’t moving, like a fence post. Try adjusting the focus wheel – can you get the fence post to look super sharp and clear? If you have trouble, ask your mom or dad to help you learn to focus the binoculars. BIRDS and BINOCULARS: It can be a little tricky to find a moving bird with your binoculars! Here’s how to do it: Keep the binoculars away from your face while you find the movement of the bird with just your eyes. Once you have located the bird, keep staring at it while you raise the binoculars up in front of your eyes. If the bird hasn’t flown, you should be able to see it now!



7. Use RANGE MAPS. Birders use RANGE MAPS to learn which birds live in Pinellas County, and which birds travel through in Spring and Fall. Range maps are found in Bird Field Guides and also on the Internet. A birder’s RANGE MAP for the BLUE JAY:

Male or Female

The purple shows where the Blue Jay lives all year round. The blue in central Texas shows that Blue Jays are there only in the winter.



A birder’s RANGE MAP for the AMERICAN ROBIN:

Male (Females look the same, just a little lighter orange)

The blue on Florida shows that American Robins are in Pinellas County only during the winter months.



A birder’s RANGE MAP for the Scarlet Tanager:

Male Female

The yellow on Florida shows that Scarlet Tanagers pass through our state during the migration seasons. They are feathered tourists!



8. Keep your MIND OPEN and your EYES SHARP. Birders never get bored with their sport, because identifying a bird can be very, very tricky!

Look at the picture on the left. Does it look like a BALD EAGLE to you? It doesn’t look right, does it? Where’s that beautiful white head? The problem is that this is a young bird. Bald Eagles don’t get that beautiful white head until they are about 4 years old. A birder would identify this bird by looking at the SHAPE and the SIZE. In the BIRD GUIDE the birder would be able to find a matching picture and know that this is an IMMATURE (young) BALD EAGLE.

Immature Bald Eagle Adult Bald Eagle with at about 2 years of age it’s big, big chick!

Now look at the picture below (left). American Goldfinches pass through Florida during the migration season. They appear at backyard bird feeders all over the state. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THIS PRETTY YELLOW BIRD in Florida? No? That’s because American Goldfinch turn a very dull olive brown during their migration travels. The picture on the right shows an American Goldfinch as we see them in Florida.

American Goldfinch (male) American Goldfinch (male) as seen in northern states as seen in Florida during migration

THINK ABOUT IT: Why is it better to have a dull color during migration? Why does the male turn so pretty once he reaches his breeding grounds in the northern United States?



9. LISTEN for birdcalls and remember what common birds sound like. Most of the time we hear a bird before we see it. Close your eyes, and imagine yourself at the beach. What do you hear? Do you hear the surf, the people, and the GULLS?

Stand out in your backyard. Close your eyes. Can you hear any birdcalls? Do you hear any birds singing? Do you know which bird is making the sound? Most birds have a unique call. But one bird, the MOCKINGBIRD, ‘mocks’ the sounds of all the other birds in the neighborhood. The Mockingbird can even imitate police sirens and other mechanical sounds!

Go to this free website to listen to You can also download birdsongs recordings of the songs of many to an iPod or iTouch. Here is a common birds: device that uses birdsong cards played through a handheld speaker. http://www.birdjam.com/learn.php

The Mockingbird is the STATE BIRD of FLORIDA. His copycat sounds can trick even the best birder.



10. Enter a competition – birding is a SPORT! Birders like to compete with each other to see who can spot the most birds. Competitions are held all over the United States.

Sometimes the competitions results are recorded into databases on the Internet. It’s these competition databases that provide scientists (ornithologists) with valuable information about which bird species are increasing in number, and which ones are becoming rare and hard to see.

Here is a website that tells you how to enter a really big competition, The Great Backyard Bird Count: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/



11. Follow the GREAT FLORIDA BIRDING TRAIL – When driving with your family, have you ever noticed brown signs with a binocular symbol? Sometimes you might also notice the words GREAT FLORIDA BIRDING TRAIL or GFBT. These are places you can stop to see a lot of birds.

Here is a website that tells all about the trail: http://floridabirdingtrail.com/index.php

Watch for these symbols on roadside signs.



A P P E N D I X I – BIRD NETTING and BIRD BANDS

Ornithologists study birds in many ways. One way is to capture birds in tall nets (called MIST NETS). Once a bird is captured in the net, the ornithologist can weigh, measure, and examine the bird and record information about it.

Just before the bird is released back into the wild, a BRACELET called a BIRD BAND is placed on the bird’s leg. If this bird is captured in another net someday, or if the bird is found ill or injured, the band number can be reported. The ornithologist who banded the bird gains valuable information about the birds’ travels.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A BIRD BAND: Birders are the most likely people to report a bird band. That’s because birders are PAYING ATTENTION TO BIRDS! If you find a dead or injured bird with a leg band, do not touch the bird. Ask an adult for help! The US government will send you a Certificate of Appreciation for reporting a bird band through their website:

Report any bird band that you find to: http://www.reportband.gov/

The numbers on this eagle’s leg bands are unique. No other bird will ever have the same numbers. Bird bands come in all sizes, even tiny enough for hummingbirds!

These birds are caught in a MIST NET. Scientists will study them for a few hours, put a band on their leg, and then release them back into the wild.



A P P E N D I X II – The Amazing Purple Martin

Purple Martins are migratory birds. They spend the winter in Brazil, and the summer in the United States.

Mature females are gray and lavender

When chicks FLY FROM THE NEST it is called FLEDGING. These chicks FLEDGED on May 26, 2008. Think about it: What do you think the word FLEDGLING means?

Non-native European Starlings and European House Sparrows have taken over the nesting cavities of the Purple Martin. For this reason, Purple Martins living East of the Mississippi river will ONLY nest in man-made housing. Gourds are a very popular choice.

PEEKHERE

A HORIZONTAL NESTING GOURD

Federally-licensed bird bander placing a band on one of the chicks.

A clutch of six eggs photographed on April 19, 2008

Removing the chicks for banding on May 25, 2008.

The mature male Purple Martin is truly purple!

Five chicks hatched on April 28, 2008

Five healthy chicks on May 9, 2008. Can you see the 6th egg on the left? Why does it look so small now?



A P P E N D I X III – MIGRATION FLYWAYS

Many birds travel south for the winter, and return to the north in the summer. These MIGRATORY BIRDS travel along certain paths, called FLYWAYS.

The Four Migratory Flyways of the Western Hemisphere

PURPLE = ATLANTIC FLYWAY

GREEN = MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY

YELLOW = CCCEEENNNTTTRRRAAALLL FLYWAY

NAVY = PACIFIC FLYWAY

Atlantic Flyway over Pinellas County



A P P E N D I X IV - TAXONOMY

HOW SCIENTISTS CLASSIFY BIRDS Kingdom = Animal (Vertebrates) Class = Birds (Latin word is Aves) Subclass = Neornithes (all the modern birds) Say it: knee-or-na-thees Superorder = Palaeognathae (all the non-flying birds, like Ostrich and Kiwi) = Neognathae (all the flying birds) Say it: knee-og-na-thy All of the wild birds that we see in Florida are Neognathae, because they can fly. Birds are covered with feathers. They usually live on land, but many birds spend much of their time in water. Birds use lungs to breathe. They are warm-blooded. All birds lay eggs. FUN FACT Australia’s duck-billed PLATYPUS is warm-blooded, lays eggs and has a bill and webbed feet like a duck. However, it is NOT a bird! The platypus is the one and only living member of the scientific family called Ornithorhynchidae. Say it: or-na-tho-rink-a-dee. The platypus is truly ‘in a class by himself’!

PLATYPUS



The TAXONOMIC ORDER of Birds is shown below.

Most BIRD FIELD GUIDES group birds into their appropriate TAXONOMIC ORDER:

• Ducks, Geese, and Swans (ANSERIFORMES) • Grouse, Quail, and Allies (GALLIFORMES)

• Loons (GAVIIFORMES) • Grebes (PODICIPEDIFORMES)

• Tubenoses (PROCELLARIIFORMES) • Pelicans and Allies (PELECANIFORMES)

• Herons and Allies (CICONIIFORMES) • Hawks, Falcons, and Allies (FALCONIFORMES) • Cranes and Rails (GRUIFORMES)

• Plovers, Sandpipers, and Allies (CHARADRIIFORMES) • Pigeons and Doves (COLUMBIFORMES)

• Cuckoos (CUCULIFORMES) • Owls (STRIGIFORMES)

• Nightjars (CAPRIMULGIFORMES) • Swifts and Hummingbirds (APODIFORMES) • Kingfishers and Allies (CORACIIFORMES)

• Woodpeckers (PICIFORMES) • Perching Birds (PASSERIFORMES)



Basic FIELD MARKS Used By Birders and Ornithologists

1) Bill or beak

2) Lore

3) Crown

4) Eye ring

5) Eye stripe

6) Nape

7) Back

8) Rump

9) Upper tail coverts

10) Tail feathers

11) Under tail coverts

12) Primary flight feathers

13) Secondary flight feathers

14) Flank

15) Breast

16) Cheek

17) Throat

18) Chin

GET READY, GET SET, BIRD! - SPRGallery€¦ · looking in a book, called a BIRD FIELD GUIDE, or by...

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