April 2013 46
There are regional variations of songs and calls which can be different from the electronic versions that were recorded from somewhere else. Once you get used to the sounds the usual residents make, you will start to notice when a new bird is in town. Then you can seek out the source of the new sound and add another bird to your list. When birding during migration don’t ignore the usual suspects like chickadees, cardinals and titmice or whichever birds are year-round in your location. Many times I find the migrants by looking for the usuals, who are noticeable because they are noisy. Migrants often quietly hang out with the residents, as if using them as tour guides for tips on where the food is around here. So if there are a bunch of titmice and chickadees in a tree I look at each one individually, and very often get a pleasant surprise at the sight of a feeding warbler that is here today but will be gone tomorrow.
A Brown Pelican with Neotropic Cormorants at the Birding Center
-Susan Decker
a pleasant surprise at the sight of a feeding warbler that is here today but will be gone tomorrow. If you have access to a wide open bit of water such as a lake, mud flat or beach area, birding is easy because the birds are not hiding in trees and are right there for you to gawk at for as long as you like. Of course they often move to the farthest side of the water, and many water and shore birds look alike, but at least they give you ample time to practice identifying them. Birding on the Texas Gulf Coast is especially rewarding in April. Birders flock there like finches to sunflowers. The Gulf Coast is long enough to have many different habitats and there are literally hundreds of species that can be seen. The north coast near the Louisiana