My Birding World

It’s been nearly a week since the beginning of the Bay Area shelter in place order, and just a few days into the California mandate to stay at home. I’ve been trying to take special care to ensure that I maintain social distancing, but I’m also currently pausing my park visits. We are allowed to go to parks for exercise, but so far I’ve been preferring to walk in my neighborhood since I figure the parks would be quite populated. I’m still adjusting to this new reality as is everyone else, and perhaps I’ll sneak in a park visit soon.

Birding is an important part of my life, and in an effort to maintain some sense of normalcy, I created a list of birding-related activities to do during these times that I wanted to share.

Bird from your window, backyard, or patio

I’m starting to slow down my pace of life. For example, I’m eating meals at the dinner table and not mindlessly shoveling down food in front of a computer. During one of my recent relaxing meals next to the window, I spotted an American Crow carrying a stick. I watched it land and spotted a nest! I would have never noticed this camouflaged nest had I not been watching the birds while eating. Now I have something to watch during the breeding season.

Crack open your field guide or use AllAboutBirds.org to study birds

Have you mastered gulls yet? Sparrows? Sandpipers? Warblers? Now is a good time to start!

Plan future birding trips

This is definitely not a good time to travel, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan a future trip once things get back to normal. Get planning now so that you can easily put it into action.

Sign up for a course on Bird Academy

I’ve signed up for three courses thus far. The first one I finished over the span of a year and a half – “Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology.” This is really science-based. I learned about the physics of flight, biology, ecology, and more.

I’m in the process of going through the “Be a Better Birder: Shorebird Identification Archived Live Series” and “Be a Better Birder: Warbler Identification.” The first course is a recorded webinar from a few years ago, but it’s still very helpful. The second course is designed for web-based learning and so far has been enjoyable.

Paint, draw, color, needlepoint, or other projects that involve birds

Are you crafty or want to start a new creative outlet? Merge your favorite pastimes!

Subscribe to a birding magazine

What better way to spend the time indoors than reading about birds! My favorite is the Bird Watcher’s Digest which takes me a long time to read. It’s worth every penny.

Talk a walk around the block

It’s OK to get exercise! Just be sure to practice social distancing in order to keep you, family, and others safe. I already spotted an Oak Titmouse nest cavity and a possible California Scrub-Jay nesting site by slowing down and looking at the local birds.

Watch a webcam

There are a lot of webcams! Check out some of these:

Watch documentaries and nature shows

Got Netflix or other streaming services? Look at their selection of nature shows. No streaming service? Go to YouTube! One tried-and-true movie that is awesome is The Big Year (2011).

Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020: Macro/Attention to Detail

March 8, 2020 Elizabeth Olin

California Towhee: Face Details

For the month of February, I pursued bird photos with “attention to detail” as the focus. In other words, pay attention to features of birds that can be often overlooked.

The most difficult part of this theme was getting close enough to the birds to capture details (or at least close enough to crop later on) without spooking them. My 400mm lens, while very powerful, still required birds to be a bit closer for this theme. However, I did manage to pull off a few pictures, mainly head shots, that I enjoyed. I hope you like them too!

Golden-Crowned Sparrow, Face & Wing Details

Wild Turkey, Upper Body Details

See Monthly Bird Photo Project for details of this project, and the February 2020 post.

OAS Trip: Redwood Regional Park

February 27, 2020 Elizabeth Olin

This past weekend I co-led a bird walk for the Ohlone Audubon Society. We visited my favorite park: Redwood Regional Park, now named Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park.

Over 30 birders attended, which made me nervous about making sure we used the full three hours and keeping participants engaged. My fears were calmed after we spent a full 30 minutes just birding in the parking lot.

I saw more Varied Thrushes on this trip alone than I probably have in my entire birding experience! It helps to have several dozen extra sets of eyes. The top moment of the trip was when a Pacific Wren sang its little heart out for at five minutes or more while we all watched. I rarely see these mouse-like creatures, so it was a joy to sit and watch one for such an extended period of time. It was also a “lifer” for many participants, which made it all the more special.

Hermit Thrush, 2020

Joining a bird walk with locals is a great way to learn more about birds, get to know an area, and meet people with a similar interest. You can look for local Audubon groups that sponsor trips or do a search on Facebook for other birding groups. If there is none, start your own! I’ve joined several Facebook birding groups that are out of state so that I can study the pictures and learn their local birds. If I’m planning to travel to that location, reviewing the discussions can yield insider tips on hot spots.

This weekend marked the one-year anniversary of my participation in Ohlone Audubon Society trips (I wrote about my first trip here). I’ve also been participating in the Fremont Birding Circle field trips for several years. I’ve met some wonderful people, and despite being an introvert, I always look forward to these bird group gatherings.

Gull ID Project: Introduction & California Gulls

February 17, 2020 Elizabeth Olin

Various Gulls

“GULLS? No Waaaayyeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” This is my favorite line in Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification by Pete Dunne & Kevin T. Karlson.

My sentiments exactly. I have avoided diving into gull identification for many years. Gull plumage and hybrids make my head swirl. Then one day I read a review in the Bird Watcher’s Digest magazine for the aforementioned book, which took a more non-plumage approach to gull ID. After reading this and in combination with a field guide, I am starting to find gull ID not so scary.

I plan to write about common SF Bay Area gulls and include a few tips on ID. I found that starting with local birds and focusing on adults was the best way to ease into this project.

First up, the California Gull (CAGU).

There are a few things I look for right away when I’m hoping to ID an adult gull, including eye color, bill shape/coloring, and legs. This is usually enough to get me started.

California Gull, Non-Breeding Adult

Adult California Gull: Basics
Eye Color: Dark
Bill Shape: Straight with no bulk
Bill Color: Yellow with red and black spots
Legs: Yellow

If all these traits line up, then chances are you’ve got yourself an adult CAGU! I used these four features to start identifying these gulls until I felt a bit more comfortable with picking them out of a crowd.

You can see just enough of the four traits to ID this as a California Gull. Note the yellow legs, dark eye, black & red spotted straight bill.

The following features were tips I learned from the Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification book:

California Gull: Going Deeper
Standing Position: The body dips at the end so that the tail is angled downward. Compare that to the very horizontal stance of other gulls like Ring-billed Gulls.

Winter Plumage: On adults, there is grayish spotting that is concentrated on the back of the neck. This is a different spotting pattern than other winter gulls where the entire head and neck are splotchy.

CAGU, Subadult. Note the tilted stance with the tail angled towards the bottom. Subadults also have blue legs.

There you go! Of course, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of CAGU ID, but at least the adults should be a bit easier to identify. Sit down with a bunch of gulls in a parking lot and spend some time looking at the differences in eye color, leg color, how they are standing, and anything else that seems different. Take pictures and study them at home, draw them in a notebook – whatever works to help commit this to memory!

Warbler Wobble

February 11, 2020 Elizabeth Olin

AH-CHOO!

Crum. I don’t sneeze unless it’s related to allergies. How can I be sneezing in February? Sneezing, migraine, and vertigo settle in, rendering me unable to do anything but whine on the couch. Sounds of construction overpower any chance of hearing bird activity outside, except for the occasional crow.

This goes on for a couple days when I finally throw on some shoes and risk the great outdoors of my neighborhood. I have to be careful to not swing my head around too much lest the vertigo send a not-so-subtle reminder that I can’t walk straight. “Warbler neck,” the term used to describe neck soreness after staring up into tree tops for warblers, has turned into my dizzying version called “Warbler Wobble.”

The warm, golden glow of the sun cheers me up instantly, accompanied with a chorus of bird calls claiming territories for singing love songs. The Oak Titmouse is the loudest this early evening, with Anna’s Hummingbirds, Lesser Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, and Yellow-rumped Warblers offering backing vocals.

I stand in one spot straining my neck to see the finches and warblers without the help of binoculars. I’m hoping that the neighbors don’t think I’m weird, although I’ve worn my “Can’t Talk Now… I’m Birding” t-shirt for good measure.

While staring up, I see a woodpecker silhouette on a telephone pole. Wow, what a lot of red! Wait, it’s a Red-breasted Sapsucker! Only the second time I’ve seen one in this neighborhood over the years.

AH-CHOO!

There’s my clue that I’ve overextended my stay in the outdoors. I slowly walk home absorbing all the sweet calls and delighted to see a special bird to cheer me up.

Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020: Bird Groups

February 2, 2020 Elizabeth Olin

Sanderlings and Western Sandpipers Take Flight

See Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020 blog post for details of this project.

For the month of January, I selected the focus of “bird groups” for my year-long photo project. I chose this theme knowing that we would go to Sacramento NWR where there are thousands of geese that often take flight for stunning photo opportunities. Therefore, “bird groups” would be an easy first month project, right?

Wrong.

Group shots are harder than I expected, especially if you’re simultaneously learning to use the camera in manual mode. On the technical side, I found that my photos were overexposed, blurry, or too dark. On the artistic side, I found photo composition for groups difficult, especially when the subject includes fidgety birds. If you want a nicely composed photo, it seems that you can’t just take a picture of a group of birds. This comes out boring with no interesting story to tell. I learned that there needs to be more intentionality behind the composition if the photo is to shine.

For nearly two weeks, I tried taking more group photos, and none were coming out the way I envisioned. Subjects were too far or covered by distracting objects like branches. Birds mingled too far apart, making spacing awkward. It was interesting to see the various factors that frustrated my efforts.

Luck seems to be a big part of the game, and I did luck out on a few shots later in the month. Below are the results. I still have more learning to do, but this was an interesting way to begin this project.

Various Gulls Avoiding the Splash

Sanderlings and Western Sandpipers

Sanderlings and Western Sandpipers Take Flight

Rock Pigeons

Ross’s Geese and Snow Geese at Sunset

Return of the Swallows

January 11, 2020 Elizabeth Olin

Tree Swallow Getting Ready for Nesting, 2016

I step out into the chilly air, reluctantly escaping the warmth of the car. The sky is blue, the hills are green, and the ponds are inviting me to explore the wintering waterfowl. I make my way towards the water when something catches my attention in the corner of my eye. Actually, make that several somethings. Dark shadows are playfully darting in no discernable pattern across the sky. The swallows are back!

Swallows are starting to become active as they arrive back to the Bay Area. Returning from a winter absence to their breeding grounds, they bring a splash of color and excitement to the skies.

We tend to get several types of swallows with some occasional visits by rarities. Barn Swallows, Cliff Swallows, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Tree Swallows, and Violet-green Swallows will soon become a common sight. (Tree Swallows are here year-round although seemingly not as active.)

Take a moment to watch the swallows as they dart and dive in a mysterious pattern in the sky. They are a joy to witness.

Monthly Bird Photo Project 2020

January 1, 2020 Elizabeth Olin

Steller’s Jay, 2016

About 10 years ago, I bought my first entry-level DLSR camera. I was interested in photography and focused on plants and objects with patterns or vibrant colors. Fast forward a few years, and I discovered my passion for birding. I blended the two interests and evolved into a very amateur “birder with a camera.” I mainly used my camera for ID shots to help me learn more about birds. Occasionally I would land an interesting shot that sparked an emotional response. I yearned to learn more about photography, and yet the technical challenges of the camera set me back. I tried reading photography books, but I found it hard to translate the concepts into the skills required to photograph quick-moving and distant birds. I was overwhelmed and simply stuck with ID shots.

2019 marked new beginnings with birding and photography. I upgraded my camera to a semi-professional model (Canon 7D mk II) and purchased a telephoto lens (100-400mm). I also read Mastering Bird Photography by Marie Read – finally a book written for my specific interests! She strikes a perfect balance of technical advice and guidance on composition that was inspiring and well-paced. It was a lot to absorb and I’ll certainly need to reread it multiple times to fully grasp the foundations, but it encouraged me to take that fear-inducing step of turning the dial to Manual Mode.

To encourage my development in bird photography, I’m going to do a bird photo New Year’s resolution. Each month, I’ll focus on a bird theme for practice. My goal isn’t to turn into a photographer per se, but rather to remain true to my birding roots while capturing images that bring emotion or awareness to birds. Let’s see if this goal helps with that. I’ll be sure to post the images each month.

Happy New Year!

New Year’s Resolution

December 28, 2019 Elizabeth Olin

Western Bluebird, 2019

I enjoy making goals and checking them off my “To Do” list. It’s gratifying and I feel accomplished. The ultimate feat is to stick with a New Year’s resolution and master it for an entire year. What an accomplishment!

Except, it doesn’t always work out.

We strive to eat healthier, exercise, stop swearing, lay off the sweets, and so on. Yet, we are often back to our usual routine after a month, a week, or a few days. I remember one year I resolved to regularly exercise on my own. That resolution lasted one day. I did some isometric exercises on January 1 and then quit.

Over the past several years, I’ve largely stopped with the New Year’s resolutions knowing that it can be super difficult to maintain all year. However, I recently revisited the idea of making resolutions but with a new spin – birding! In 2018, I decided that I would try to submit a birding checklist to eBird every single day. It was amazing! I learned so much from that experience. I now know that Oak Titmice are here in the Bay Area all year, it’s just that they go quiet during certain times of the year when I thought they had left. Cedar Waxwings stick around much longer than I thought. I found birds in unlikely places, like random gas stations in the middle of nowhere on a road trip, which I birded in a panic having forgotten to do my bird list for the day during the long drive.

Accomplishing this goal wasn’t easy. Some days I really had to force myself to do a list. Weather, emotions, and rushing around all presented barriers, but it was worth carving out the 10 or 15 minutes to tune into the birds. By the end of the year, I had accomplished my goal.

For 2019, I decided to continue the daily birding since it felt weird not submit a checklist for each day. I also added a resolution to participate in all the monthly eBird challenges. This ranged from submitting recordings of birds, submitting multiple checklists in a single day, or tracking my birding route on a mobile device. I also did long-term challenges that included submitting over 90 checklists with sound recordings over a period of several months. I keep hoping that I’ll win a pair of binoculars for participating in the challenges, but so far, no luck. Earlier this month, I completed the final eBird challenge for December – another resolution met!

What will it be for 2020? Create a carbon-free lifer list? Patch birding? Photo Big Year? I haven’t decided. What are your birding goals?

December eBird Challenge – Media Submissions

December 15, 2019 Elizabeth Olin

I am participating in the December eBird challenge to submit 20 checklists with media attached (recordings or photos). It’s a repeat of a challenge from the spring, which I completed with ease as I recorded lots of birds singing for the breeding season. However, this month is uniquely different. In one word – rain.

We need the rain and I’ve been so happy that we finally have moisture to dampen our bone-dry hills. But I’m not about to drag my camera out into the storms. So I’m focusing on recordings again. During the downpours, the birds are generally tucked away and I’m similarly rushing for cover from the elements. When it does stop raining, the birds are out and about trying to nab food. Humans are out too and quite noisy. I’m suddenly aware of how much construction is around with various loud beeps and buzzes alerting the town to big trucks in reverse. The city noise unsurprisingly drowns out the birds in my recordings.

One morning, I tried to capture at least one recording. The birds were too far in one recording and barely audible even with the volume on max. Another attempt captured a loud garbage truck that suddenly appeared as soon as I clicked “record.” In yet another attempt, the subject stopped calling immediately after I set up the phone. I finally landed a recording of a group of Dark-eyed Juncos, although foot traffic and cars driving by were captured in the background. It’ll have to do.

I previously wrote about the challenges of recording in an urban environment, but this December challenge seems unusually difficult, probably because outdoor activity from all creatures (birds and humans) is condensed into pockets of time between storms creating a blur of competing background noise. Plus, birds aren’t quite as vocal as the spring. I find it quite interesting to see these differences from the exact same challenge in two very different months!

A Birding Blog by Elizabeth Olin

Birding in Place

March 22, 2020 Elizabeth Olin