If you've followed my blog for a while you will have noticed that I have many posts about birds. I have been interested in birds since I was very young. One of my posts details how my Mom showed me a beautiful mallard drake when I was about four years old. I've liked birds ever since although I get to spend more time on this activity since I retired.
So needless to say, I have some bird books and have borrowed good bird books from the library. My Aunt gave me a second hand Taverner's when I was about five years old. Pieces of this book still exist in the family home.
What I have discovered lately are some excellent on line sites for bird identification and information. Expert birders probably use these sites continuously. For the average birder these are excellent places to consult.
I will give you links to two sites. I can describe both of them together. Both sites have a number of excellent pictures of each bird. Their descriptions are concise. What these sites have that books don't have is video of the bird. So you can look at the bird as it walks swims, flies or feeds. There is also sound recordings of the birds various calls. These are features that really add to your ability to identify a bird.
I hope you will take a look at All About birds and What Bird.
For those who are electronically blessed you will be able to use these features in the field and not have to come home and look them up on my computer. I hope that you will find these sites useful.
I have used All About Birds for a long time, and will check out the other one, Red. I also love birds of all kinds and am blessed to have so many around here in the Pacific Northwest...
ReplyDeleteYou probably take your ipod along and use this in the field? I still haven't got in the habit of referring to them on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteSummer birds are also starting to return here. Lots of robins the last two days. They've been stuck here because of foul weather. The males come first and pick out breeding territory and then the females follow. Many of these birds will continue much farther north. When I lived on the Mackenzie delta in the sixties we had robins and now they observe robins on Banks island.
I have indeed used these sites in the past.. and always find them, and hand-held field guides quite helpful. Thanks for sharing them with your readers.
ReplyDeleteI know about them but I still haven't developed the habit. I'm trying to get local birders to become familiar with them
ReplyDeleteI think I identified my dusk/dawn bird as a junco! What a relief!!
ReplyDeleteCheers from Perth.
I live close to one of the most exciting birding places in the world this time of year...Point Pelee National Park, at the southern tip of Canada. Timely post.
ReplyDeleteLucky guy! I have a friend who visits Pelee at least once a year.
ReplyDeleteNow I just have to make use of these sites.
I'm surprised that a junco would fool a pro like you.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it takes awhile to actually find a junco as they are scratching around under the brush.