In many ways bird identification is like real
estate. The key is location, location, location! Birds can
fly anywhere but they spend most of their time in their
favorite locations. You wouldn’t expect to see a robin
on the beach. You are not likely to see a gull on your
bird feeder. A heron is most likely found close to water.
On the shore some birds favor the surf, some the beach,
some the tidal pools, some the mudflats and some in the
dunes. Bluebirds prefer the open areas of a golf course.
Woodpeckers like trees. So what you can see depends
on where you are on the Island. I prepared a list of thirty
separate habitats across the Island from my backyard bird
feeder to the maritime forest, to the ponds creeks and tidal
marsh, and to the shore and listed the birds most likely to
be seen in each. I found the list to be helpful in narrowing
down possible birds that I might look up in one of the bird
guides for positive identification.
43
So what bird guides are the most useful? I
personally find The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern
North America to be the most useful. The illustrations
are drawings as opposed to photographs, so they can
show shadings that might not be possible in the lighting
of a photo. They contain pictures of both standing and
flying birds with male, female and breeding plumage
shown where that is useful. Each plate shows the range
for different times of the year and includes specific
field identification points. It also gives both length and
wingspan dimensions and a brief description of pertinent
facts as well as a questionable attempt to describe typical
bird calls. Other important bird guides include: Field
Guide to Birds of North America, by Roger Tory Peterson,
and National Geographic’s Field Guide to the Birds of
North America. They all contain essentially the same
material. The organization of some is better than others.
Photograph courtesy of Paul Roberts