Techniques for Woodland Birding

Techniques for Woodland Birding
Hello. Welcome to Expert Village. My name is Wayne Peterson, and I'm the director of the Important Bird Areas Program for the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Today, we're here at the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield, Massachusetts, where we'll be talking about bird identification and some of the equipment and essential tools that are useful to get one started in this incredibly interesting pastime. Another way to think about bird identification is to remember where you're birding. What's the habitat specifically in the location where you're spending time? Forests and woodlands are certainly one of our more familiar habitats and across North America represent one of the major ecosystem types. One of the challenges of birding in forests is the fact that there is a lot of foliage and undercover that can make observing birds more difficult. And, the fact that in many cases, birds are over your head. You may have to be looking up. And you may have the problem of back lighting and so forth making it more difficult in many cases to see the birds. So, bird vocalizations and sounds like we discussed earlier can be very useful. But, some of the birds that are quite typical of forested situations include first of all, canopy species, birds that like to spend their time high in the trees. These would be things like Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers, Red-Eyed Vireos, for example, lots of the Warblers. Then, there are species that sort of occur at mid-story. We mentioned the Wood Thrush earlier as being a species that often likes to sing sort of mid-story in the forest canopy situation. Some of the fly catchers are often found at mid-level rather than high in the trees. And then, there are birds that actually occur down on the forest floor or in the undergrowth. A Warbler, for example, like the Oven Bird, that nests on the ground would be a good example of a species that, that would be a typical sort of a forest floor dweller. So, when birding in these habitats, it's important to be watching for movement at all levels, to move quietly, to wear clothing that is relatively unobtrusive so you won't startle the birds, and to be particularly vigilant for sounds that will perhaps lead you to the bird, or in some cases, if you recognize the vocalization will actually tell you what it is. But, these can be very rich and productive habitats at almost all times of the year. But, they're probably best and most easily birded sometime in mid spring to early summer when there is likely to be a lot of bird activity and specifically song that will lead you to where birds may be.