So, you’re interested in learning how to identify birds in your backyard or around your house? Well, you’ve come to the right spot to learn how to do just that!
How to Identify Birds that Live Around You
When I was 14, my parents took me to a nature center for a day trip. We walked around the beaver pond that was there, viewed the specimens and gift shop in the nature center, and talked to the resident naturalist there.
A few weeks later, I asked my parents if we could go back. I left that second day with my first field guide to birds in my hand (the first of four that I have used over the years). I learned to identify birds in my backyard, began putting up bird feeders and getting my hands on better binoculars and a cheap spotting scope from K-Mart. The birdwatching bug had bitten me hard.
Over the next four years during high school, I began leading public walks at that nature center and attended college to get a B.S. in Environmental and Forest Biology. That first day at the nature center had actually set my future in motion.
Now, I have forgotten what it was like not knowing what bird I was looking at or which one I heard singing. I compare it to remembering what a book was like before you were able to read. The key to my success in birdwatching was having the right field guide and learning how to use it.
Enough about me for now. Let’s get started.
Step 1- Identifying Birds Using the Right Field Guide
If you go to your local bookstore or visit your favorite bookseller’s website, you will find there are many field guides to birds that you could buy. As a novice, they may all look like they will help you, but there are features you NEED to help you be successful.
I have found that the best field guides do not use photographs, but use illustrations. Illustrations show you what you should be seeing and not just what the photographer was able to capture in that one photograph.
Field guides should give you adequate descriptions but not get so detailed that the bird flies away while reading it! I also like field guides that have a consistent layout. An example would be having 2 birds shown on each page with range maps at the bottom. For me, the consistency allows my eyes to expect a pattern of looking for species in the book. This may seem minor, but once you start birdwatching, it will make flipping through the guide trying to find a bird quicker and easier.
Lastly, the guide needs to cover the geographic area you live in. All of the field guides that I recommend in my FREE Top 3 Field Guides Review Video cover all of North America, north of Mexico. If you are learning how to birdwatch outside of North America, the key features described in this blog post still ring true. Just apply these ideas to the field guides available for your geographic location and determine which one you feel is the best.
Step 2 - Identifying birds using Field Marks
There are over 700 species of birds in the United States and Canada. It can seem to be a daunting task to be able to identify just ONE of those. The key to success here is learning what makes the bird that you are seeing THAT bird. For example, a cardinal is an all-red bird with a crest. No other bird in the U.S. or Canada has those 2 characteristics (what we would call field marks) and that is what identifies a cardinal as being a cardinal.
A good field guide will show these field marks in a quick and efficient manner so you can determine what bird you are looking at.
Field marks can include many characteristics - habits (how the bird acts), coloring and location of colors, size, body shape and any distinguishing marks.
You want to make note of distinguishing field marks when observing a bird that you don’t know - it may fly at any time. If you were able to make mental notes of the field marks, you will probably be able to identify it by looking through your field guide later.
Step 3 - Identifying Birds - Right Place, Right Time
The topic here has two meanings. You do have to be in the right place at the right time to see a bird that you are looking for. That is the real fun part of being a birdwatcher.
My intent with this heading is to point out another key feature of a good field guide - the range map. Range maps show where particular species can be found in North America. It also shows when that bird will be found there. This information will assist in eliminating the species you are probably not observing because of range. Beware though, birds do fly and they fly out of their normal regions and become a rare bird sighting. Every 3-4 days a “rare” bird is being seen somewhere in North America.
Step 4 - Identifying Birds by Song
The final feature a good field guide will have is a description of a bird’s call or song. The learning of bird songs is an art and takes time to learn. For the novice, I would suggest observing a bird and identifying it using the field marks. If the bird is calling or singing, just sit and listen; read the description in the field guide and listen to the pattern and pitch. Can you turn the song into a phonetic phrase? For example, the whistling song of the white-throated sparrow is described as saying “old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody”. Remembering some bird songs as phrases will help to recall them in the field. Every time you identify a new bird, listen to it. If you hear a song, try to recall if you’ve heard it before and guess what it is before finding its source. Learning bird songs is a long, slow road of patient listening.
Step 5 - Putting It All Together: Begin Identifying Birds in Your Area
Well, you now know the key features of a good field guide that you will need to identify birds. I hope that the four steps I have described above will help you in beginning your life-long interest in learning how to identify birds. Be patient with yourself - birdwatching is a stop-and-smell-the-roses sort of hobby. Sometimes you will end up not being able to identify a bird because of distance, bad lighting, or insufficient observing time. I have missed identifying new birds on vacations many times over my birdwatching career. It’s okay, you will identify them next time. That’s the challenge of birdwatching.
Next Steps - Get that Field Guide!
If you do not have a field guide already, I suggest that you enter your email below or in any of the links in this post to receive the link for my FREE Top 3 Field Guides Review Video. In this review, I provide my picks for the best current field guides that you can get. Based on your experience (none is necessary) and preferences, you will find a field guide that will satisfy your budget and all the requirements described above. You will not go wrong with any of the suggested field guides
Visit again for more tips on using field guides, binoculars, spotting scopes and more in helping you to learn to identify birds!
Which Field Guide Do You Choose? Check Out My Top 3 Field Guides Review Video