BIRDS OF A FEATHER IN FRENCHMAN’S CREEK
Dear Members,
Florida is home to an incredible variety of bird species, thanks to its diverse ecosystems and warm climate. From vibrant parrots and elegant herons to elusive owls and migratory songbirds, the state offers endless opportunities for birdwatching and wildlife photography. Whether you’re exploring coastal wetlands, inland forests, or suburban backyards, you’re
bound to encounter some of the most fascinating and colorful birds in the country. Florida truly is a haven for bird lovers and nature enthusiasts alike.
Wishing you a wonderful time out in nature—may you spot some beautiful birds
and enjoy every peaceful moment. There’s nothing like the joy of being surrounded by nature’s quiet magic!
FLORIDA’S STATE BIRD
The common Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) is a superb songbird and mimic. Its own song has a pleasant lilting sound and
is, at times, both varied and repetitive. Often, the mockingbird sings all night long, especially under bright springtime moonlight.
Mockingbirds are usually about 10 inches in length, with a 15 inch wingspan, grayish upper portions, white undersides, and white patches on the tail and wings. The female has slightly less whiteness in its feathers than the male. The mockingbird is helpful to humans because it usually feeds on insects and weed seeds. In the summer and fall, it also eats ripe berries. The nest, a joint project of the male and female mockingbird, is a bulky, open cup of grass, twigs, and rootlets carelessly arranged tree or bush. The three to six eggs per nest are a pale with brown spots. This year-round Florida resident is its fierce defense of the family nest.
Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 3 of the 1927 legislative session designated the mockingbird as the state bird.
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Date________________ Hours____________to___________________ Observers___________________________________________________ Locality______________________________________________________ Sky_______Wind_______Temperature_______Ground_________ Total Species_______________Total Individuals_______________ Checklist Frenchman’s Creek Beach & Country Club BIRDS
LEGEND - (C) - Commonly seen (U) - Uncommonly seen
GREBES Pied Billed (C) CORMORANT Double Crested (C) ANHINGA (C) ROSEATE SPOONBILL (C) IBIS (C)
DUCKS Black Bellied Whistling (C)
Mallard (U) Mottled (C) Muscovy (C) Ring Necked (U)
Ruddy (U) Wood (U) GEESE Egyptian (C) AMERICAN COOT (C)
White (C) Glossy (C) LIMPKIN (C) STORK
Wood (C) PELICAN Brown (C) HERONS
GALLINULE Common (C) VULTURES Black (C) Turkey (C) HAWKS
Great Blue (C) Little Blue (C) Tricolored (C) Little Green (C) Black Crowned (U) EGRETS Great White (C)
American Kestrel (C) Red Shouldered (C) Red Tailed (C) Common Nighthawk (U) BALD EAGLE (U) OSPREY (C) MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD (U) KITE Swallow Tail (U) Snail (U)
Snowy (C) Cattle (C) BITTERNS American (U) Least (U)
CRANE Sandhill (C) PLOVERS Killdeer (C) SANDPIPERS Solitary (C) Least (U) TERNS Least (C) DOVES Eurasian Collared (C) Mourning (C) White Winged (U) Ground (U) OWLS Eastern Screech (U) Great Horned (C) CHIMNEY SWIFT (U) HUMMINGBIRD Ruby Throated (U) KINGFISHER Belted (C) WOODPECKERS Downy (U) Hairy (U) Northern Flicker (C) Pileated (C) Red bellied (C) SWALLOWS Bank (U) Rough Winged (U) Tree (U) JAYS Blue (C) CROW Fish (C) NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD (C)
GRAY CATBIRD (U) BROWN THRASHER (C) AMERICAN ROBIN (U) NORTHERN CARDINAL (C) SHRIKES Loggerhead (C) EUROPEAN STARLING (C) KINGLET Ruby Crowned (U) WARBLERS Black and White (U) Chestnut Sided (U) Palm (C) Yellow Rumped (U) Prairie (U) OVENBIRD (U) AMERICAN REDSTART (U) BLACKBIRDS Boat Tail Grackle (C) Grackle (C)
Red Wing (C) BLUE-GRAY
GNATCATCHER (C) MARSH WREN (U) BIRDS ON THE BEACH Sanderling (C) Ruddy Turnstone (C) Black Bellied Plover (C) Willet (C) Royal Tern (C) Ring Billed Gull (C) Herring Gull (C) Laughing Gull (C) Lesser Black Backed Gull (C) Western Sandpiper (U)
AMERICAN BITTERN The American Bittern is a species of wading bird. It has a Nearctic distribution, breeding in Canada and the northern and central parts of the United States, and wintering in the U.S. Gulf Coast states, all of Florida into the Everglades, the Caribbean islands and parts of Central America.
AMERICAN COOT Look for American Coots at ponds in city parks, in marshes, reservoirs, along the edges of lakes, and in roadside ditches, sewage treatment ponds, and saltwater inlets or salt marshes.
AMERICAN REDSTART In deciduous woodlands, American Redstarts are fairly conspicuous compared to other small birds. They dash through trees and bushes after unseen insects, or prancing along branches, rapidly spreading and closing its black-and-yellow or black-and-orange tail. They are common spring and fall migrants in the East.
ANHIGA The Anhinga lives in shallow, slow-moving, sheltered waters and uses nearby perches and banks for drying and sunning. It’s rarely found out of freshwater except during severe droughts. Not found in extensive areas of open water, though it may nest on edges of open bays and lakes.
BALD EAGLE The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico.
BELTED KINGFISHER Belted Kingfishers live near streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and estuaries. They nest in burrows that they dig into soft earthen banks, usually adjacent to or directly over water, commonly found in the United States and Canada.
BLACK AND WHITE WARBLER The Black-and-White Warbler is a species of New World warbler, and the only member of its genus, Mniotilta. It breeds in northern and eastern North America and winters in Florida, Central America, and the West Indies down to Peru. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
BLACK BELLIED WHISTLING DUCK The Black Bellied Whistling Duck, formerly called the black-bellied tree duck, is a whistling duck that breeds from the southernmost United States and tropical Central to south-central South America.
BLACK CROWNED HERON Black-Crowned night herons nest colonially, and often more than a dozen pairs will nest in one tree.
GRACKLE The common Grackle is a large icterid which is found in large numbers through much of North America.
BLACK VULTURE The Black Vulture, also known as the
American black vulture, is a bird in the new world vulture family whose range extends from the southeastern United States to central Chile and Uruguay in South America.
BOAT TAILED GRACKLE The Boat-Tailed Grackle is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found as a permanent resident on the coasts of the Southeastern United States. It is found in coastal saltwater marshes and, in Florida, also on inland waters.
BROWN PELICAN The Brown Pelican can be found on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts. On the Atlantic Coast, it can be found in North Carolina.
BROWN THRASHER The Brown Thrasher is a bird in the family Mimidae, which also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds. The male brown thrasher can sing more songs than any other North American bird.
CATTLE EGRET The Cattle Egret nests in colonies, which are often found around bodies of water. The colonies are usually found in woodlands near lakes or rivers, in swamps, or on small inland or coastal islands, and are sometimes shared with other wetland birds, such as herons, egrets, ibises, and cormorants.
CHESTNUT SIDED WARBLERS The Chestnut-Sided Warbler is a New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America and in southern Canada westwards to the Canadian Prairies. They also breed in the Great Lakes region and in the eastern United States.
CHIMNEY SWIFT Chimney Swifts nest in chimneys and on other vertical surfaces in dim, enclosed areas, including air vents, wells, hollow trees, and caves. They forage over urban and suburban areas, rivers, lakes, forests, and fields.
COMMON GALLINULE The Common Gallinule is a bird in the family Rallidae. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands in the Americas. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rain forests.
SANDHILL CRANE The greater Sandhill Crane winters in Florida but nests in the Great Lakes region. Sandhill cranes nest during late winter and spring on mats of vegetation about two feet in diameter and in shallow water.
DOWNY WOODPECKER The Downy Woodpecker is at home in a variety of wooded areas across its range, in the northern mixed forests and in the deciduous forests farther south, in woodlots and park lands, in orchards, and even in city parks and neighborhoods.
EASTERN SCREECH OWL Eastern Screech Owls inhabit open mixed woodlands, deciduous forests, park lands, wooded suburban areas, riparian woods along streams and wetlands (especially in drier areas), mature orchards, and woodlands near marshes, meadows, and fields.
GREAT WHITE EGRET The Great White Egret or Great White Heron is a large, widely distributed egret, with four subspecies found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe.
Did you know symbol of the National Audubon Society is the Great Egret?
EGYPTIAN GOOSE The Egyptian Goose is a member of the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. It is native to Africa south of the Sahara and the Nile Valley. Egyptian geese were considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians, and appeared in much of their artwork.
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE Eurasian Collared Doves live in urban and suburban areas throughout much of the U.S. except the Northeast.
EUROPEAN STARLING The Common Starling, also known as the European starling, or in the British Isles just the starling, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm long and has glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white.
DOUBLE CRESTED CORMORANT The Double Crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. Its habitat is near rivers and lakes as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico.
FISH CROW The Fish Crow is a species of crow associated with wetland habitats in the eastern and southeastern United States.
GLOSSY IBIS Look for Glossy Ibis in shallow freshwater wetlands, as well as brackish and saltwater wetlands, mangroves, and rice fields. Glossy
Ibises can be seasonal or very local, so asking local birders can help locate one. Look for a tall bird (or flock of birds) foraging slowly in open wetlands or flying with neck and feet outstretched.
GREY CATBIRD The Gray Catbird, also spelled Grey Catbird, is a medium-sized North American and Central American perching bird of the mimid family. It is the only member of the “catbird” genus Dumetella.
GREAT BLUE HERON The Great Blue Heron can adapt to almost any wetland habitat in its range. It may be found in numbers in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines. It is quite adaptable and may be seen in heavily developed areas as long as they hold bodies of fish-bearing water.
GREAT HORNED OWL Great Horned owls are adaptable birds and live in the Arctic to South America. They are at home in suburbia as well as in woods and farmlands. Northern populations migrate in winter, but most live permanently in more temperate climes.
GREEN HERON Green Herons inhabit small, freshwater wetlands, ponds, and stream-sides with thick vegetation at their margins.
WHITE IBIS One of the most numerous wading birds in Florida, and common elsewhere in the southeast. Highly sociable at all seasons, roosting and feeding in flocks, nesting in large colonies.
RUBY CROWNED KINGLET The Ruby Crowned Kinglet is a very small passerine bird found throughout North America. It is a member of the kinglet family. The bird has olive-green plumage with two white wing bars and a white eye-ring. Males have a red crown patch.
SWALLOW-TAILED KITE Swallow-tailed Kites are large but slender and buoyant raptors. They have long, narrow, pointed wings, slim bodies, and a very long, deeply forked tail. The bill is small and sharply hooked.
LEAST BITTERN The Least Bittern is a small heron, the smallest member of the family Ardeidae found in the Americas.
LEAST TERN The smallest of American terns, the Least Tern is found nesting on sandy beaches along the southern coasts of the United States and up the major river systems far into the interior of the continent.
LIMPKIN Limpkins are tropical wetland birds whose range reaches into Florida. They specialize in eating apple snails, which they hunt both day and night, and they often leave telltale piles of snail shells at the edges of freshwater wetlands where hunting is good.
LITTLE BLUE HERON Little Blue Herons inhabit fresh, salt, and brackish water environments in Florida including swamps, estuaries, ponds, lakes, and rivers. In the U.S., the little blue heron can be found from Missouri, east to Virginia, down to Florida, and west to Texas.
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES The Loggerhead Shrike is a songbird slightly smaller than a robin. Despite its small stature, the behaviors of a shrike reflect those of a raptor. It is commonly known as the “butcherbird” or “thorn bird” for its habit of impaling prey on sharp objects, such as thorns and barbed wire fences.
MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD Magnificent Frigatebirds soar along the coast in the southern United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean staying near water. They tend to take flight later in the afternoon when winds and thermals are greatest, helping keep them aloft. Look for their long and angular wings and slender silhouettes.
AMERICAN KESTREL American Kestrels occupy habitats ranging from deserts and grasslands to alpine meadows. They can be seen perching on telephone wires along roadsides, in open country with short vegetation and few trees.
MALLARD DUCK The Mallard is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil,Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa.
MOTTLED DUCK Mottled Ducks are usually found in fresh or brackish ponds adjacent to coast rather than in salt marsh. A close relative of the Mallard, the Mottled Duck is the only dabbling duck specialized for nesting in southern marshes, far to the south of most of its relatives
MOURNING DOVE These birds prefer open land with scattering of trees and shrubs for cover and nesting. Except for wetland and dense forest, Mourning Doves can be found most anywhere. They are one of the most widespread and adaptable North American birds.
MUSCOVY DUCK The Muscovy Duck is a large duck native to Mexico, Central, and South America. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United States, particularly in Florida.
NORTHERN CARDINAL It can be found in southern eastern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Minnesota to Texas, and south through Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Big Island of Hawaii.
NORTHERN FLICKER WOODPECKER
The Northern Flicker or Common Flicker is a medium-sized bird of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, and is one of the few woodpecker species that migrate.
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD Northern Mockingbirds live across the United States and in parts of Canada and Mexico. The mockingbird is the state bird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.
OSPREY Once known as the fish hawk, the Osprey lives on fish that it catches by snatching them in a shallow dive from the surface of the water. Though fish are by far the most important part of the diet, ospreys have been recorded catching a wide variety of other prey, including birds, reptiles and even crustaceans.
OVENBIRDS The Ovenbird is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and winters in Central America, many Caribbean islands, Florida and northern Venezuela.
PALM WARBLER The Palm Warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. The great boreal forest, often called “North America’s bird nursery,” is the summer home to billions of migratory birds and an estimated 98% of all Palm Warblers.
PIED-BILLED GREBE Pied-Billed Grebes are found in freshwater wetlands with emergent vegetation, such as cattails. They are occasionally found in salt water. When breeding, they are found in emergent vegetation near open water, and in winter they are primarily found in open water due to the lack of nests to maintain.
PILEATED WOODPECKERS The Pileated Woodpecker is a woodpecker native to North America. This insectivorous bird is a mostly sedentary inhabitant of deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific Coast.
KILLDEER Killdeer are North American breeders winter from their resident range south to Central America, the West Indies, and the northernmost portions of South America. The non-breeding habitat of the killdeer includes coastal wetlands, beach habitats, and coastal fields.
RED BELLIED WOODPECKER The Red Bellied Woodpecker is a
medium-sized woodpecker of the family Picidae. It breeds mainly in the eastern United States, ranging as far south as Texas and as far north as Canada.
RED SHOULDERED HAWK Red Shouldered Hawks soar over forests or perch on tree branches or utility wires. Its rising, whistled kee-rah is a distinctive sound of the forest. They hunt small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles either from perches or while flying.
RED TAILED HAWK The Red Tailed Hawk is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members within the genus of Buteo in North America or worldwide.
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD In North America Red-winged Blackbirds roost and breed in a variety of habitats but tend to prefer wetlands. They have been known to live in fresh and saltwater marshes. On drier ground, red-winged blackbirds gravitate towards open fields (often in agricultural areas) and forests.
ROSEATE SPOONBILL The Roseate Spoonbill locally common in coastal Florida, Texas, and southwest
Louisiana, they are usually in small flocks, often associating with other waders. Spoonbills feed in shallow waters, walking forward slowly while they swing their heads from side to side, sifting the muck with their wide flat bills.
RING-NECKED DUCK Ring-Necked Ducks are mainly a migratory species that lives in North America from Canada to Mexico. During the breeding season, it can be found as far north as southern and central Alaska.
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD The Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is a species of hummingbird that generally spends the winter in Central America, Mexico, and Florida, and migrates to Eastern North America for the summer to breed. It is by far the most common hummingbird seen east of the Mississippi River in North America.
SOLITARY SANDPIPER Solitary Sandpipers forage in small freshwater wetlands, often in wooded environments, where they walk slowly through shallow water, frequently bobbing the rear of the body. When startled, they fly a short distance, call, and land, often keeping the wings raised above the body momentarily after landing.
SNOWY EGRET In eastern North America, Snowy Egrets winter along the Gulf Coast and in Florida, as well as north along the Atlantic Coast to New Jersey. The breeding range in eastern North America extends along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from Maine to Texas, and inland along major rivers and lakes.
TREE SWALLOW The Tree Swallow is a migratory bird of the family Hirundinidae. Found in the Americas, the tree swallow was first described in 1807 by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot as Hirundo bicolor. It has since been moved to its current genus, Tachycineta, within which its phylogenetic placement is debated.
TRICOLORED HERON Tricolored Heron is a characteristic bird of quiet shallow waters. Strikingly slender, with long bill, neck, and legs, it is often seen wading belly-deep in coastal lagoons, mainly in waters of coastal lowlands.
TURKEY VULTURE Two species of vulture occur in Florida, the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) and the Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus). Turkey Vultures have reddish heads.
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS The Yellow-rumped Warbler is a North
American bird species combining four closely related forms: the eastern myrtle warbler; its western counterpart, Audubon’s warbler; the northwest Mexican black-fronted warbler; and the Guatemalan Goldman’s warbler.
WOOD DUCK The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of perching duck found in North America. It is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl.
WOOD STORK Wood Storks breed in fresh and brackish forested wetlands. They forage in wetlands, swamps, ponds, and marshes with water depths of around 4–12 inches.
BLUE-GREY GNATCATCHER A very small songbird, their breeding habitat includes open woods and shrub lands in southern Ontario, the eastern and southwestern United States, and Mexico. It is the only one to breed in Eastern North America. They build a cone-like nest on a horizontal tree branch.
MARSH WREN This little bird is native to Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Their breeding habitat is marshes with tall vegetation such as cattails across North America. They migrate to marshes and salt marshes in the Southern United States and Mexico. Their breeding range is in the northeastern United.
NEWLY SPOTTED AT THE BEACH!
WESTERN SANDPIPER With rufous and gold markings on the head and wings, breeding adult Western Sandpipers are the most colorful of the tiny North American sandpipers known as “peeps.” This abundant shorebird gathers in flocks numbering in the hundreds of thousands in California and Alaska during spring migration.
NEWLY SPOTTED AT FRENCHMAN’S CREEK!
AMERICAN ROBIN The quintessential early bird, American Robins are common sights on lawns across North America, where you often see them tugging earthworms out of the ground. Robins are popular birds for their warm orange breast, cheery song, and early appearance at the end of winter.
WHITE-WINGED DOVE Originally a bird of desert thickets, the White-winged Dove has become a common sight in cities and towns across the southern U.S. When perched, this bird’s unspotted brown upper parts and neat white crescents along the wing distinguish it from the ubiquitous Mourning Dove.
GROUND DOVE A dove the size of a sparrow, the Common Ground Dove forages in dusty open areas, sometimes overshadowed by the grass clumps it is feeding beneath. Its dusty plumage is easy to overlook until the bird springs into flight with a soft rattling of feathers and a flash of reddish-brown in the wings.
PRAIRIE WARBLER Contrary to its name, the Prairie Warbler is a bird of scrubby fields, clearcut, and open woods, where it can be located by its buzzy, ascending song, tail-pumping habit, and black-streaked yellow plumage. This species has a bold facial pattern that gives it a “spectacled” appearance.
BIRDS ON THE BEACH!
RUDDY TURNSTONE They can survive in a wide range of habitats and climatic conditions from Arctic to tropical. It is found along coasts, particularly on rocky or stony shores. It is often found on man-made structures such as breakwaters and jetties. It may venture onto open grassy areas near the coast. Small numbers sometimes turn up on inland wetlands, especially during the spring and autumn migrations.
BLACK BELLIED PLOVER Nests in both wet and dry tundra. Winters in coastal lagoons and estuaries. Migrants stop along coastlines and in harvested agricultural areas, sod farms, and muddy edges of lakes and rivers.
WILLET In winter, Willets are easy to spot feeding along the water’s edge. They’re one of the largest common shorebirds, so even though they’re indistinctly marked, you can learn to quickly recognize their overall chunky shape, subdued plumage, and thick, long bill. To be absolutely sure, look for distinctive black and white wing markings when they take flight, and listen for the pill-will-willet call that gives them their name.
ROYAL TERN Royal Terns are often among the first birds a visitor sees at the seashore, along with species such as Laughing Gulls and Brown Pelicans. Listening for the distinctive call (ka-rreet!) is a good way to locate this species. Among the many species of terns at North American beaches, Royal Terns are among the largest, outsized only by the Caspian Tern.
HERRING GULL Look for Herring Gulls soaring along coastal shorelines, feeding on beaches, or squabbling at refuse dumps. Almost any large open space near water can become a winter hangout. Except along the north Atlantic Coast, the Great Lakes, and southern Alaskan coast, expect to see only non- breeding adults and a motley array of immature gulls. These may be hard to recognize at first until you learn their beefy profiles. Once you know this fairly common species, they can help you identify other gull species.
SANDERLING Sanderlings are easy to find on sandy beaches from fall through spring. Pick a beach with a low, gradual slope and walk along the water’s edge. Look for small shorebirds running back and forth in sync with the waves—these are likely to be Sanderlings. While other shorebirds such as plovers and Willets may feed alongside Sanderlings on these outer beaches, this is truly the Sanderling’s domain; these plucky birds often aggressively defend their feeding territories at water’s edge from other shorebirds.
LAUGHING GULL Look for Laughing Gulls at the beach, especially during summer when their crisp black hoods and red bills make them easy to pick out from other gull species. You may also notice that their back and wings (the mantle) are considerably darker than common medium-sized gulls such as Ringbilled Gulls; this can also help you to pick them out from a crowd.
RING BILLED GULL Look for these gulls in parking lots, at sporting events, and around sewage ponds and garbage dumps. You may see them foraging for insects and worms in newly plowed fields, or perching atop light poles near shopping malls and fast-food restaurants. They also frequent reservoirs, lakes, marshes, mudflats, and beaches.
LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL This bird can be found around any body of water but prefers beaches and flats and are often with flocks of other large gulls. They are common in Eurasia. Population in North America has increased dramatically in the last couple decades; now regular on the Atlantic coast, they are rarer inland and farther west.
BIRDING TIPS
1. Be quiet. Birds are easily startled by loud noises and will flee when startled. It’s nearly impossible to sneak up on a bird, because birds hear much better than human beings do. By minimizing noise, you can get much closer to a bird. 2. Avoid sudden movements. Just as loud noises startle birds, so does sudden movement. Getting close to a bird means stalking it, and moving slowly and deliberately. Sudden, jerky movements, even when swinging your binoculars up to your eyes, can make a bird nervous and fly away. The closer you are to a bird, proceed slowly and quietly. 3. Follow the crowd. In the non-breeding season (the winter months in most of North America), many small songbirds join flocks of mixed species both for protection and to make finding food easier. Typically, these flocks are largely silent, but there will almost always be one or two birds making call notes. Following a single calling bird will often lead you to a larger feeding flock. 4. Study habitat. Each bird is specially adapted to a particular habitat. Meadowlarks prefer large open
fields, woodpeckers need trees, sparrows favor thickets, for example. What you see will depend in large part on where you look. 5. Work the flocks. Your chance of finding an unusual bird is far greater in a flock, because more birds are available to look at. Banding studies have shown that when you think you have 10 chickadees in your yard, probably 20 exist. When you think you have seen all 20 sparrows in the brush pile, there are probably 20 more. 6. Be patient. A sparrow hopping around in a bush will eventually move into a spot where you can get a good look. Bird watching is often about being patient and waiting for the birds to show themselves. 7. Get the sun at your back. If you are able to, move around so the sun is behind you. This will make it much easier to see and identify birds. When the bird is between you and the sun, color disappears, and the bird you are trying to identify may be just a black silhouette.
NOTES
LEGEND
(C) - Commonly seen (U) - Uncommonly seen
Thank you to our fellow member Dr. Burton Greenberg for providing all the content and assisting with the preparation of this booklet. If any birds are sighted that do not appear on this list, they may be considered rare. Please notify the marketing department at 561-775-3327, to report bird updates. Additional checklists are available at the POA office.
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