Learn expert tips for photographing wild birds in your backyard or garden patio from professional photographer Andy Langley. A great resource for backyard bird watchers, Andy discusses different considerations and examples for staging a backyard photograph including a discussion of composition, lighting and backgrounds. Tricks and tips include using juicy live mealworms to attract wild birds, adding a flash to fill in dark spots, or disguising the camera with a scrim or piece of dark material.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/how-to-photograph-birds-in-your-backyard/
For bird watchers and backyard birders alike, wild bird identification is a fun and sometimes challenging activity. Recognizing and identifying wild birds is easier when the four keys to bird identification are used – Size & Shape, Color Pattern, Behavior and Habitat.
Bird Identification – Bird Habitat
A habitat is where a bird lives, eats and sleeps, and all birds are uniquely suited to survive in a particular area or environment. Habitats are broken down into four general categories, including Forested Woodlands, Water or Aquatic areas, Scrub Shrub areas or Open Habitats.
Bird Watching and identification is about the probability of seeing a species of bird in their habitat during a particular time of year. Bird watchers who know what birds are likely to be seen in a habitat have a identification head start – a short list of birds they expect to see, and a quick visual cue for birds that require an extra look.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has created an excellent video series to help the beginning birder develop their wild bird identification skills. Below, is the fourth and last in the series – Recognizing Birds – Bird Habitat. The other videos in the series can be found here – Size & Shape, Color Pattern, and Behavior.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/bird-identification-key-habitat/
For beginning birders, it is often a wild bird’s brilliant color that attracts them to birding. Field guides are filled with detailed and beautiful illustrations and photos of wild birds, but the images can be misleading because field marks change throughout the season. Recognizing and identifying wild birds is made easier by using the four keys to bird identification – Size & Shape, Color Pattern, Behavior and Habitat.
Bird Identification – Color Pattern
When using color to identify a wild bird, it’s best to take an overall color inventory of the bird. Notice how the color arranged on the bird’s body, rather than trying to specifically match the colors to those found in the field guide. Ignore the subtleties of the color and placement (plumage changes throughout the season), and check patterns in places like the wing bar, eye ring or spectacles.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has created an excellent video series to help the beginning birder develop their wild bird identification skills. Below, is the second in the series – Recognizing Birds – Color Patterns.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/bird-identification-key-color-pattern/
The Red-bellied Woodpecker is a member of the Picidae family, and is the largest common woodpecker of the eastern United States. It is found primarily in northeastern US and southern Canada, ranging as far south as Florida and as far west as Texas. Its common habitat is wooded areas, including suburban neighborhoods and parks. Red-Bellied Woodpeckers are very tolerant of humans, and are regular visitors to backyard garden feeders (especially during the winter), favoring sunflower seed, suet, and fruit. Red-Bellied Woodpeckers climb and “hitch” along branches and trunks of trees, picking at the bark.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/about-red-bellied-woodpecker/
The state bird of Connecticut, Michigan and Wisconsin, the American Robin is a familiar songbird in the thrush family. They live in towns and woodlands, and are commonly seen on suburban lawns exhibiting their “running and stopping” behavior as they gather their morning worms.
The America Robin feeds on different things throughout the day, including earthworms in the morning, and fruits and berries in the evening. They are mostly active during the day and gather in large flocks at night to roost in trees in secluded areas.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/about-american-robins/
Black-Capped Chickadee
Scientific Name: Poecile atricapilla
The state bird of Maine and Massachusetts, the Black-Capped Chickadee is a small, common songbird in the Tit family generally found throughout Alaska, Canada and the northern United States.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/about-black-capped-chickadee/
House Sparrows are the most abundant songbirds in North America and the most widely distributed birds on the planet. These small, round birds are frequent visitors to suburban backyard bird feeders, and are commonly found in school yards, fast food parking lots, and street corners. Imported from England to North America between 1850 and 1886 in an effort to control insects, the House Sparrow (originally called the “English sparrow”) has grown in population to over 150 million. It’s aggressive nesting behavior and adaptability to humankind, has led to this increase and given them an unpopular status among many birding enthusiast.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/about-house-sparrow/
Rhode Island may be small but there are hundreds of opportunities for bird-watching in the Ocean State. Rhode Island offers many coastal and inland locations for viewing migratory birds but also houses a vibrant year-round resident population.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/new-england-living/bird-watching-in-rhode-island/
According to Mass Audubon, good news for backyard birding enthusiasts and Bay State nature lovers, as for the first time in decades, Massachusetts is saving twice as much land as it is developing.
Thanks to the collaborative work of state environmental agencies and conservation organizations, no longer is Bay State open space gobbled up at the rate of 40 acres a day. For every acre developed, two are protected.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/new-england-living/good-news-for-massachusetts-backyard-birders/
A Colorado teenager was caught this week with 53 baby birds in his bedroom that he had apparently collected from neighborhood nests. The 15-year old boy was ticketed for cruelty to animals and interference with wild birds, and had no explanation for taking the bluebird, sparrow and barn swallow nestlings. The birds were turned over to wildlife rehabilitators. As of July 19th, 40 of the birds have died.
There are many myths and misunderstandings about wild bird nestlings and fledglings, but the bottom line is that they should be viewed at arms length and if they are found in distress, a local wildlife rehabilitation specialist should be contacted immediately. For more information about this, here’s a link to the Top 5 Myths of Rescuing Baby Birds.
Permanent link to this article: http://blog.newenglandbirdhouse.com/backyard-birding/53-baby-birds-seized-from-teens-bedroom/
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