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Month: November 2020

Birding with Codes

Birding with Codes

Snowy Egret

Snowy Egret: SNEG

I’ve been a user of eBird for several years now. It’s a database of bird observations. The data collected is then used for research purposes. I find it cool that a simple effort on my part is contributing to science and bird conservation efforts. (To find out more, check out ebird.org. There’s also a free online course on the Cornell Lab Bird Academy website that explains how to use it.)

I prefer to use eBird on my smartphone, as it’s super convenient to use. At least, it felt easy until I got carpal tunnel syndrome earlier this year. My smartphone suddenly felt like a brick – awkward to hold and very heavy for my already-pained fingers.

Time to adapt. For now, I’m starting an eBird checklist on my phone so that it can calculate the distance I’ve traveled. Then I tuck my phone into my pocket for the rest of the trip. To record my observations, I have a lightweight notepad and a gel pen, which glides easier than a ball point pen.

To lessen the amount of writing, I use the standard four-letter bird codes – a shorthand for recording bird observations. This is widely used in the birding community and is featured in eBird as an option for inputting a bird’s name. When I get home, I transfer my written observations onto eBird in a way that is better for my hands.

Black-Crowned Night Heron

Black-crowned Night Heron: BCNH

I’ll admit, the codes are daunting! However, the more I use them the more I realize that there’s a clear pattern that emerges making it easy to figure out codes on the fly. It did take some practice, and I started off with practicing the codes for just the birds at my feeder.

Below are my observations about the codes – but use whatever shorthand that works for you! I use the Institute for Bird Populations for reference, using the PDF that organizes it by English name.

Boat-Tailed Grackle

Boat-tailed Grackle: BTGR

Bird Names with One Word

For birds whose name is only one word, such as Bufflehead or Killdeer, all you have to do is take the first four letters of its name to come up with the code.

Bufflehead = BUFF
Killdeer = KILL

Bird Names with Two Words

For two words, you typically take the first two letters of each word, then combine them to create the four-letter code. There are exceptions, but overall this is the general pattern.

Anna’s Hummingbird = AN + HU = ANHU
Black Phoebe = BL + PH = BLPH
Lesser Goldfinch = LE + GO = LEGO
Snowy Egret = SN + EG = SNEG

Exception: California Towhee is CALT instead of CATO. There may be other exceptions but I haven’t come across them yet – at least for Bay Area birds.

Bird Names with Four Words

I’m going to temporarily skip the three-worded names because it’s more complex and I’ll bet I’ll lose you instantly. Instead, this category is much easier as there’s not as many birds with four words in a name.

For this category, you simply take the first letter of each word to create the code. There’s no concern about whether or not the words are hyphenated. There are some exceptions to this pattern, of course.

Black-crowned Night Heron = B + C + N + H = BCNH

Exceptions:
There are two in particular I’m aware of, but there’s probably more: Black-throated Gray Warbler and Black-throated Green Warbler. The problem with these two birds is that they would both end up as BTGW! So instead, the codes reflect the last letter of the third word.

Black-throated Gray Warbler = BTYW
Black-throated Green Warbler = BTNW

Bird Names with Three Words

I find this category the most difficult. It seems to depend on whether there is a hyphen present and where. I don’t always remember where hyphens are in names, so that can present a problem. This may be a category where it’s easier to create your own shorthand.

For no hyphens, the general pattern is to take the first letter of the first two words, and the first two letters from the third word. For example:

American Tree Sparrow = A + T + SP = ATSP

When there is a hyphen, the rule I’ve observed is that the two hyphenated words offer only one letter to the code, regardless of their position.

Examples where the first two words are hyphenated:

Black-headed Grosbeak = B + H (hyphenated) + GR (no hyphen) = BHGR
Golden-crowned Sparrow = G + C (hyphenated) + SP (no hyphen) = GCSP

Examples where the last two words are hyphenated:

Western Screech-Owl = WE (no hyphen) + S + O (hyphenated) = WESO
Northern Pygmy-Owl = NO (no hyphen) + P + O (hyphenated) = NOPO

A Day at Colusa NWR

A Day at Colusa NWR

Colusa NWR

For the last several years, we started a tradition of driving out to Sacramento NWR on January 1. It’s a great way to ring in the new year with thousands of wintering geese that fill the air with their brilliant white feathers and calls. This year, we added Colusa NWR to the tradition. It’s a smaller refuge (a three-mile auto tour compared to six miles), but it has a more intimate feel to it.

Today we did something drastic. It’s not January 1 yet (although many of us are ready to kick 2020 to the side and start a new year), but we decided to drive out to Colusa – in the middle of November! I’m a creature of habit, so this was a big adventure.

Colusa NWr

The air was crisp and cool, but not freezing like our January trips. The sky was a brilliant blue that highlighted the white and black features of the Snow and Ross’s Geese as they circled in the air. Thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds noisily lifted up in large groups to relocate to another spot. I scanned each group for signs of Yellow-headed Blackbirds, but only found shining red shoulder patches glinting in the sun.

Other birds were less hyper. Dozens of Black-crowned Night Herons roosted in trees along a stream, savoring the stillness. A Red-shouldered Hawk eyed us suspiciously as we drove by, but never left its concealed post in the tree. I exchanged hoots with a Great Horned Owl that started calling as the sun started to hide behind the hills.

Sora Camouflaged

Camouflaged Sora

A special treat was finding a Sora expertly camouflaged against the reeds. And to add to the excitement was spotting a couple of flying Sandhill Cranes. Turning off the car engine and sitting in the still peace of the refuge with the cranes sounding their rattling bugle calls was as good as it gets.

Sandhill Cranes

Sandhill Cranes

Although I had my camera at the ready on my lap, I largely ignored it in favor of savoring the moment. It’s exactly what I needed to refresh my soul and appreciate the sights, colors, and sounds of nature.