Best few minutes on bird ID I have experienced

@WildlifeEthics

Ай бұрын

Same here. Maine is lucky to have him !

I take bird photos. My approach to to shoot first and ask questions later.

@frednorman1

11 күн бұрын

That’s my technique also and then I use Merlin Bird ID or my iPhone to identify the bird from the photos

you can tell when you're listening to someone who has studied a subject for quite a long time - Bob you're it! You have transformed my birding - thank you

@Bob_Duchesne

Ай бұрын

Maybe not so much study. It's just that I've birded so long, I've made every mistake there is. Next week, the warblers begin arriving, and I look forward to getting out there an making more mistakes,

This is perhaps one of your best and most useful videos ever!! Thanks. I sometime see new birders looking at their phones and almost ignoring the bird.

@Bob_Duchesne

Жыл бұрын

I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a strategy, but one benefit of getting older is the ability to look back and figure out everything you did way wrong.

Thanks Bob. That was really helpful. I'm going to look for those 4 field marks going forward.

Excellent strategy and advice!! I've just moved to Europe and feel like a brand new birder with all of the unfamiliar species. This advice will serve me well!

Hey you have to start somewhere. I birded by myself using that National Audubon photo book. Talk about taking a long time to learn a little bit but truth be told I had a lot of fun. I still recall the thrill of IDing my first bird , Tufted Titmouse. After 20 + years I took the plunge and started going out with the local bird club in the county I live in. Walking & listening to people who knew their stuff was such a pleasure and my I D skills grew in leaps and bounds. If I knew now what I didn`t know then would I change the way I did it....hard to say. I love being out in the forest by myself but I do also love being a better birder. As long as you are outdoors and learning from nature it`s all good...thanks

@Bob_Duchesne

3 ай бұрын

I know, right? One BIG reason I do this kind of video is because I wish I knew then what I know now! It took me up to 65 years to learn this stuff. Coulda been shorter.

For people wanting to learn some more helpful warbler field marks, I'd recommend the Warbler Guide. 10/10 book, includes super helpful pictures and guides to their songs, field marks, and even has a whole section on identifying them by undertail coverts.

Well, I don't know why the algoritm wanted me to be able to identify birds, I have never showed any interest in that direction. But now I'm a lot better at it than before, thanks for that!

@Bob_Duchesne

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, KZread makes me scratch my head a lot.

Wonderful and clear instruction on learning to "see" identifying field marks! Thank you Bob.

Great tips!!! We truly enjoy your videos!!

Great informative video! As always, thanks Bob! You have a unique way of communicating that mixes humor and knowledge. It’s a potent combination!

I prefer to take a picture and identify later

@Bob_Duchesne

Жыл бұрын

That also works. Well, as long as you have the camera along. Which, if you're like me, you always do.

@jibe22686

Жыл бұрын

excellent advice Bob. As I tell my partner after snapping a pic, got it, we’ll sort this out when we get home. besides that, those books are heavy.

Great teaching and excellent strategy!

I just recently started taking birding seriously and going out specifically to bird. When I started trying to ID Thraupids (neotropical “tanagers”) in Peru, I made this mistake a lot. I managed to ID a honeycreeper (genus Cyanerpes) with this strategy, but unfortunately we have two species near the research station and I didn’t notice any of the features that would distinguish the two.

Best way I've found is to make a picture for ID and then confirm it when I get home.

Another great video and advice. Thank you!

Bob: I learned a general indication of warblers in habitats from Paddy Cunningham who runs the Everglades Birding Festival. If a warbler has wing bars, generally, it will be medium to high in the canopy. If no wing bars, generally, medium to low. Always an exception to that general rule.

I love your channel, i love your personality and u seem like someone with real experience and u seem very trustworthy. Im glad the community of birders online is so wholesome, thank you!

This is very helpful technique, thank you!

Thanks a lot. As a beginner, I felt overwhelmed by looking at the birds but thanks for your great tip of the field mark, I think I probably I still fell overwhelmed😅 when I couldn't recognize them. But I will look less at my Merlin app for guidelines. That is again for sharing.

@Bob_Duchesne

Ай бұрын

Indeed, it's normal to feel overwhelmed. I plan to do another couple videos in a few weeks that will make it a little less overwhelming. There are lots of tricks and tips that I wish I had known when I was younger.

@qqxk

Ай бұрын

Really enjoy your video and much appreciated them.😊👍

The best way to identify a bird in my case , is to take a picture of the bird , then after the bird is gone , then go to the book and find the bird that matches your photo

@jaurijantzi424

11 ай бұрын

Although there are some birds that can be easily recognized, such as the bald eagle with the white head and white tail , or the eastern kingbird with that thick white bar on the tip of the tail

Great video, Bob! Thanks!

You do a great job at simplifying birding. Thanks.

@Bob_Duchesne

3 ай бұрын

Yeah, it took me a VERY long time to realize I was making it too complicated.

I used the wing bar, yellow throat, and breast streak trick to get my lifer palm warbler today! (Yes to all 3 options) Thanks Bob!

@Bob_Duchesne

Ай бұрын

And another tip: palm warblers are the only eastern warblers that bob their tails. And they do it a lot. If I see a warbler do that, I don't even have to guess. Northern waterthrushes will raise and lower tails slowly, but it's nothing like the quick bob of a palm.

@justingiacobbe4419

Ай бұрын

@@Bob_Duchesne that’s great info. You’re the best! Love your content

Excellent video thank you

Really, really helpful video!!

Another great video! Thank you :-)

Excellent advice for a novice like me! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😎

Bob's videos are the best

Peterson is still the best there is. He has an amazing facility to state the very precise consideration one needs to pin down the species. The very best way is to photograph the book and then ID later. I would miss much without my camera.

super helpful

Also head color and throat color if not yellow.. step 2. Instead of just noting wing bars or breast streaks 'yes' or 'no', try to remember what they wing bars or breast streaks look like.

@Bob_Duchesne

Жыл бұрын

I know, right? Yellow is a helpful throat color for warblers. Not so much for sparrows. Perhaps there's a future Field Marks 2.0.

Sadly this doesn’t really work with European birds- our warblers especially the leaf warblers are almost identical- sometimes a photo or a sound recording is needed to ID them. Definitely works for finches though.

@Bob_Duchesne

11 ай бұрын

We have a similar problem with flycatchers. That's when grouping troublesome birds gets useful as a way to remember which tiny characteristics aid identification. My problem is, I don't remember them all.

@Revelationscreation

11 ай бұрын

@@Bob_Duchesne that’s why I love using cameras… gives me another chance to get the ID right. Sometimes feel naked without it even though I only started using a camera a few months ago.

He’s got a pair of $2500 Swarovski binoculars. I’d say he has the best already, why the Zeiss?

@Bob_Duchesne

4 ай бұрын

I need a spare pair to keep in the car. LOL

Bah! Take a picture and then look at the field marks in the picture.

Awesome! Enjoying all the migrants and have been noticing some of these in the field!

Field marks?!?! To quote another KZreadr, famous like yourself, Whaaat!?! No waaaayyy, FFS. 🤣 Great info, great videos, thanks Bob. p.s. you deserve those Zeiss Victory 10x42s.

thats a great and yet almost obvious tip especially for beginners. currently im brand new to bird watching, havent even gotten my first guide in physical print yet but i think this tip will help me out a lot, it was very helpful to be told what kind of field marks are useful to focus on :))