BirdWatching July Issue

A DUCKLING IN AN OWL’S NEST • BIRDING SOUTH AFRICA
August 2019
Attract • Find • Identify • Enjoy
12 top
cameras
Hummingbirds!
• ID tips from Kenn Kaufman
• Their unique flight abilities
+ The fun new board

game about birds
David Sibley’s keys
to identifying
shorebirds
LUCIFER HUMMINGBIRD:
Learn where and when to
look for and how to ID this
Southwestern specialty.
Page 38
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July/August 2019 Vol.33 No.4
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FEATURES IN EVERY ISSUE

COVER STORY 2 From the editor
14 Photography gear for birders 5 Birding briefs
The market for birder-friendly cameras and lenses is changing A great nesting season for South Florida
fast. Here’s what you need to know to find the right photography wading birds, news about woodpecker
equipment for you. BY WILLIAM JOBES evolution, a duckling in an owl’s nest box,
recent rare birds, and more.
20 Preventing window strikes
New York’s Project Safe Flight volunteers take on the grim task of 6 Since you asked JULIE CRAVES
documenting birds that hit the city’s glass buildings. What pellets tell us about screech-owl diets,
BY SOPHIE BUTCHER and why feeder birds rarely show up during
the middle of the day.
26 Game changer
Why a new board game is an expected gateway to birding. 8 On the move EBIRD
BY JULIA ZARANKIN Migration maps for Eastern Phoebe and
Red-headed Woodpecker.
32 South African safari superstars
A dozen amazing birds and other wildlife of the Rainbow 12 Birder at large PETE DUNNE
Nation. BY MATT MENDENHALL Why field trips lie at the heart of
birdwatching.
43 Hotspots near you COVER STORY
Tips, maps, and directions for places to find birds in California
40 ID tips KENN KAUFMAN
and Oregon. BY JESSE GREENSPAN AND SCOTT GILBERT
Identifying Lucifer Hummingbird.
46 Amazing birds ELDON GREIJ

How hummingbirds fly is astonishing.
12 top 48 Attracting birds LAURA ERICKSON

Our noisy world often stifles the joy of
cameras, listening to birds.
p. 14 55 Classifieds
56 ID toolkit DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY
Keys to identifying shorebirds.
FROM OUR READERS

48 Your view
Readers’ photos of Lewis’s Woodpecker,
American Oystercatcher, Florida Scrub-Jay,
and more.
COVER PHOTO Lucifer Hummingbird

welcomia/Shutterstock
by Bob Gress
Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: Flickr: BirdWatching Follow us on Instagram:

BirdWatchingMagazine @BirdWatchDaily group photo pool @birdwatchingmagazine
fromtheeditor
Editor Matt Mendenhall
Founding Editor Eldon D. Greij
Contributing Editors Julie Craves, Pete Dunne,
Carrying the torch Laura Erickson, Kenn Kaufman, David Allen Sibley
Editorial Consultant Lee Mergner
ART & PRODUCTION

You likely have heard the news by now, but Art Director Carolyn V. Marsden
in case you haven’t, the birding community lost Graphic Designer Haley Nunes
one of its brightest stars on March 25, when Bill OPERATIONS

Vice President, Strategy Jason Pomerantz
Thompson III died only a few months after Operations Coordinator Toni Eunice
being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Bill Human Resources Generalist Alicia Roach
was the editor and co-publisher of Bird Supervisor, Client Services Cheyenne Corliss
Senior Client Services Associate Tou Zong Her
Watcher’s Digest, the magazine that his parents Client Services Aubrie Britto, Darren Cormier, Andrea Palli
founded more than 40 years ago, and the Accounting Director Amanda Joyce
author of numerous books, including The New Birder’s Guide to Birds of Accounts Payable Associate Tina McDermott
Accounts Receivable Associate Wayne Tuggle
North America.
DIGITAL OPERATIONS
Approximately 12 hours before Bill passed away, the president of the
Senior Director, Digital Projects Renee Dextradeur
American Birding Association, Jeffrey Gordon, awarded Bill the ABA’s Wordpress Developer David Glassman
highest honor, the Roger Tory Peterson Award for Promoting the Cause of Senior Digital Designer Mike Decker
Birding. It was a well-deserved honor for Bill, who had been “among the SALES & MARKETING
most visible, creative, vital, and effective advocates for birding, birders, and Media Solutions Director Scott Luksh
sluksh@madavor.com
bird conservation,” as Jeff wrote. (You can read about the award and see a Senior Media Solutions Manager Bob Meth
video of the presentation at the ABA blog, http://blog.aba.org.) bmeth@madavor.com
Senior Media Solutions Manager Alexandra Piccirilli
To honor Bill’s memory and to continue his legacy of welcoming and
apiccirilli@madavor.com
inspiring new birders, Bird Watcher’s Digest established the Bill Thompson, Client Services clientservices@madavor.com
III, Young Birders Fund. Visit www.birdwatchersdigest.com to learn more Marketing Director Andrew Yeum
Marketing Associate Tommy Goodale
about it and how to contribute.
Social Media Manager
Bill’s legacy will live on through the fund and also through those of us Tim Doolan
who care enough about birds and nature to make a difference. If I may, I’d Content Marketing Associates
Anthony Buzzeo, Joanna Cassidy
like to ask what you do to help birds. Do you garden with native plants,
participate in bird counts or atlas projects, lobby elected officials, or teach EXECUTIVE
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Wolk
kids about nature? Or something else? Write to me at the address below and Chief Operating Officer Peter Madden
we’ll compile readers’ answers for a future article. Thanks for all you do. SVP, Sales & Marketing Robin Morse
Vice President, Business Operations Courtney Whitaker
Newsstand Weekly Retail Service

(888) 999-9839
RetailServices@kable.com
In memory of Susan Fitzgerald, COO, 1966-2018
Matt Mendenhall, editor Customer Service

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Butterflies, and Other participants. hummingbirds in your yard.
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GOING UP: A Wood Stork cares for its chicks. In 2018, the species produced 5,777 nests in South Florida, the third-highest count since the late 1960s.
A record-setting year
South Florida wading birds had their most productive breeding season in decades in 2018
A record-smashing “This is the largest annual large number of nests conducive to promoting prey
number of wading birds nesting effort observed since produced by the White Ibis availability” for the robust
produced nests in South comprehensive system-wide (100,784 nests), which was nesting season.
Florida in 2018, according to surveys began in South almost five times the 10-year Before nesting began,
a report released in mid-May Florida in 1995 and is average (20,444.1 nests) and record-breaking wet
by the South Florida Water comparable with the more than double the conditions occurred for
Management District. historical large nesting previous record of 47,001 extended periods across large
During the 2018 nesting events that occurred in the nests in 2009. The federally areas of the landscape,
season (December 2017 to 1930s and ’40s,” wrote avian threatened Wood Stork providing ideal conditions
July 2018), an estimated ecologist and lead author produced 5,777 nests, which for growing prey populations.
138,834 nests were initiated Mark Cook. “It surpasses the was 2.4 times the 10-year “This was then followed by a
by the herons, egrets, previous banner nesting average (2,448.1 nests) and winter-spring dry season that
spoonbills, ibises, and storks season (2009) by over 51,000 the third-largest nesting was drier than average and
that nest in the Everglades nests and is approximately effort for storks since the provided the necessary water
and surrounding region. The 3.5 times the 10-year average 1960s.” level recession rates and
Everglades is arguably the (39,850.6 nests). Cook credited “an unprec- water depths for concentrat-
most important area for “All species exhibited edented series of fortuitous ing prey and providing
waterbirds in North increased nesting effort climatic and hydrological wading bird foraging habitat
America. during 2018. Of note was the conditions that were highly until late in the dry season.”
w w w. B i rd Wa t c h i n g D a i l y. c o m 5
sinceyouasked
YOUR QUESTIONS
ANSWERED BY
BIRD BANDER EYE ON CONSERVATION
JULIE CRAVES
Q
I found two screech-owl
pellets this past
December. One of the
pellets contained crayfish
claws! I was surprised
that crayfish are active in
the winter. The other
pellet had what looked
like Downy Woodpecker
feathers. I didn’t know
that screech-owls hunted
other birds. Could the
Ciro Albano
woodpecker have been
dead when the owl fed on
it? Or do they only hunt CRITICALLY ENDANGERED: Araripe Manakin can be seen at the Oasis Araripe Reserve and a few other spots
living animals? — Amy in northeast Brazil.
Donoghue, Plymouth,
Michigan Go birding, save species
Like sparkling gems in a glittering crown of After several ABC-supported reserve
A
Eastern Screech-Owls are protected areas, American Bird Conservancy’s expansions and the construction of a dining
opportunistic feeders. They reserve network spans more than 1 million hall, the reserve is now one of the most visited
generally sit and scan for prey to acres across 90 sites in 15 countries. Taken in the network.
come into view and have a very together, these ABC-supported reserves ABC recently relaunched its Conservation
broad diet. Rodents and small provide habitat for thousands of bird species — Birding website to make it easier for birders to
songbirds are common prey 2,900, to be exact, including Araripe Manakin, visit the reserves — and, in turn, support the
items, as are dozens of different Jocotoco Antpitta, Marvelous Spatuletail, conservation of endangered birds and their
kinds of invertebrates. and many other species that rank among the habitats. The site provides bird checklists,
In winter, mice and voles are Western Hemisphere’s rarest. suggested itineraries, descriptions of reserve
the most common prey in the Creating reserves is often just the first step accommodations, and more, to encourage
northern part of the owls’ range, in the conservation story, however. ABC created visits to these bird-rich countries, where ABC
but resident birds such as the Conservation Birding protects many endemic and
woodpeckers are certainly on the initiative to promote birding range-restricted species
menu. Scavenging on carrion is tourism to the reserves, along with its partners in
quite rare in small North where accommodation fees Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia,
American owls, although help cover the costs of the Costa Rica, Ecuador,
screech-owls are known to guard stations, monitoring, Jamaica, and Peru.
cache items for later and other management Multi-stop birding
consumption, so they do eat activities necessary to keep a protected area routes suggest ways to bird northeast Brazil,
dead prey. truly conserved. the northeast Andes, and southern Ecuador.
As for the crayfish, they are One example of Conservation Birding is By following the northeast Brazil route, for
well-documented in screech-owl the Tanagers Reserve, created in 2009 by instance, birders can venture from the tropical
diets and can make up a Fundación ProAves with support from ABC. hill forest of the Baturité region south to Serra
substantial portion in the Located five hours southwest of Colombia’s do Urubu, where Seven-colored Tanager can
breeding season. Owl territories second-largest city, Medellín, the reserve be seen along with a garden brimming with
(continued on page 8) protects the Chocó rainforest habitat of two 20 hummingbird species. Another stop along
endemic bird species: Gold-ringed and Black- the route provides views of hundreds of Lear’s
and-gold Tanagers. It’s also home to more than Macaws, reliably making a colorful, noisy splash
Julie Craves is an ecologist and the 400 other documented bird species, such as of blue against the red sandstone canyons
retired director of the Rouge River Violet-tailed Sylph and Indigo Flowerpiercer. where they roost and nest.
Bird Observatory in Dearborn,
American Bird Conservancy is a 501(c)(3), not-for-profit organization whose mission is to conserve native birds and their habitats
Michigan. Read her blog at
throughout the Americas. You can learn more about Conservation Birding at https://conservationbirding.org.
http://net-results.blogspot.com.
6 B i r d Wa t c h i n g
birdingbriefs
Lookalike woodpeckers
Plumage mimicry explains why some woodpeckers imitate a neighbor’s appearance
A black back, a white belly, South America. way feather color and pattern world’s woodpecker species. It
white spots on the wings, and Recently, scientists develop,” explains lead author became clear, Miller says, that
a red spot on the back of the published evidence that some Eliot Miller of the Cornell Lab. distantly related woodpeckers
male’s crown are all field woodpeckers have evolved to “Species in similar environ- have come to closely resemble
marks for Downy and Hairy look like another species of ments can look similar to one each other when they live in
Woodpeckers. The Hairy is woodpecker in the same another. But in some cases, the same region of the globe.
notably larger than the neighborhood. The research- there’s another factor The study didn’t specifi-
Downy, but size can be ers say that this “plumage influencing the remarkable cally address the reason
difficult to judge, making mimicry” isn’t a fluke — it resemblance between two Downy Woodpeckers look
these woodpeckers challeng- happens among pairs of woodpecker species, and that’s like Hairies, but Miller
ing to differentiate, especially distantly related woodpeckers mimicry. It’s the same speculates that the larger,
for new birders. all over the world. The study, phenomenon found in some more aggressive Hairies
Other North American published in April 2019 in the butterflies that have evolved might make other birds, such
lookalikes are Black-backed journal Nature Communica- markings that make them as nuthatches and titmice,
and American Three-toed tions, was conducted by look like a different bad- think twice about competing
Woodpeckers of the northern researchers at the Cornell Lab tasting or toxic species in with Downies for food. Some
and western forests. In of Ornithology, SUNY order to ward off predators.” evidence supporting this idea
Europe, Great and Lesser Buffalo State, the University Study authors combined has been found in observa-
Spotted Woodpeckers bear a of British Columbia, and data on feather color, DNA tional studies, but field
striking resemblance, as do Manchester University. sequences, eBird reports, and experiments would be needed
the Lineated, Robust, and “Habitat, climate, and NASA satellite measures of to more conclusively test the
Helmeted Woodpeckers of genetics play a huge role in the vegetation for all 230 of the hypothesis.
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sinceyouasked
(continued from page 6)
ON THE MOVE FROM eBIRD
need not be near ponds or
Maps show seasonal movements of woodpecker, phoebe
streams for crayfish to become
meals. Burrowing or terrestrial Red-headed Woodpecker
crayfish can be found far away
from permanent waterbodies.
They are nocturnal, and some
August 2008-18 January 2008-18
Red-headed Woodpecker, one of North America’s most distinctive breeding birds, does not follow a
Amy Donoghue
regular migratory pattern but instead moves in response to the availability of beechnuts, pecans,
acorns, and other hard mast. The maps above plot where eBird users reported the species in
summer and winter over the last decade. In August, the species is found in most of the eastern
TOO COOL: This screech-owl United States and in portions of southern Canada. The western edge of its breeding range is in
pellet contained crayfish eastern Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Its preferred breeding habitat is a wooded area with
claws. openings, along with dead limbs or snags, where they nest in cavities. By January, the species has
common species are active in all withdrawn from the northern reaches of its breeding range to areas of the Midwest and Southeast,
but the coldest weather. Their where it occurs year-round. Listen for the species’ characteristic call, a harsh queearr, repeated by
burrows extend to just below the males during the breeding season.
freeze line in soil, and these
“land lobsters” may emerge
Eastern Phoebe
during more moderate weather
to feed on plant material,
detritus, or other organic matter,
exposing them to hungry owls.
Q Why do birds always

leave my feeders in
midday? They feed in
the morning and later in
the afternoon, but not
around noon. — Shelley
Packard, Owings,
August 2008-18 January 2008-18
Maryland Eastern Phoebe is normally one of the earliest flycatchers to return to breeding areas throughout the
Midwest and Northeast, and pairs will commonly initiate their first nest before many of the other
A
This bimodal pattern of flycatchers have returned. In August, Eastern Phoebe occurs across southern Canada east of the
feeding, with more activity early Rockies and throughout all of the eastern U.S. By January, most phoebes have retreated to a range
and late in the day, has been ob- that primarily includes the Southeast United States. The species is uncommon to rare in the winter
served at feeding stations and in portions of the Southwest. Well-known for nesting on porches and other human structures, pairs
in more natural situations, and are generally double-brooded, with the pair remaining together throughout the breeding season.
often in the non-breeding sea- Listen for the species’ stereotyped two-parted song, an alternating fee-bee, fee-b-be-bee.
son. It has been theorized that
early-morning feeding is intense
because birds are replenishing eBird is the real-time online checklist operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Audubon. “On the Move” is written by
eBird’s Garrett MacDonald, Chris Wood, Marshall Iliff, and Brian Sullivan. Submit your sightings at eBird.org.
(continued on page 10)
8 B i r d Wa t c h i n g
birdingbriefs
Secret life of birds

MOM? A young Wood
Duck joins its
temporary surrogate
parent, an Eastern
Screech-Owl, in a
nest-box entrance in a
Florida backyard. A
hen Wood Duck had
laid an egg in the box
before the owl moved
in, and then the owl
incubated the egg.
The duckling later
jumped from the box
and ran toward a
nearby pond, where
its parents were likely
waiting. Read more
about the story on our
website.
Laurie Wolf
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sinceyouasked
(continued from page 8)
PHOTO GALLERY
their energy after a night of fast- Recent rare-bird sightings in North America
ing, and late-day feeding helps
them stockpile reserves for the
night to come. How much energy
— and, therefore, food — a bird
needs might depend on weather,
day length (long winter nights
use up more reserves), the effort
required to find food, and the
quality of the food.
Furthermore, their energetic
needs have to be balanced with
Donna L. Schulman
Joanna Morelli
the risk of predation. Locales

with fewer predators or with
habitat that provides good cover
decrease risk when birds forage. FIRST IN TEXAS: This Black Turnstone, a bird of the FIRST IN NEW YORK: This Common Greenshank, a
A bird might take more risk of West Coast, was seen on May 3 at Sea Rim State widespread species from the Eastern Hemisphere,
exposure if their energy needs Park, on the Upper Texas Coast. was seen in early May at a Long Island golf course.
are high. But birds must also find
the right balance of maintaining
sufficient mass and not bulking
up so much that it impedes their
agility and ability to out-maneu-
ver a predator.
All of these factors contribute
to variations in the intuitive bi-
modal feeding pattern and might
not be simple to discern. For
example, birds that stop feeding
Sreemala Das Majumder
well before dusk might do so be-

cause they have already satisfied
Henry Detwiler
their energetic needs or because
the risk of predation by owls at
dusk is too high for the birds to FIRST IN OKLAHOMA: This Common Black Hawk SECOND IN FLORIDA: On April 25, this Red-legged
continue feeding. Conversely, was spotted overhead at Wichita Mountains Thrush was observed at Lantana Nature Preserve in
birds with access to a feeding Wildlife Refuge on May 5. Palm Beach County.
station well-stocked with quality
food near good cover might only
feed lightly throughout the day
and bulk up just before nightfall
at this reliable source.
Optimal feeding strategies
have fascinated ecologists for
decades, and we still have much
to learn.
Johanne Gagné
Owen Schmidt
Send a question
FIFTH IN QUEBEC: On May 11, this Burrowing Owl SIXTH IN OREGON: This California Thrasher was
Send your question to ask@
was seen at Marais-Kergus Nature Reserve, in seen north of its usual range in a rural area south of
birdwatchingdaily.com or visit
western Quebec. Medford in April and May.
www.BirdWatchingDaily.com
and look for “Contact us.”
10 B i rd Wa t c h i n g
birdingbriefs
John P. McCown, a Confederate

Checklist officer during the Civil War. Drexel
of species names for birds named
after people (Cooper’s Hawk,
proposals University ornithologist Robert
Driver suggested the species be
Wilson’s Plover, etc.). The author of
the proposal, Birding editor Ted
Committee considering splits, renamed to stop honoring a man Floyd, argues that possessives are a
name changes “who fought for years to maintain the “bizarre outlier” in American
right to keep slaves and also fought English and a “historical error.”
against multiple Native tribes.”
The committee will announce its
• Doing away with the possessive form decisions this summer.
POTENTIAL SPLIT: The two populations of

Northern Fulmar may be recognized as
distinct species.
The American Ornithological
Society’s North American Classifi-
cation Committee is considering
more than 50 changes to the
continent’s official checklist of bird
species. They include:
• Splitting Northern Fulmar into
two species. If accepted, the
proposal would recognize the
two populations of the seabird as
Atlantic Fulmar and Pacific
Fulmar.
• Splitting White-winged Scoter
into two or three species. This
would distinguish North
American birds from popula-
tions in Europe and Asia.
• Recognizing Harlan’s Hawk as
distinct from Red-tailed Hawk.
The proposal came from William
S. Clark, an author of raptor field
guides. The committee also
received a lengthy counter-argu-
ment from a group of nine raptor
experts who disputed the notion
that Harlan’s can be considered a
definitive species.
• Changing the name of Saltmarsh
Sparrow to Peterson’s Sparrow.
The change would honor
Nick Pecker/Shutterstock
field-guide pioneer and artist

Roger Tory Peterson.
• Changing the name of McCown’s
Longspur. The bird is named after
birderatlarge BY PETE DUNNE
READY FOR FUN: Field-trip participants gather at the South Cape May Meadows Preserve in late April with Pete Dunne (third from right).
A fundamental ritual
Why field trips lie at the heart of birdwatching
As you may know, my 32-year tenure — with the accent on fun. And fun lies nature’s most obvious envoys.
with New Jersey Audubon has run its at the very heart of birdwatching. It’s If you are a “do it yourself birder”
course. Saying goodbye to the programs why I started birding at the age of 7 who has never gone on an organized
and events that used to command my and have dedicated my adult life to field trip, you have cheated yourself.
life wasn’t easy, but in the end, bird study. At South Cape May Meadows, we
relinquish them I did — except for one Oh, I know in some places, have many repeat customers —
cherished tradition. I elected to birdwatching is regarded as a sport. vacationers who enliven their annual
continue leading my Monday-morning Me? I call it a hobby, one that brings me week to the Jersey Shore with a foray
bird walks in the South Cape May to greater intimacy with the natural into nature.
Meadows Preserve (as a volunteer world, and the Monday-morning walks When I first started to lead field trips,
rather than a paid staff person). always got my work week off to a good back in 1976, most of the patrons were
From March through November, two start. Now they get my leisure week off more experienced than I was. It never
hours and one and a half miles around. to a great start. occurred to me to start the walk with a
Every trip is different because you never I honestly don’t know how the crash course in binocular use. Much has
know what kind of hand Ma Nature is institution of “bird walks” got started, changed in 43 years. Now, half the
going to deal, and, of course, every but they are universal in our avocation. birders on the walk have been birding
Monday brings a different mix of Every crossroads bird club, nature for less than a year. Some have never
participants who change the chemistry center, and wild birds store hosts a suite trained binoculars on a bird before.
of the experience. A field trip is just a of them. The ranks of birdwatchers are
birding excursion with a host of patrons. All are calibrated to catch the best growing. Many retiring baby boomers
Why continue this endeavor? that the season has to offer; all are led are finding their way into the field
Because the institution of the “birding by local experts; and all succeed in through the viewfinders of cameras.
Bill Boyle
field trip” is fundamental to birding bringing people to closer accord with Birds make ideal subjects, and, as we
12 B i rd Wa t c h i n g • Ju l y/Au g u s t 2 019
all know, one bird leads to the next and The ethic of sharing, leader trains a spotting scope on a bird,
then to another. Going on a field trip is you will find, is deeply take a quick, identifying look and
an act of volition, a frank admission relinquish the scope to the next
that you have crossed over and are now ingrained in our birding participant. Don’t be a “scope hog,” and
a real, live (ugh, argh) birdwatcher. culture. So, treat don’t bump the scope when you exit.
Many new birders are reluctant to If you miss a bird, take it in stride.
cross over, afraid that their skill level yourself to the wisdom Nobody gets them all, and after the
falls short. walk you can always go back and try
Relax. The only thing better than
of the tribe. again.
being an experienced birder is being a There you have it. The reason I am
to be a mentor. Something else that is
new birder. going to continue my Monday
fundamental to birding.
But it still helps to know how to use Meadows walk. It’s you.
Hints for first timers: Arrive early.
binoculars, so I begin each walk with a The opportunity to raise glasses
If you are a new birder, let the leader
short tutorial. Redundant for some, beside someone as fascinated by birds as
know. There is no such thing as a
enlightening for others, or, as one I am. Ask any leader, they’ll tell you the
birding uniform. Dress for comfort
patron on last year’s Hog Island “Joy of same thing.
and the weather. Call the trip
Birding” session said, “I’ve been birding Join us, take the plunge, become a
organizer in advance to learn how
13 years, and this is the first time field-trip regular. Birdwatching is
challenging the terrain will be. Don’t
anyone has told me how to use dependent upon having a new crop of
wear white. In nature it is the universal
binoculars.” leaders in the pipe. One of them could
code for “danger, flee.” It’s not the
Keep in mind the coin of tribute in be you.
message you want to send.
birding is not skill but shared enjoyment
Conversation? In low tones, to the
— FUN. Skill is just something you
person next to you is fine by me. Other Pete Dunne is the retired director of the Cape
acquire along the way, and one of the
leaders might have different standards. May Bird Observatory, the founder of the World
best ways to acquire skills is to go out
But when the leader stops and cocks his Series of Birding, the Cape May Hawk Watch’s
with birders who are more skilled than
or her head, hush and stop. first official encounter, and the author or
you, like on a field trip.
Stay out of loose gravel and crunchy co-author of many books, including Gulls
Birding is not particularly difficult,
leaves. Simplified, Birds of Prey, Hawks in Flight, and The
but it is also not innate. Learning where
If a bird is spotted and you can’t find Art of Pishing.
and when to go to maximize your fun is
it, say so: “Directions, please.” If the
nothing you’ll gain from your field
guide. It’s something you get from
local experts who know the best
times to schedule field trips.
Me? Whenever I travel to a
national park, I always attend the
near-mandatory morning bird walk.
And I always learn something, a new
way of explaining a bird’s
mannerisms or a field mark that had
escaped me.
On my Monday-morning
Meadows walks, I strive to pass this
tribal wisdom on to patrons. My
co-leaders find the birds and bring
participants to bear.
This ethic of sharing, you will
find, is deeply ingrained in our
birding culture.
So, treat yourself to the wisdom
of the tribe. Bring your spouse,
parents, sons, daughters, grandkids.
There is no limit to fun, and you get
The market for birder-friendly cameras and lenses is
changing fast. Here’s what you need to know to find the
right photography gear for you.
BY WILLIAM JOBES
Few experiences ignite passion in a a common gift — treasured

birder more than a first-time personal memories of magical
encounter with a new species or moments in the woods and meadows
the discovery of a previously seen when we come face-to-face with
bird in a new or unexpected nature’s winged wonders.
location. The thrill of these And we birders recognize that
spontaneous sightings, and the technology — our binoculars,
anticipation of the next one, are spotting scopes, and cameras —
primary drivers in the perpetual play a critical role in enhancing
Dmytro Gilitukha/Shutterstock; All kind of people/Shutterstock; welcomia/Shutterstock
quest to see, hear, and learn more our field experience. What’s more,
about our feathered friends. when digital photography became
Everyone from the newest the norm 15 years ago, the playing
arrivals to the birding ranks to field was leveled flat to reveal a
those with years of experience wide gateway, inviting one and all
pursuing and studying birds shares to join the party.
Today’s
together a kit that will fulfill your smartphone snapshots, the perfect
mission and deliver quality images to choice with which to extend your
fuel a lifetime of memories. birding activities into memory-gath-
As is the case with most sectors in ering mode would be one of the
photo-gear marketplace offers myriad the tech world, camera manufacturers “bridge” cameras — models with
options to consider when it’s time to are in keen competition to dominate the integrated body-lens designs.
take the step from simply observing marketplace with their product Popular versions include the Canon
and recording birds to photographing innovations. The mirrorless movement Powershot SX70 HS, Panasonic
them. Not only do cameras and lenses is the latest arena of competitive Lumix FZ2500, the Nikon Coolpix
preserve the memories, enabling us to jousting for bragging rights to the P1000 or P900, or the Sony Cyber-
share with family, friends, and online smallest, lightest, quietest cameras. shot RX10 IV. The automated
audiences, but they also open the To be sure, the digital ink is often features and robust zoom capabili-
possibility of publication — that area barely dry on online ads for the latest ties make bridge cameras quite
once reserved for the pros. innovative products from one maker capable for avian portraits, and they
The first step into the avian- before a competitor jumps into the are an ideal stepping stone into the
photography universe is to consider breach with claims of a camera that more advanced and challenging
the camera body and lens options that pushes back at the marketing birds-in-flight realm.
will work best for capturing the most boundaries. • People with some photo experience
outstanding possible images in your There’s a cautionary lesson to who are new to bird photography
specific area of interest. Whether it’s embrace from all of this — and that’s to may benefit from a DX crop sensor
the drama of birds in flight or birds pay a visit to your local camera retailer body, coupled with a zoom lens with
perched in iconic locations, the gear for quality personal time with the a proven track record. One example is
you decide upon will make a difference camera and lenses that appeal to you, to the Nikon D500 with the Nikon
in the final results. guarantee that the marketing message is NIKKOR 200-500mm zoom. I have
in sync with your personal needs, imme- used this pairing and can confirm
diate and future, as well as your skill
The old adage of level. While you are in the store, it’s
from personal experience, and from
chatting with others in the field, that
having the right worthwhile to compare the latest the rave reviews are justified. Plus,
tool for the task

cameras with the nearly new gear on the the DX-format bodies add the
dealer’s “used” shelves. The quality- advantage of “reach,” due to the
at hand is never performance-value equation often tips smaller dimensions of the crop
truer than in bird

in favor of last year’s model, at signifi- sensor. They also have the advantage
cant savings. of lighter weight, adding portability
photography. Once you decide to plunge into the
buying fest, it’s prudent to pause a
to the equation. Other worthy setups
in this class are the new Fujifilm
moment to nail down exactly how you X-T30 and Canon’s EOS 7D Mark II.
envision using the new kit. Is it for birds Both have APS-C sensors in the same
An 800mm super telephoto lens may
in flight, bird portraits on branches, dimensions as Nikon’s DX format.
be just the ticket to bring home
large raptors or tiny songbirds, birds Similarly, any of the Nikon D7200-
stunning photos of an Atlantic Puffin
nearby or birds afar? Some pairings of 7500 series bodies are birding
bobbing in the ocean off a distant
camera bodies and lenses work well workhorses.
island’s rocky outcrop. But you’ll find
across the spectrum, though at times • Then there’s the full frame pro or
the same combo is massive over-reach if
with varying compromises. serious enthusiast DSLR body with a
you grab the rig for a quick shot of a
In general, a huge swath of cameras Canon or Nikon 400mm, 500mm,
goldfinch munching on the seeds of a
and lenses will deliver the image quality 600mm, or even an 800mm prime
sunflower just off the patio in your
and variety you desire. But placing the lens. This grouping covers just about
garden. The old adage of having the
hardware in hand is no guarantee of every bird-photography situation,
right tool for the task at hand is never
optimal results — we as photographers from birds at rest to the most
truer than in bird photography.
must always accept and nurture our challenging erratically flying raptors.
DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT roles as the most crucial component in Both DSLR and mirrorless full-
No rule is hard and fast, and no gear the creative process. frames should be considered. The
combination can possibly cover all GEAR OPTIONS super-telephoto lenses are nature
photographic bases and be capable of Here are four viable combinations of photography’s gold standard gear
delivering the goods on every occasion, gear, valid across all brands and, in configuration; the image quality
at all times. However, by thoughtful most cases, modern-era vintages. results, as long as the proper tech-
analysis of your most-favored areas of niques are applied, are guaranteed to
interest and deciding upon your • For a birder with little or no exceed even the most discriminating
reasonable expectations, you can put photography experience other than photo artist’s highest expectations.
The downside is that they are big and at the top of the movement, has spawned be told, with the boundless level of
a heavy lift, both physically and a new class of photo enthusiast whose technological innovation being packed
financially. objective is frame-worthy images that across the board into today’s camera
• Nipping hard at the image-quality don’t require lugging a massive tripod, bodies, lenses, and accessories, it’s
heels of the “big guns” are some of with its pro-body DSLR and heavy nearly impossible to make a bad choice
the latest mirrorless body and lens super-telephoto lens. That’s where the when choosing your go-to system. All
offerings in the Micro Four Thirds telephoto zoom lenses shine. the big-name manufacturers present
format. Leading the way in both Here are some zoom tele and quality equipment to consider — and
portability and uncompromising pro- super-telephoto lenses that are worthy ultimately purchase.
fessional capabilities is the new of inclusion in any serious bird With the relentless pace of research
Olympus OMD E-M1X, a lightweight photographer’s kit: Nikon’s and development and new product
yet powerful camera with a Micro ground-breaking NIKKOR 500mm PF, roll-outs, the savvy photographer never
Four Thirds sensor. Joined with the the Nikon NIKKOR 200-500mm, fails to look with care at the secondary
Olympus M.Zuiko 300mm f/4.0 lens, Sigma’s 150-600mm Contemporary, the market, where nearly new “used” gear
it gives equivalent 600mm reach in a Tamron SP 150-600mm, Fujifilm’s can be found with quality, and major
trail-friendly weight. Others worthy XF100-400mm, and Canon’s cash savings.
of consideration are the full line of time-proven 100-400mm. Combine
Panasonic Lumix bodies, with the Sony’s 100-400mm zoom tele with William Jobes is a print and broadcast
GH5 leading the way with robust Sony’s A7R III body for a can’t-miss journalist from Langhorne, Pennsylva-
auto-focus tracking. (See the sidebars birding action rig. nia, whose experience includes news and
for more info about 12 cameras.) The decision to up one’s photo- sports photojournalism as well as
graphic game marks a significant reporting and editing on staff at several
ZOOM LENSES commitment, one bursting with major daily newspapers. In our May/June
The unrelenting expansion of interest in excitement and anticipation of coming 2018 issue, he described tips and tech-
nature photography, with bird imaging adventures in the great outdoors. Truth niques for photographing hummingbirds.
bridge cameras
CANON POWERSHOT SX70 HS NIKON COOLPIX P1000 SONY CYBER-SHOT RX10 IV

Bridge cameras, more accurately The P1000 is the latest in Nikon’s This premium bridge camera is
described as “superzoom” cameras, long-running Coolpix series. among the best in its class. Its 1-inch
look like SLRs but feature fixed, long Introduced in September 2018, it image sensor has phase-detection
zoom lenses. The latest Canon features an incredible 125x optical focus, allowing it to shoot at up to 24
Powershot model, released last zoom, which provides a frames per second. The 25x optical
October, has a 65x zoom and a better 35mm-equivalent focal range from zoom gives it a 600mm reach,
higher-resolution image sensor than 24mm to 3,000mm. Outdoor allowing users to get quite close to
its predecessor. The electronic Photographer named the P1000 the birds or other subjects at a distance.
viewfinder, in particular, is compa- “best new compact camera” of 2018. The 3-inch LCD features touch
rable to those of higher-end cameras. The camera weighs just over 3 support, letting you tap the screen to
As the least expensive camera in this pounds and is bulky, so it’s not for set a focus point. Plus, the RX10 IV
roundup, it’s a good option for bird everyone, and it takes some practice weighs only 2.4 pounds and is
photography when the subject stands to use well. But its ability to create comfortable to carry in the hand,
still or is moving side to side but isn’t images of distant wildlife means it’s making it an ideal choice for a long
a great choice for action shots. worth considering. day of birding.
DSLRs
CANON EOS 7D MARK II CANON EOS-1D X MARK II NIKON D500

Few cameras in the history of digital Canon’s flagship professional camera, This is the flagship body in Nikon’s
photography have withstood the released in 2016. For continuous DX format. It brings all the right tools
evolutionary pressure of market shooting of a moving bird, for to the challenging birds-in-flight task
dynamics as has Canon’s 7D Mark II. example, it can capture 14 frames per — exceptional auto-focus tracking
It came on the scene in the fall of 2014, second with full AF/AE tracking or 16 and a blazing 10 frames-per-second
at first blush eons ago in digital R&D fps in Live View mode. The 20.2 shutter speed. Image quality is
time. But don’t be fooled. Right up to megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor outstanding. The foundation of the
this minute, the camera remains a and dual DIGIC 6+ image processors quick AF tracking system is the
favorite among bird photographers, produce images with incredible detail. 153-point AF module’s nearly
and with good reason. It’s a beast The camera also boasts excellent edge-to-edge coverage. It grabs and
under the hood, with dual DIGIC dynamic range and reduced color locks on moving targets, giving
processors delivering continuous noise. Pair it with a telephoto or zoom photographers the confidence to wait
shooting of more than 1,000 JPEG lens and you’ll have the tools to shoot for that perfect moment before
images and 31 RAW photos. Its bird photos with the best of them. engaging the shutter. With three years
reliable phase detection AF system on the market, the D500 has cemented
offers assurance that the photographer its outstanding reputation. Strap on
can chase with confidence those Nikon’s versatile 200-500mm zoom
images of erratically flying birds. lens and walk confidently to your
favorite birding destination.
NIKON D7500
While not quite in the performance
SPECS
NIKON D850 league as the D500, the D7500 offers a
CANON EOS-1D X MARK II
While the coveted shutter speed specs competent feature set that makes it
Max frame rate: 16 fps in live view
don’t quite rival that of Nikon’s D500, worthy of consideration for those
List price: $5,999
the D850’s 7 frames per second (9 FPS wanting to graduate from consumer-
with the pricey battery grip) still level cameras. In many ways, it’s an
ideal next-step creative vehicle. The CANON EOS 7D MARK II
delivers reliable, competent perfor-
mance. But it’s the D850’s massive camera is the first in Nikon’s D7000 Max frame rate: 10 fps
45.7-megapixel RAW file size that line to be powered by the new Expeed List price: $1,649
drives interest. And it’s justified, as five-image processor. It has a good
the extreme resolution afforded by the 51-point autofocus system that feeds CANON POWERSHOT SX70 HS
huge re-designed light-soaking sensor into an extended buffer to expand Max frame rate: 10 fps
gives the photographer the ability to continuous shooting capacity. The List price: $549
reveal unprecedented image detail beefier buffer comes in handy when
from small, distant segments of the ripping a multi-frame burst of a bird FUJIFILM X-T30
photo. It’s no longer a given that the in action. Excellent ergonomics and Max frame rate: 30 fps
faraway bird looming small in the the comprehensive weather seal offer List price: $899
frame makes the image a throwaway. protection in harsher elements.
mirrorless cameras
FUJIFILM X-T30 OLYMPUS OMD E-M1X PANASONIC LUMIX GH5

Fujifilm’s latest upgrade to its X-T The E-M1X is a professional-level The GH5 may have earned its
series cameras is bound to get the body in the Micro Four Thirds world reputational stripes for its pro-level 4K
attention of aspiring nature photogra- that rivals the top contenders across video prowess, but it stands tall among
phers. Couple the new body with Fuji’s all formats in most every way. From peers as a competent still photography
XF 100-400mm telephoto zoom for a the 15 frames-per-second mechanical creative tool. The feature-rich GH5
high-performing and versatile avian shutter burst to a 60 frames-per- offers continuous shooting specs of
photography rig. The camera’s second electronic shutter capture rate, 12 FPS at a 20.3 MP file size, up to
fourth-generation sensor and image the M1X effectively guarantees that 60 FPS with files of 8 MP. The body’s
processor feature a 30 frames-per- any lens aimed at a speeding raptor splash- and dust-proof weather sealing
second capture engine with phase- will return the picture to tell the story. goes a long way toward protecting the
detection autofocusing. The body is To be sure, the M1X’s twin quad-core camera’s vitals while out in harsh
positioned as a smaller, lighter, and processors deliver the goods on time, weather. Plus, the GH5 perfectly
more-affordable rendition of the line’s every time. And the in-camera complements the Panasonic-Lumix
T-3 flagship. Indeed, Fujifilm asserts five-axis stabilization system is the 100-400mm lens.
that the X-T30 delivers the same image perfect foil for camera shake.
quality and processor performance as Combined contrast and phase
the T-3. Add in the fact that the AF detection autofocus mean locked-on
performance is rated at 1.5 times targets and keeper images of erratic
faster than previous models, and you fliers. In short, the M1X meets and in
have all the trappings for a robust and many cases exceeds the performance
reliable birding rig. of larger-sensor bodies but in a
smaller, lighter package.
AND PRICES
SONY A7 III
NIKON COOLPIX P1000 OLYMPUS OMD E-M1X Fans of Sony cameras who don’t want
Max frame rate: 30 fps Max frame rate: 18 fps to spend $3,500 on the high-end
List price: $996.95 List price: $2,999.99 flagship Sony a9 should consider the
a7 III, which was released in April
NIKON D500 PANSONIC LUMIX GH5 2018, and sells for about $2,000. This
Max frame rate: 10 fps Max frame rate: 60 fps full-frame mirrorless model features a
List price: $1,695.95 List price: $2,499.99 24-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and
693 phase detection AF points, and it
shoots 10 frames per second. The
NIKON D7500 SONY A7 III
camera’s performance also holds up
Max frame rate: 8 fps Max frame rate: 10 fps
well compared to larger DSLRs, and
List price: $996.95 List price: $1,999.99 since it weighs about 1.7 pounds, it’s
ideal for birdwatchers and nature
NIKON D850 SONY CYBER-SHOT RX10 IV photographers.
Max frame rate: 7 fps or 9 fps with Max frame rate: 24 fps
optional battery grip List price: $1,599.99
List price: $3,265.95
For the
greater
good
New York’s Project Safe Flight
volunteers take on the grim task
I
’ve lived in New York City over
of documenting birds that hit the 10 years and never truly paid
city’s glass buildings attention to its bird habitat
until spring 2018, when I heard
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SOPHIE BUTCHER that an avid birder, Annie Novak, was
going to the top of the Empire State
Building in the middle of the night to
track bird activity. It piqued my
interest. I got in touch with Novak and
quickly learned there were birders,
and birds, all over the city.
Novak gave me my first bird tour in
Central Park and invited me to a
lecture on birding technology at the
American Museum of Natural History
and an exhibit focused on feathers at
the New York Historical Society.
Eventually, I was hitting up bird
meet-ups all over the city – I was
immersed and totally amazed that a
city built of concrete could attract so
many birds.
I also learned that New York is
located at a geographic nexus of the
Atlantic Flyway bird migration route,
which millions of birds follow each
year on their long travels between
their northern nesting grounds and
southern wintering grounds. This
allows for an abundance of migratory
bird species to travel through our city.
But as many people look up to admire
the beautiful array of migrants, some
are also looking down, seeing a very
ON THE LOOKOUT: Annie Novak, a different story.
volunteer with Project Safe Flight,
watches for birds in Midtown
Manhattan. Novak is an artist,
author, and advocate for birds.
GLASS JUNGLE: The roughly 23-square-mile island of
Manhattan is home to more than 47,300 buildings. Project
volunteers do their best to help injured birds. Cynthia Guile
(below) carefully approaches a stunned Ovenbird before placing
it in a paper bag to transport it to wildlife rehabilitators. Birds experience two major setbacks as
they try to migrate through the night in
New York — its light pollution and
deceptive glass buildings. New York City
Audubon estimates that between 90,000
and 230,000 birds are killed in the city
yearly due to window collisions. To help
prevent so many bird deaths, and to
understand the causes behind urban bird
collisions and identify ways to prevent
them, NYC Audubon launched the citizen
science program Project Safe Flight in 1997.
It started out with only a few dedicated
volunteers that year, but it now boasts a
team of over a dozen passionate volunteers
who each spring and fall monitor collision
hotspots around Manhattan.
The collision problem, of course, is not
limited to New York. A 2014 study in the
journal The Condor found that between 365
and 988 million birds are killed annually by
building collisions in the United States.
And this year, research published in
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
revealed that Chicago, Houston, and Dallas
are the most dangerous cities for migratory
birds in the lower 48 states in both spring
and fall. New York City ranked eighth-
most-dangerous in spring and fifth in fall.
(Read more about the studies at
www.BirdWatchingDaily.com.)
Project Safe Flight volunteers are
from different backgrounds — bankers,
psychologists, teachers, activists, and
retirees — but they all believe birds
deserve better protection. The volunteers
wake up at the crack of dawn and head to
some of our largest glass buildings
Downtown and Midtown and search for
dead birds for the sake of science.
During 2018, the volunteers collected
225 dead birds of 47 species and 32
injured birds that were taken to a
rehabilitator. “I used to feel so much
more emotion when I picked up a dead
or injured bird. Now it’s part of the job,”
says volunteer Mia Feldman. “Once I
even heard one thump against the glass
in real time.”
Injured birds rarely survive, but if
they do, they are released into the wild,
anywhere with some greenery. Dead
birds are collected and transferred to
various natural history museums and ASSISTANCE: A maintenance worker from One World
research institutions. All the collected Trade Center points out where dead birds have landed
birds (dead or injured) are entered in while Cynthia Guille prepares to pick up a bird at her
NYC Audubon's D-bird.org database, feet. A Black-throated Blue Warbler (below) lies dead in
providing a powerful tool for under- a volunteer’s hand.
standing the geography and dynamics of
urban bird collisions.
Kill the lights, not the birds » OHIO LIGHTS OUT
Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland,
Below is a list of 26 programs in North American cities (listed Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo, Ohio
alphabetically by state or province) that encourage building owners
Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative
to turn off unnecessary lights during migratory periods. Some of
https://ohiolightsout.org
the programs also manage volunteer efforts to collect birds that hit
buildings and rescue those that are injured. To get involved, visit an
organizer’s website. » SAFE PASSAGE
OKLAHOMA CITY
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City Audubon
» LIGHTS OUT SAN FRANCISCO » LIGHTS OUT BOSTON
San Francisco, California Boston, Massachusetts safepassageoklahomacity.org
Golden Gate Audubon Mass Audubon and the City of Boston

www.goldengateaudubon.org www.massaudubon.org/lightsout » SAFE WINGS OTTAWA
Ottawa, Ontario
» LIGHTS OUT DENVER
» SAFE PASSAGE GREAT LAKES Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club
Denver, Colorado Detroit, Ann Arbor, and other cities in safewings.ca
Denver Office of Sustainability Michigan
www.denvergov.org Detroit Audubon, Michigan Audubon, » FLAP CANADA
and Washtenaw Audubon
Toronto, Ontario
» LIGHTS OUT WILMINGTON www.detroitaudubon.org/
Fatal Light Awareness Program
Wilmington, Delaware conservation/project-safe-passage- flap.org
Delmarva Ornithological Society great-lakes
lightsoutwilm.com/index.html www.michiganaudubon.org/bfc/safe-
passage-great-lakes » LIGHTS OUT BEND
washtenawsafepassage.blogspot.com Bend, Oregon
» LIGHTS OUT DC
East Cascades Audubon Society
Washington, D.C.
City Wildlife » LIGHTS OUT TWIN CITIES www.lightsoutbend.com
citywildlife.org/programs/lights-out-dc Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington,

Rochester, and other cities in Minnesota
» LIGHTS OUT PORTLAND
Minnesota Audubon
» LIGHTS OUT ATLANTA AND Portland, Oregon
PROJECT SAFE FLIGHT ATLANTA mn.audubon.org/conservation/lights-
Portland Audubon
out-program
Atlanta, Georgia audubonportland.org
Atlanta Audubon Society
www.atlantaaudubon.org/loa.html » PROJECT SAFE FLIGHT
New York, New York » BIRDSAFE PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
» CHICAGO BIRD COLLISIONS New York City Audubon
MONITORS www.nycaudubon.org/project- Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Chicago, Illinois safe-flight birdsafepgh.org
Chicago Audubon Society
www.birdmonitors.net » LIGHTS OUT CHARLOTTE » LIGHTS OUT SALT LAKE
Charlotte, North Carolina Salt Lake City, Utah
» LIGHTS OUT CHICAGO Mecklenburg Audubon Tracy Aviary

Chicago, Illinois http://meckbirds.org/conservation/ www.tracyaviaryconservation.org/
lightsout.html lightsoutsaltlake
Chicago Audubon Society
www.chicagoaudubon.org/lights-
out-chicago » RALEIGH LIGHTS OUT » CHARLOTTESVILLE AREA
WINDOW WATCH
Raleigh, North Carolina
» LIGHTS OUT INDY Wake Audubon
Charlottesville, Virginia
Indianapolis, Indiana www.facebook.com/
wakeaudubon.org/initiatives/advocacy/
charlottesvilleareawindowwatch/
Amos Butler Audubon lights-out
lightsoutindy.org
» WISCONSIN NIGHT GUARDIANS
» LIGHTS OUT WINSTON-SALEM FOR SONGBIRDS
» LIGHTS OUT BALTIMORE Winston-Salem, North Carolina Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Baltimore, Maryland Forsyth Audubon Wisconsin Humane Society
Baltimore Bird Club www.forsythaudubon.org/conservation/ www.wihumane.org/wildlife/preventing-
www.lightsoutbaltimore.org LightsOut.aspx window-collisions
Project Safe Flight’s research has buildings they hit]. You’ll find that most
shown that one of the most problematic people care about birds and want to PASSING BY: Even
issues is buildings made of highly know how to help.” non-native birds like
reflexive glass, especially if the building starlings hit windows.
is near a green space such as a park. The Sophie Butcher is a photo editor at The
reflection from the windows, whether New York Times. She loves to photo-
they reflect the sky or foliage, indicates graph local stories in and around New
to a bird that is safe to approach when it York. In April 2019, New York City
isn't. The project has also found that a Audubon presented an exhibition of
building that has plants or trees behind photos she took of Project Safe Flight
its glass can attract birds, too. volunteers along with art by Annie
Because of this, New York City Novak centered on bird collisions.
Audubon partnered with American
Bird Conservatory to study the
problem. A few years ago, they
developed a test facility at the
Bronx Zoo to study how birds react
to various types of glass. In 2015,
AUGUST 7–11, 2019 Registration Now Open
ABC and its partners announced a
S O U T H E AS T A R I Z O N A
list of products that are verified as
“Bird-Smart.” According to ABC,
verification means the products
not only have been proved effective
at minimizing the frequency of
B I R D I N G F E S T I VA L
bird-window collisions but also are
affordable and aesthetically NATURE AND BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOPS
pleasing. These days, the groups Expert-led workshops for all skill levels in the field and classroom
are advocating for the city’s
developers and architects to use the Guided birding and wildlife field trips, FREE Nature Expo,
glass in new buildings. Alternative- keynote speakers Laura Erickson and Kevin Karlson
ly, for current problematic
buildings, other simple solutions
include window etching, or putting
tape or painting on glass.
In a hopeful sign, this spring
the New York City Council
introduced a bill that would amend
the building code to require that
developers make 90 percent of
glass used on new and altered
buildings bird-friendly. If passed,
the change would mean that
developers would either need to
use glass with a pattern on it or add
a special coating — obvious to
birds, more or less invisible to
humans — to windows.
Meanwhile, Project Safe Flight
continues to connect many of the
volunteers to the city in other
P RES ENT E D BY
interesting ways and forms
unexpected relationships. “I never
used to speak to maintenance men
on the street,” says Gunda Narang,
Gilded Flicker, Bruce Taubert
“but they’ll be very helpful and
instead of sweeping [the birds] up,
will tell me where I can find them. Find Your Life Birds
Often they’ve placed them T U C S O N AU D U B O N . O R G / F E S T I VA L
delicately in the planters [near
WINGSPAN: The game
features colorful boards,
tokens, egg-shaped
pieces, cards, and a
birdhouse dice tower.
Game
changer
Why the new board game Wingspan is an
unexpected gateway to birding
BY JULIA ZARANKIN
“I don’t know
who my friend murdered to get me a and Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, most popular games on the planet” will
copy of Wingspan, but I’ve been so player mats and a majestic birdhouse “move the needle in terms of diversity
grateful,” Sharon Stiteler, well known dice tower designed by Beth Sobel, and in this industry.”
for her Birdchick blog, told me over the graphic design by Christine Santana.
phone when we discussed the unex- A female design team is unusual, GRABBING ATTENTION
pected success of the new board game and Hargrave’s website speaks to this The reception has been positive, often
recently released by St. Louis-based disparity in the gaming community even effusive. The game has received
Stonemaier Games. directly: “Tired of being called one of significant mainstream media attention
Not only did Wingspan sell out the very few non-male game designers, I from outlets ranging from The New
within a week of its release in March, started compiling a list and ended up York Times and The Guardian to Science
but in late April it was entering its sixth with almost 200 female and non-binary Magazine, all of which applaud the
print run. By then, more than 30,000 designers.” Though she is clear that “we game not only for its fine strategy but
copies had been printed in English and have a long way to go before we see also for its scientific rigor and the way it
14,000 in foreign-language editions. parity” for gender and racial representa- contributes to diversifying board game
Plus, expansions — one dedicated to tion, Hargrave sees a cultural shift audiences.
birds on each continent — were already happening and is cautiously optimistic Friendly competition is something
in the works. The success was so swift about a more diverse landscape, since birders are familiar with, but this game
that Stonemaier had to issue an official “as you get a more diverse pool of appeals just as much to non-birders.
apology to fans for underestimating designers making board games, that’s When I poked around on Wingspan’s
sales. (The game will be back in stock in going to bring ideas that are different Facebook group, I was most surprised
late July.) from what has been the mainstream.” by the diversity of comments, which
What is all the fuss about? Creator Wingspan is turning out to be a ranged from hardcore game enthusiasts
Elizabeth Hargrave, a Silver Spring, game changer on many levels, and the discussing the finer points of strategy
Maryland, resident who works as a president of Stonemaier Games, Jamey and point accumulation to bird puns,
health-policy consultant, has parlayed Stegmaier, believes the fact that an cute photos of hummingbirds, and
her passion for ornithology into one of all-woman team created “one of the random bird trivia. It’s a collision of
this year’s most successful board games. worlds that nobody could have pre-
Wingspan is a card-driven competitive dicted. Hargrave describes it as a “Venn
game dedicated entirely to birds where diagram in action of people who play
the players assume the roles of bird board games and people who enjoy
enthusiasts — researchers, birders, A self-proclaimed birds, and it turns out there’s significant
ornithologists, and collectors — and try overlap between these two worlds.”
to attract the best birds to their specific lifelong ‘low-grade The atmosphere in the Facebook
wildlife preserves. It’s a strategy game group mirrors the general buzz
that involves 170 gorgeously illustrated
general outdoorsy surrounding the game: unexpected
bird cards, each with unique powers; as
each bird is added to your preserve, in
naturalist,’ enthusiasm. Most exciting for Hargrave
has been “watching some of the gamers
one of three habitats, they enable you to
perform more actions and become more
Hargrave set out in the group ask for advice about how to
get started birding and the birders who
powerful with each turn. to design a game ask what kind of other board games are
A focus on birds isn’t the only out there.”
unusual aspect of the game. In an that spoke to her A self-proclaimed lifelong “low-
industry traditionally dominated by grade general outdoorsy naturalist,”
men, Wingspan also stands out for its love of nature, and Hargrave set out to design a game that
all-woman creative team: designed by spoke to her love of nature, and birds in
Kim Euker
Hargrave, with bird art by Natalia Rojas birds in particular. particular. The popular Dungeons and
Dragons-type “high fantasy themes” or the way the game nonchalantly intro-
games that deal with “dry, historical,
‘I love that it’s duces non-birders to a variety of new
vaguely European castle-building or
trading in the Mediterranean” didn’t
different every birds. “I’m positive my wife had no idea
what a Chestnut-collared Longspur was
particularly appeal to her. She won-
dered whether instead of an “economic-
time I play it, and when she drew that card,” he recalls.
Stiteler appreciates how the game
type trading game where you have there’s enough teaches people about habitat in an
resources like wood and ore and cloth,” unobtrusive way, since bird cards can be
you had resources that birds would eat, variety in the way played in forests, wetlands, or grass-
then the game could mimic the “whole lands, and some enjoy more than one
supply and demand going on in the you can get points.’ habitat. “It’s teaching you that if you
natural world.” In that sense, her game wanted to go look for a Yellow-headed
“could be a sort of parallel to a more Blackbird, what kind of habitat you’d
traditionally themed board game but need to think about it being in,” she says.
with birds.” Choosing the 170 North American
The game was the product of three birds for the game was no mean feat.
feel you were at school,” Hargrave says
and a half years of work before Hargrave Relying on an involved process,
of the game experience, which doesn’t
pitched it to Stegmaier, who appreciated Hargrave pulled eBird data for different
reward memorization during play.
the game’s strategy and “how the theme regions in the U.S. because she wanted
Nevertheless, knowledge is certainly
and mechanisms for each bird card were “some of the birds to be your super-
transmitted in an understated way.
intertwined. I also really enjoyed the familiar birds.” She also wanted the
Each card has a fun fact about the bird’s
feeling of collecting my own unique game to pay tribute to rare and endan-
behavior. The game notes, for example,
tableau of birds.” In early iterations, the gered species and “highlighted those by
that Burrowing Owls “often uses old
game focused more on the work giving them all the superpowers,”
prairie dog burrows for their under-
involved in running a nature preserve, endowing them with the ability to let
ground nests.” Hargrave explains that
but over time — and more than 100 test you draw more bonus cards. To ensure
players are “engaging with the birds and
runs — Hargrave realized that people enough diversity in the game, Hargrave
actually participating feeding seeds to a
most enjoyed direct engagement with built a gargantuan spreadsheet that ran
goldfinch, so maybe you’ll remember
the birds. So, she abandoned all the park 596 rows by nearly 100 columns to
that finches eat seeds.”
infrastructure details in favor of a purely balance out species, habitats, food
As an all-round naturalist, Har-
bird-centered game. distribution, nest type, and eggs.
grave’s next games to be published speak
And yet the game isn’t preachy or Putting what “makes sense as a
to her versatility: Mariposas is about
trivia-based. “I didn’t want anybody to game” front and center has paid off. The
migrating monarch butterflies, and
game is fun to play because it requires
Tussie-Mussie focuses on Victorian
strategic thinking. “With 170 different
flowers. She sits on the board of her local
bird cards, each with their own scoring
mushroom club and has vast knowledge
and play capabilities, you have a game
Elizabeth of native plants in the Mid-Atlantic
that has a very high replay value,” says
Hargrave region, which she developed alongside
Sohl. “No two games should be alike.”
her husband, a landscape designer who
As of late April, Stiteler had already
specializes in environmentally friendly
played the game seven times since
residential gardens.
receiving it in January and was eager to
“When we’re out walking in the
play it again. “I love that it’s different
woods, we know most of the plants and
every time I play it, and there’s enough
birds we’re looking at, and it really
variety in the way you can get points,”
transforms the experience,” she says.
she says. “It’s also healthier for my
Her pace is sometimes so slow that a
marriage,” Stiteler jokes, since it doesn’t
friend of Hargrave’s calls it the
involve violently blowing up her
“naturalist shuffle.”
opponent, like other games can.
What makes Wingspan particularly
PRAISE AND APPLAUSE
rewarding for birders is the way it
Birders who have played Wingspan
connects bird behavior to gameplay. “I
give it high praise. A self-described
tried to come up with things for the
“hardcore birder,” Terry Sohl, author
birds to do that are interesting and
of the South Dakota Birds, Birding,
related to what they do in real life,”
and Nature blog, applauds
Hargrave says. In the game, the
Brown-headed Cowbird lays eggs
in another bird’s nest,
Matt Cohen
which mimics
FEATHERED MUSES: The cards used in the game feature realistic depictions of Northern Cardinal,
Steller’s Jay, Indigo Bunting, and more than 160 other species.
its behavior in the wild. Hargrave also yeah ... they seem to have characterized Murphy, who granted permission to use
had fun using the behavior of predator this bird correctly.” his images as references.
birds, the “charismatic mega-fauna of Later, Rojas relied on Hargrave’s help
the bird world,” to inform how their BIRD-INSPIRED ARTIST in selecting the images that best
cards are played. The Barred Owl, for Much of the pleasure of birding is all represented the bird in question. (She
instance, enables you to draw a card about maintaining a state of wonder as also sent Rojas the Sibley Guide.) The
depicting another bird, and if the well as accumulating knowledge. The stunning Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in
wingspan of the bird is below a certain gorgeous artwork on the cards is flight that graces the cover of Wingspan
length, you get to “eat” the bird by certainly part of the appeal: Rojas and is based on one of Murphy’s photographs
tucking the card under the predator Jaramillo completed the 170 bird and captures the spirit of the game as the
bird’s — much as the owl would do in illustrations in an impressive six bird soars toward new ground.
the field. months. This would have been an admi- For Rojas, a bird drawing begins
And yet, sometimes knowing too rable feat in and of itself, but prior to with the beak, and then she moves on to
much about birds is actually a liability. creating the Wingspan illustrations, the eyes. “The eyes need to have a
“I played with one birder who was Rojas had no experience drawing (or certain spark that tells me if I’m going
trying really hard to get birds they looking at) birds. in the right direction,” she says. She
really liked, and that messed up the The project turned into a life-chang- decided to use colored pencils for their
point system for them,” Stiteler says. ing education in natural history and versatility and the precision of their
“Don’t think like a birder,” she cautions, helped jumpstart her career as an artist lines. Some illustrations, like the Barn
“because this really is a strategy game.” and illustrator. But the learning curve Owl, took more than 20 hours to
But birders will appreciate the was a steep one. Working on such a tight complete. “It has a white face and has
scientific integrity of the game. Sohl schedule, with no time to explore the this weird texture on its wings and a lot
says he found himself “looking at the species in the field, Rojas based her of markings. It took me a long time to
Kim Euker
bird species cards and kind of mentally drawings on photographs, many of them get the shading and shadows right,”
validating them, thinking to myself ... from renowned bird photographer Alan Rojas says.
STUNNING: This photo
of a Scissor-tailed
Flycatcher by Alan
Murphy inspired the
art featured on the
Wingspan cover.
The end results are nothing short of turned Rojas into a gamer, it certainly watch them try to pronounce bird
striking. Both Sohl and Stiteler transformed her into a birdwatcher, names, like the AvoQUET (avocet).”
highlight the aesthetic appeal of the which is particularly ironic, given that And in a sense, this speaks exactly to
game, and Stiteler is particularly she grew up in bird-rich Colombia and Hargrave’s hope that the game will
impressed with the illustration of her lived in equally birdy Costa Rica for make people more aware of the world
spark bird, the Pileated Woodpecker. “I eight years before moving to St. Louis, around them.
love that it’s the female that’s depicted. Missouri. “When I lived in Colombia,
You never see that; it’s always the not one bird caught my attention, but Julia Zarankin is a writer and birder from
breeding male.” now I’m going back to see the things I Toronto. Her work has been published in
After working on Wingspan, Rojas never saw in the 20 years I lived there. Orion, The Walrus, Threepenny Review,
proudly admits that “everything in our The hobby came to me backwards.” Maisonneuve, Antioch Review, The New
household is about birds now.” Her Quarterly, and Birding. She is a judge of
daughters now dress up as birds for AN INTRODUCTION TO BIRDS the American Birding Association’s Young
Halloween (California Quail and Blue More than anything, Stiteler sees the Birder of the Year award, and she blogs at
Jay, respectively), bird feeders adorn her game as a “gateway to get your non- coyot.es/birdsandwords.
backyard, and her family has acquired a birder friends to understand the types of
new outdoor hobby. things that you see.” Stiteler keeps her
One day after watching birds for phone with the Sibley app nearby and
30 minutes, her 7-year-old daughter introduces her non-birder friends to
Kim Euker; Alan Murphy
announced, “This is better than TV!” birdsongs. “I play the puffin or the
which Rojas credits as a major “parent- Yellow-headed Blackbird song,” she says,
ing win.” Although Wingspan hasn’t and they go wild. “And it’s also fun to
THE BIRDER’S BINOCULAR.
Finding, following and identifying requires a

specialized balance of power, clarity, color and
comfort. Here it is. Higher 10x magnification
reveals greater long-distance detail, making it
ideal for viewing far-off subjects like raptors,
waterfowl and wildlife, especially in open country.
STEINER-OPTICS.COM
South African
safari superstars
A dozen amazing birds
and other wildlife of the
Rainbow Nation
BY MATT MENDENHALL
THE CYNDI LAUPER BIRD: The

multi-hued Lilac-breasted Roller
occurs in open savannas in
northern South Africa.
D
uring my 33-hour trip from Cape Sugarbird, the males of which
Wisconsin to South Africa last have a long, flowing tail, was the star
November, I was excited to read attraction. And in agricultural fields
this synopsis of the country in nearby, I was treated to sightings of
the 2017 book The Birder’s Guide South African’s national bird, the
to Africa by bird guide and conserva- Blue Crane.
tionist Michael Mills: For the second half of the trip, I
“South Africa, for good reason, is stayed at Sabi Sabi Private Game
probably [Africa’s] most-birded Reserve, a vast property in eastern
country. With more than 75 endemics South Africa on the edge of the even
and near-endemics and essentially two larger Kruger National Park. The
endemic bird families (rockjumpers pristine wilderness is home to the “big
and sugarbirds), it is among Africa’s five” game animals — lion, leopard,
top birding countries. Add to this rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo
Africa’s finest travel infrastructure, — as well as giraffe, wild dog, hyena,
good food, low prices, easy birding in zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck, impala,
spectacular landscapes, fantastic game and many other animals.
reserves, wineries, and a whole host of Nearly 350 bird species have been
other tourist attractions, and you have recorded at Sabi Sabi. They include
a first-class destination for any birder.” species from families familiar to North
In fact, Mills developed a “Bird American birders, such as eagles,
Importance Score” for the continent’s vultures, plovers, and ibises, as well as
68 countries and territories, consider- “exotic” birds like coursers, bulbuls,
ing bird endemism and diversity, go-away-birds, and scimitarbills.
safety, cost, ease of a traveler’s During the trip, I saw about 150
experience, and other factors. South bird species, largely thanks to amazing
Africa ranked second on his list, guides — Ruaan Barnard at Grootbos
behind only Madagascar. and Lazarus Mahore and Louis Mkansi
My trip was quick — just over a at Sabi Sabi. Thanks also to Sony for
week — and it was thrilling. I visited loaning me an RX10-IV camera to use
two high-end private nature reserves during the trip. A few of the photos I
and in between made a quick stop on shot with it appear on the following
the southwestern coast, at a publicly pages (and others are in galleries on
accessible park called Stony Point our website).
Nature Reserve, to see endangered What follows are brief notes about a
African Penguins. dozen of South Africa’s most iconic
At Grootbos Private Nature Reserve, birds — the ones every traveling birder
located in the Western Cape province would hope to see. If you have the
about two hours southwest of Cape opportunity to make it to the country
Town, I was immersed in the fynbos that Archbishop Desmond Tutu
biome in the Southern Hemisphere’s coined the “Rainbow Nation,” I
spring season. guarantee you’ll come away with not
The fynbos, an area of shrublands only an expanded life list but also a
and grasslands found only in new appreciation for our planet’s
Nick de Blocq/Shutterstock
southwestern South Africa, is home incredible wildlife.

to six endemic bird species and
several other species that are strongly Matt Mendenhall is the editor of
associated with the plant community. BirdWatching.
African Black Oystercatcher European Bee-eater
Endemic to southern Africa, from southern Angola to southern Mix of chestnut, gold, yellow, blue, green, and black plumage. Two populations in
Mozambique. All-black wader with reddish orange bill and eye-ring southern Africa in summer: breeding intra-African migrants and nonbreeding birds
and dull pink legs. Habitat: Coastline, estuaries, and lagoons. from Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Habitat: Savanna, woodlands, fynbos, grassy
Status: Least concern. areas. Status: Least concern.
Cape Sugarbird
Endemic to southern South Africa. Male has long, shaggy tail. Specializes on
Matt Mendenhall; Shutterstock (2)
nectar from flowering protea plants (such as pincushions). Habitat: Fynbos

biome; coastal scrub in non-breeding season. Status: Least concern.
African Hoopoe Lilac-breasted Roller
Cinnamon plumage with black and white wings and a distinctive Named for its distinctive, rolling aerial displays. One of eight roller species in Africa
crest. Found in southern Africa and north to Kenya and Uganda. and one of the most colorful; found from Ethiopia and Somalia south to southern
Habitat: Savanna, broadleaved woodlands. Status: Least concern. South Africa. Habitat: Savanna, shrublands, forest. Status: Least concern.
Double-banded Sandgrouse
A distinctive ground-living grouse of south-central Africa, including northern regions of South

Shutterstock (3)
Africa. Habitat: Savanna, grasslands, shrublands. Status: Least concern.
African Penguin
Africa’s only breeding penguin species. Breeds in South Africa and Namibia; also
occurs in Angola and Mozambique. Significant conservation action occurs on its
behalf. Habitat: Marine, usually found within 40 km of coast. Comes ashore to breed,
molt, and rest. Status: Endangered.
Bateleur Blue Crane
One of Africa’s most colorful raptors. Occurs across most of South Africa’s national bird. Found throughout South Africa and in northern
Sub-Saharan Africa. Habitat: Savanna, grasslands, other open areas. Namibia. Habitat: Grasslands and agricultural fields. Status: Vulnerable.
Status: Near threatened.
African Paradise Flycatcher
Rufous, gray, and black songbird with extremely long tail (in males).
In South Africa, found from southwestern coasts to eastern and
northern parks and reserves. Habitat: Forests, broadleaved woodlands.
Status: Least concern.
White-backed Vulture
Southern Ground Hornbill
The world’s largest hornbill, measuring up to 50 inches long and

weighing as much as 13.7 pounds. Ranges from Kenya to South
Africa, mostly confined to large reserves and national parks. Lives in
groups of five to 10 individuals. Habitat: Savanna, woodland, Ranges throughout much of Africa. In South Africa, highest
grassland. Status: Vulnerable. concentration in and around Kruger National Park. Gregarious. Nests in
loose colonies. Like other vulture species in Africa and elsewhere, has
experienced a severe and rapid decline in the last 10 years. Habitat:
Open wooded savanna. Status: Critically endangered.
AND MAMMALS, TOO!
My guides at Sabi Sabi, Lazarus Mahore and Louis Mkansi, were expert bird spotters, but they also showed me
lots of mammals on our twice-daily safari drives around the reserve, including the 10 animals shown here. —M.M.
Elephant Hippopotamus
Hyena Leopard
Lion Vervet monkey
Wild dog Buffalo
TRAVEL TIPS
Zebra
Getting there: Several major airlines fly from North American cities to
Johannesburg, and international and regional flights also go to Cape
Town and Durban. The country has a very good system of roads.
Birding tours: Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, WINGS, Rockjumper,

Tropical Birding, Field Guides, Eagle-Eye Tours, and other companies
offer birding tours of South Africa. At least three companies offer
pelagic birding excursions from Cape Town and other ports.
Safety: The country is generally safe for travelers, especially if you’re

with a tour group. The usual precautions apply, including being careful
where you go after dark.
Travelers’ vaccines: The CDC recommends most travelers receive

vaccines for hepatitis A and typhoid. For some areas, including around
Kruger National Park, a malaria vaccine is warranted.
For info about the places I saw, visit the websites for Grootbos Private
Nature Reserve (www.grootbos.com) and Sabi Sabi Private Game
Reserve (www.sabisabi.com) as well as Natural Migrations Wilderness
Safaris (www.naturalmigrations.com). —M.M.
The cliffs above Klipgat

Cave, near Grootbos.
Giraffe
A savanna at Sabi Sabi

Private Game Reserve.
A Red-billed Oxpecker calls from the head of a

giraffe. Oxpeckers feed from the hides of many
large mammals, including buffalo, giraffes, and
zebras. Red-billed is common in the Kruger
region while Yellow-billed Oxpecker is rare.
Matt Mendenhall
idtips BY KENN KAUFMAN • PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN E. SMALL
Lucifer Hummingbird
Bill black and

distinctly curved
Male has purple

gorget with
elongated corners
Small-bodied but
with long bill and
long tail
Male’s tail looks Rufous on lower

long, narrow, and flanks, sometimes
black hidden
Lucifer Hummingbird, adult male September in Brewster County, Texas
When birdwatchers travel to the south-

western United States in late summer,
What to look for hummingbirds usually rank high on their
Size and shape. A small-bodied hummingbird with noticeably “want lists.” One of the most sought after is
long tail (especially on males) and long bill. the uncommon and enigmatic Lucifer
Hummingbird. Although it occurs annually
Bill shape. Long and somewhat heavy, moderately curved. in three states, its status is poorly understood.
Originally known from central Mexico,
Male head pattern. Dull green crown and iridescent purple the Lucifer Hummingbird was first detected
throat, with elongated corners of the gorget extending down in 1901 in arid country of what is now Big
the side of the neck. Bend National Park of western Texas. This is
still the bird’s major stronghold north of the
Female and juvenile face pattern. Dusky patch extends back border. Experts have estimated the summer
and down from eye, setting off a pale eyebrow that gets broader population there at about 50 breeding females
toward the rear and connects to a pale chest band. and presumably a comparable number of
males. (In discussing hummingbird popula-
Tail pattern. Male has long, narrow, black tail, showing a deep tions, we don’t say “50 pairs,” because they
fork when spread. Female tail has green central feathers, outer don’t form pair bonds and don’t defend
feathers with rufous bases and white tips separated by black territories as pairs.) Lucifers around Big Bend
subterminal band. nest mainly on rocky slopes and dry canyons,
feeding at flowers of agave, ocotillo, and
other desert plants.
Farther west, Arizona had two very
old records, but regular sightings did not
begin to accumulate until the 1970s.
Lucifers definitely have increased since
then. They’re now annual in small
numbers in southeastern Arizona and
southwestern New Mexico, and several
nests have been found.
Many traveling birders catch up with
Lucifers in Arizona now, but often in
places that are not quite typical habitat.
Although the species favors open desert
for nesting, birders are most likely to see
it at feeders, and popular feeders
attracting Lucifers are in wooded areas:
just inside the oak zone in the lower
parts of canyons. The species shows up at
such spots from late March to early
October, and numbers may increase in
Lucifer Hummingbird, female or juvenile September in Brewster Cty., Texas
late summer, as the birds move upslope
after nesting. So, many birders have seen
Lucifers in Arizona and have seen them A well-marked female or juvenile Lucifer eyebrow stripe that broadens toward the rear. A
well but have come away with misleading Hummingbird can be very distinctive. The bill is band between throat and chest can be white to pale
noticeably curved and looks heavy at the base. buff, and cinnamon buff across the chest and down
impressions of the bird’s usual habitat.
(Costa’s, another desert hummingbird, also has a the flanks varies from obvious to faint. The color of
The Lucifer is not a close relative of slightly curved bill, but its bill looks very slender.) On the underparts might suggest Selasphorus species
any other hummingbird in the U.S., and the face, a gray ear patch extends back and down like Rufous Hummingbird, but bill shape and face
it has a distinctive appearance. Its bill from the eye, set off by a pale whitish gray to buff pattern should rule them out.
shape — long, somewhat thick, moder-
ately curved — makes a good field mark,
but use caution, since other species like
Black-chinned and Costa’s Humming-
birds also have slightly curved bills.
The male’s pattern of dull green
crown and purple throat, with elon-
gated corners to the gorget, should be
diagnostic with a good view. Its
conspicuously long, black tail is usually
held tightly closed, revealing a deep fork
only when spread.
Females and juveniles are variably
buff on the face and underparts, but this
color alone is not a field mark, since
other species also can show buff below.
Even a hummingbird that’s essentially
whitish below may have its throat stained
yellow or buff by pollen from desert
flowers. It’s better to note the Lucifer’s
face pattern, with a broad eyebrow over a
dusky ear patch, giving an appropriately
distinctive look to this uncommon Lucifer Hummingbird, adult male September in Brewster County, Texas
borderland specialty.
Compared to other North American hummingbirds, forked tail, but the fork is seldom visible except
the Lucifer has odd proportions, and the long, during certain maneuvers in flight, including the
Kenn Kaufman (www.kaufmanfieldguides.com) has curved bill is only one part of the story. The tail is courtship display. The male Black-chinned
written several books on birds and nature. Brian E. long, especially on the male. When perched, the Hummingbird, which also occurs in southwestern
Small (www.briansmallphoto.com) is a nature length of the tail is made more obvious by the fact lowlands, also has a somewhat forked, black tail.
photographer whose photos illustrate many books. that this species has relatively short wings. Since it also has purple on the lower throat, it is
Illustrations often show the male with a strikingly sometimes mistaken for a Lucifer Hummingbird.
What’s in a name?
As a kid learning about birds,

I thought the Lucifer Humming-
bird’s name made perfect sense.
Illustrations showed the male
with a prominently forked tail,
and cartoon drawings of Satan
often showed him with a forked
tail as well. I deduced that
Lucifer, as another name for the
devil, had been applied to this
little bird as a fanciful reference
to its tail shape.
It might have seemed logical,
but it wasn’t correct. “Lucifer” is
based on Latin words meaning
“light-bearing.” As with so many
Lucifer Hummingbird, female or juvenile September in Brewster Cty., Texas other hummingbirds, the irides-
cent feathers of this species
Female and juvenile Lucifers can vary in the strong dusky ear patch extending back from the seem to shine with their own
amount of buff color on the face and underparts. eye, set off from the gray-green crown by a broad light. Scientists have struggled
Some, especially adult females in worn plumage, pale eyebrow. A white spot behind the eye is visible to come up with names for
can look mostly grayish white below. The bird in but not as prominent as on some other hummers.
this image shows good buff tones on the sides and Notice the bright rufous orange edging in the outer
these varied and colorful
flanks but not on its face or throat. The overall tail feathers, a good distinction from the most creatures, and this one hap-
pattern of its face is still evident, however, with a similar species. pened to get the name Lucifer
as a bearer of light.
The hummingbird family
includes more than 350 species.
If all had names ending in
“hummingbird,” it would be
challenging to come up with
distinct modifiers for them all.
But a high percentage of tropi-
cal species have more poetic
group names: hermit, sunangel,
topaz, jacobin, visorbearer,
lancebill, fairy, sungem, sylph,
coquette, and dozens more.
Species found regularly in the
United States and Canada are
just called “hummingbird,”
although tropical strays break
the monotony with names like
violetear, mango, and starthroat.
Black-chinned Hummingbird, female May in Cochise County, Arizona Calothorax lucifer is related to
several tropical species called
Although the curved bill is often stressed as a major it may mislead birders eager to find a Lucifer. The sheartails, and some authors
field mark for Lucifer Hummingbird, some other two species differ slightly in shape, with the Lucifer suggest that “Lucifer Sheartail”
species have at least a slight curvature to their bills. having a smaller head and shorter wings, and their
Among southwestern species, the Black-chinned can face patterns are usually different. If in doubt, check
would make a fine English name
have a bill shape approaching that of the Lucifer, as the tail pattern. Female and juvenile Lucifers will for this species.
on this female. Because the female Black-chinned show some rufous in the outer tail feathers, lacking
also can have a buffy wash on the lower underparts, on Black-chinneds.
aug
19
hotspotsnearyou
HOTSPOTS NEAR YOU

Bayocean Peninsula Park, Oregon
ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING origin stories

HOTSPOTS 291-292 for just about any birding hotspot is that of Bayocean
Peninsula Park (pictured above). It sits on the Pacific
coast of Oregon, due west of Portland, and today its
notable features are sand dunes, beaches, and
woodlands. In the early 1900s, a developer built a hotel,
a general store, a saltwater natatorium, a post office,
businesses, and four miles of paved roads. By 1914, the
peninsula was home to about 2,000 people. But after a
jetty was constructed in 1917, ocean currents began to
erode the beaches. Within about 15 years, many of the
buildings were gone, and a massive storm in 1932
destroyed the swimming hall. The post office closed in
no. 291 claremont canyon
regional preserve the early ’50s, and now only a commemorative sign at
oakland, california the south end of the park marks the town’s existence.
Cheryl Zion /Shutterstock
no. 292 bayocean peninsula park and — Matt Mendenhall

tillamook bay
tillamook county, oregon
w w w. B ird Wa t chi n gD aily.co m/ hot spo tsm ap 43

no.
291
claremont canyon regional AT A GLANCE
HOTSPOTS NEAR YOU
preserve oakland, california HABITAT

37°51'45.86"N 122°14'38.83"W Meadows, chaparral, and riparian areas, plus
conifer, oak, and eucalyptus groves.
1000 ft
200 m TERRAIN
Berkeley Steep. The main path, the Stonewall-
Panoramic Trail, gains about 700 feet of
elevation in just 0.75 miles.
Shattuck Ave
Claremont Canyon BIRDS

Regional Preserve More than 135 species. Year-round: Sharp-
e shinned, Cooper’s, Red-shouldered, and
n t Av
emo Red-tailed Hawks, Band-tailed Pigeon,
Clar
Stonewall Rd Anna’s Hummingbird, Acorn Woodpecker,
Oakland
Northern Flicker, California Scrub-Jay,
Steller’s Jay, Oak Titmouse, Chestnut-backed
Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted and Pygmy
Ashby Av
e Nuthatches, Wrentit, California Thrasher,
Tun Spotted and California Towhees, Lesser
nel
Rd
Goldfinch. Summer: Pacific-slope Flycatcher,
The Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve protects 208 acres of hillside land adjacent to Violet-green Swallow, Orange-crowned and
the University of California at Berkeley. From Berkeley, take eastbound Ashby Ave. and Wilson’s Warblers. Winter: Yellow-rumped
turn left onto Claremont Ave. Stay right at the immediate fork. Turn left onto Stonewall Rd. and Townsend’s Warblers, Golden-crowned,
The main trailhead is 0.1 miles up the street. White-crowned, and Fox Sparrows.
Claremont Canyon isn’t WHEN TO GO

perfect: Off-leash dogs and sites nearby Year-round.
non-native plants abound, and
Cesar Chavez Park
you’re sure to schvitz motoring AMENITIES
A former landfill turned grassland
up the steep trails. Yet there’s Free maps usually available at main trailhead.
next to the Berkeley Marina, about
hardly a better introduction to
4.5 miles west of Claremont Canyon.
the lovely East Bay hills, which ACCESS
Excellent for ducks and shorebirds.
loom above urban Berkeley and Regional park district preserve. Open 5 a.m.
Oakland and serve as a hub for to 10 p.m. No fees. Two-hour parking limit
Tilden Regional Park
outdoor recreationists. on weekdays (street parking only). To reach
A 2,079-acre gem located north
Above all, you can’t beat the preserve by mass transit, take the AC Transit
of Claremont Canyon, flush with
panoramic views. On a clear day, #79 bus to Derby St. and Claremont Blvd.,
songbirds, hawks, and Great Horned then walk east along Derby St. to the paved
just about every notable Bay Area
Owls. Best spots within the park footpath leading to the trailhead, or take the AC
landmark materializes, from the
include Jewel Lake, Vollmer Peak, Transit #80 bus to the last stop at Russell St.
San Francisco skyline to Mount
and the botanic garden. and Claremont Blvd., and walk northeast along
Tamalpais to all four of the
region’s bridges. Claremont Ave. to Stonewall Rd.
Then, of course, there are the birds. Despite its relatively small size, the
preserve hosts several distinct habitats, providing refuge for a number of TIPS
specialty West Coast passerines, including Wrentit, California Thrasher, Sunscreen advisable except during winter rainy
Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Oak Titmouse, and Golden-crowned Sparrow. season. Bring water. Gwin Canyon Trail is far
Don’t forget to glance up, where hawks, corvids, and Turkey Vultures ride less crowded than Stonewall-Panoramic Trail,
the wind currents. but lacks the views and is harder to access.
Sometimes, I meander lazily along the path. On one such stroll this
winter with my 3-year-old son, we watched Acorn Woodpeckers ferociously FOR MORE INFO
fend off a squirrel that was trying to steal their nuts. Other times, I power up East Bay Regional Park District, www.
the slope, connecting with a trail network that goes dozens of miles in ebparks.org/parks/claremont_canyon/default.
multiple directions. — Jesse Greenspan htm. Golden Gate Audubon Society, https://
goldengateaudubon.org.
Jesse Greenspan is a Berkeley-based journalist who writes about history and
the environment. He has previously written about hotspots in New York City. www.BirdWatchingDaily.com/hotspotsmap
44
no.
292
AT A GLANCE bayocean peninsula park and
HOTSPOTS NEAR YOU

HABITAT
tillamook bay tillamook county,
Sandy beaches, coastal wetlands, oceanside oregon 45°31'53.14"N 123°57'5.77"W
willow thickets, grasslands and dunes, and
forested canopies overlooking the Pacific
Ocean. Bayocean Bayocean Dike Rd 101
Peninsula
Park
TERRAIN Bay City
Relatively flat beaches, ocean cliff viewpoints.
Pacific Tillamook B ay
O cean
BIRDS
230 species. Brant, Northern Pintail, Black
101
Oystercatcher, Pacific Golden-Plover,
Black-bellied and Snowy Plovers, Whimbrel, Bay
o
Cape Meares
ce
Marbled Godwit, Pectoral, Semipalmated, and
an
National Wildlife
Rd
Refuge
N
Western Sandpipers, Common Murre, Pigeon
W
Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Cassin’s and Cape Meares Tillamook
State Scenic
Rhinoceros Auklets, Tufted Puffin, Western, Viewpoint 6
Mew, and California Gulls, Brandt’s, Double- 131
crested, and Pelagic Cormorants, Brown 1 mi
2 km
Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Turkey
Vulture, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Bayocean Peninsula Park is a 4-mile-long spit that separates the Pacific Ocean from
Anna’s and Rufous Hummingbirds, Chestnut- Tillamook Bay. From Portland, take U.S. Hwy. 26 toward Ocean Beaches, then go west on
backed Chickadee, Wrentit, Red Crossbill, Oregon Hwy. 6 for 54 miles. In Tillamook, continue onto Hwy. 131 for 1.8 miles, then turn
Spotted Towhee, Brewer’s Blackbird. right onto Bayocean Rd. NW. Go 5 miles to the park entrance at Bayocean Dike Rd.
WHEN TO GO Bayocean Peninsula Park

Year-round. Early April to mid-May, or late June and the surrounding Tillamook sites nearby
through July, for Tufted Puffins on the north Bay area are easy to access for Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area
coast. visitors. I like to spend About 23 miles south of Tillamook,
mornings scanning the bay and on the coast. Scoters, grebes, loons,
AMENITIES walking the sandy beaches. The
Park is undeveloped. Plenty of dining and seabirds, and many other species.
shores around the bay, rivers,
lodging options in Tillamook County; see streams, and the ocean have
tillamookcoast.com for options. Explore Nature Nestucca Bay National Wildlife
attracted more than 230 bird Refuge, Hotspot Near You No. 127
Tillamook Coast offers guided birding and species — from seabirds and
wildlife tours. About 27 miles south of Tillamook.
shorebirds to waterfowl, Wintering site of Dusky, Lesser, and
raptors, hummingbirds,
ACCESS Western Canada Goose, and Aleutian,
sparrows, and warblers.
County park. No fees and no motorized access Taverner’s, and Semidi Islands Cackling
Plenty of birding
beyond parking area. Nearby state parks, Goose.
opportunities await on the
including Cape Lookout and Nehalem Bay, north and eastern shores of
charge $5 day-use parking fee. Tillamook Bay as well. The checklist website eBird.org lists about 20 other
hotspots around the bay.
TIPS Slightly south of the peninsula is Cape Meares State Scenic Viewpoint, a
Tillamook County receives 87 inches of rain lush, yet rugged spot on the coast adjacent to Cape Meares National Wildlife
annually. Bring a raincoat or windbreaker and Refuge. Here you can see Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Varied Thrush,
a hoodie to wear underneath. Good walking Cedar Waxwing, and other species. From May to September, watch for
shoes or hiking boots recommended. Tufted Puffin, especially atop nearby haystacks — basalt formations that jut
hundreds of feet from the ocean surface. The haystack at Cannon Beach,
FOR MORE INFO about 40 miles north of Tillamook, offers the most ideal location.
Tillamook Coast Visitors Association, (503) Cape Lookout State Park, a short drive south of Tillamook, is another
842-2672, www.tillamookcoast.com/what-to- favorite of mine. Allow enough time and wear good walking shoes, because
do/bird-watching. Explore Nature Tillamook you’ll have to hike in for the best views and birdwatching. — Scott Gilbert
County, www.explorenaturetillamookcoast.com.
Scott Gilbert is a longtime writer and editor with a background in journalism
www.BirdWatchingDaily.com/hotspotsmap who lives on the Oregon coast.
45
amazingbirds BY ELDON GREIJ
The wings are able to

generate power with both
the downstroke and the
upstroke, an avian trait
unique to hummingbirds.
on top of the shoulder to attach a muscle

large enough to lift the wing during
flight. This engineering quandary was
solved when birds cleverly utilized a
second breast muscle (the
supracoracoideus) that lies on the breast
under the pectoralis. The tendon on the
end of this muscle passes through an
opening created by bones of the shoulder
girdle and attaches to the top of the
humerus, near the head. The opening in
the shoulder acts like a pulley, so when
this muscle contracts, it actually lifts the
wing, even though it’s located below the
rest of the bird.
Non-hummer flying birds have
ACROBATIC: A Ruby-throated Hummingbird rotates its wings so the leading edges move backward wings that bend at the elbow and wrist
while the flight feathers trail below the bird’s body. and beat in a vertical plane. Power is
generated on the downstroke, and wing
recovery occurs on the upstroke. The
Sprite flight birds flap (and glide) through the air.
The elongated wings of humming-
birds are stiff and do not bend. The short
How hummingbirds fly is astonishing flight feathers give the wing an oar-like
appearance. In fact, the movement of
I’m watching a male Ruby-throated skeletal systems benefitting flight and hummingbirds’ stiff wings in flight is
Hummingbird on bee balm. He’s massive breast muscles to serve as much like rowing through the air.
hovering, as if on a skyhook, taking on high-powered engines, also for flight. To Unfortunately, hummingbirds row so
nectar. Then he backs out about 5 inches fuel these engines, birds developed high fast that it’s mostly a blur and hard to
and freezes in space, his wings a blur. metabolic rates that required high body see, although if we’re close enough, we
Then he vanishes up and away, as if shot temperatures and high-energy foods. can hear the characteristic hum for
from a canon. I’ve lost him. Now he’s Flight requires movement of the which they are named.
back, pauses, and shoots up about 6 wings. Because muscles work by The rate at which hummingbirds
inches, pauses, and then flies head-first shortening, they must be located beat their wings is truly astounding. In
into another flower. I’m mesmerized. between a structure and the direction general, smaller species beat their wings
Of all avian attributes, none is as in which it will be pulled. Downstroke faster than larger ones, and the rates
essential as flight. For most flying birds, was easy. The large breast muscle vary from about 25 to 80 beats per
flight is a variation on a common theme. (pectoralis major) attaches to the breast second. By contrast, most other flying
But not for hummingbirds; they’ve gone bone and inserts underneath and near birds beat their wings fewer than five
Ramona Edwards/Shutterstock
their own way. Hummers have the head of the upper arm bone times per second. The slow wing beat of
developed an astonishing flight style (humerus). When this muscle some herons, for example, is a little more
that makes other birds look ordinary. contracts, the wing is pulled down. than two per second, while most
Early in avian evolution, natural Upstroke was a problem for all flying songbirds are around five. Birds that
selection favored light and strong birds, because there wasn’t enough room have relatively small wings for their size,
Birders on the Go
AMAZING MUSCLES AND BONES

Read more about the amazing muscles and
bones that make birds fly in Eldon Greij’s
column from the January/February 2014 issue
of BirdWatching. It’s available on our website
at https://tinyurl.com/avianmuscles.
such as diving ducks and pheasants, have rapid wing beats

but probably don’t exceed nine beats per second.
Another important difference between hummers and
other flying birds is that hummingbird humeri (the upper
arm bones) rotate in the shoulder joint. The rotation allows
hummers to change the angle of their wings’ leading edges
between downstroke and upstroke. During downstroke,
the leading edge tilts down at about 45 degrees, making the
underside of the wing push against the air. During
upstroke, the leading edge tilts up at about 45 degrees, so
the upper side of the wing pushes against the air.
Consequently, the wings are able to generate power with
both the downstroke and the upstroke, an avian trait
unique to hummingbirds.
The breast muscle responsible for the upstroke is
proportionally much larger in hummingbirds than in
other birds and is about equal in size to the large breast
muscle that creates the downstroke. This assures
near-equal power of the two strokes and is critical to the
next step.
Once hummingbirds had achieved equally powered
downstroke and upstroke, they were just a body contortion
away from hovering. By tilting the body back and moving
their wing beats from a vertical to horizontal plane, they
resemble a helicopter and can hover with great precision.
Moreover, by moving the plane of the wing beats from
horizontal to slightly tilting back, they can fly backward
and, with different tilting angles can fly virtually in any
direction. And as everyone knows, the birds’ movements Advertise in our
can be slow and smooth or fast and jerky. Hovering flight
has been incorporated into their courtship and territorial Birders on the Go
displays and has increased their feeding efficiency.
The resourceful hummingbirds took to the air and Section!
rewrote the book on flight. They combine speed with
endurance. And to the thrill of birdwatchers, they
incorporate stunt and acrobatic flying as part of their Please contact Scott Luksh at
amazing mastery of the air. 718.399.0004
sluksh@madavor.com
Eldon Greij is professor emeritus at Hope College, located in Holland,
Michigan, where he taught ornithology and ecology for many years.
He is the founder of Birder’s World magazine. You can find an archive
of his “Amazing Birds” columns on our website at
www.BirdWatchingDaily.com/news/science.
attractingbirds BY LAURA ERICKSON
without even thinking about it we

stopped talking mid-sentence, picking
up after the jet passed.
Birds compensate for background
noise, too. In 2017, researchers from
George Mason University found that in
three urban parks in greater
Washington D.C., Eastern Wood-
Pewees produced songs shorter and of a
narrower range of frequencies than
normal to be heard above loud traffic
noise. Pewees there have declined by
50 percent in recent decades, and noise
may be a factor; females seem to prefer
mates who sing normal songs. During
36-hour weekend road closures, the
study birds produced more natural
songs. Perhaps temporary road closures
could benefit urban songbirds that
adjust their songs for fluctuating traffic
noise levels.
Areas with no human-produced
COURTING: A pair of Great Horned Owls hoot to one another in the evening light. noise are growing harder to find, but a
project called “One Square Inch” is
trying to make people more aware of
Missing silence how noisy our world has become and

how important and restorative a truly
natural soundscape is. The organizers
Our noisy world often stifles the joy of listening to birds marked off 1 square inch in the Hoh
Rain Forest of Olympic National Park,
3.2 miles from the visitor center above
One night last winter, I heard a Great flying over, cars starting up, doors Mt. Tom Creek Meadows on the Hoh
Horned Owl, grabbed my recording slamming — ordinary sounds of River Trail, as “one square inch of
equipment, and ran to the back porch. human life muddied the owl recording silence,” its soundscape entirely
Two owls in my yard were hooting back beyond repair. natural. This may be the quietest place
and forth; a second pair off to the west My neighborhood is quiet by urban in the lower 48 states in terms of
answered. My yard must be on the standards, but much remoter places are human-generated sounds.
border between two territories. also noisy. My mother-in-law lived in “Silence is not the absence of
I’ve never before heard four owls rural Wisconsin, half a mile from her something,” says founder Gordon
hooting simultaneously, but my nearest neighbor and a highway, and a Hempton, “but the presence of
recording was awful. In the four mile from Lake Superior, yet virtually everything.” Being able to record the
decades we’ve lived in our quiet all my recordings from her place nuances of four Great Horned Owls
residential neighborhood in Duluth, include traffic and motorboat or hooting on a winter night would have
Minnesota, background noise has snowmobile noise. meant everything to me.
melted from my consciousness even as We unconsciously filter out most
it’s grown louder. A quarter mile to the background noise from our daily
Kelp Grizzly Photography/Shutterstock
north and south are avenues with soundtrack. I notice sirens in my Laura Erickson, the 2014 recipient of the
steady traffic; a snowmobile trail runs neighborhood but filter them out in American Birding Association’s highest honor, the
beyond one. My microphone picked up Chicago or New York. Some everyday Roger Tory Peterson Award, has written 11 books
trucks and a snowmobile, sounds are too loud to filter out. I grew about birds and hosts the long-running radio
overwhelming the owls’ hoots. Gas up on a flight path near O’Hare program and podcast “For the Birds.”
furnaces, barking dogs, two airplanes Airport. When a jet approached,
From
yourview Birding experiences and photographs submitted by readers our
readers!
Looking up
GORGEOUS: Harrison Ponn of STRETCH: William Jones took this
Newark, Ohio, photographed this shot of a Green Heron along the Great
Northern Parula at Blackhand Gorge Miami River in Piqua, Ohio. He used a
near Toboso, Ohio. He used a Nikon Canon 7D Mark II camera with a
D500 with an 80-400mm lens. 400mm lens.
FIRST MEAL: An American

Oystercatcher chick receives its first
meal from its parent at the Edwin B.
Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in
Oceanville, New Jersey. Steve Remley
used a Nikon D300S with a 200-
400mm lens.
STOPOVER SITE: As many
as 200 American White
Pelicans spent time this spring
at Hastings Lake Forest
Preserve in Lake County,
Illinois. Tom Scheidt took this
image on April 21 with a Nikon
D3400 and a Tamron
150-600mm lens.
ANGELIC: While a February snowstorm dumped a MERIWETHER’S NAMESAKE: Lucian Parshall

foot of white powder in Creswell, Oregon, this of Brighton, Michigan, was on the back porch of
Eurasian Collared-Dove attempted to land. Edward a house in Hereford, Arizona, when a Lewis’s
D. Jackson used a Nikon D7500 with a Tamron Woodpecker landed nearby. He took the photo
100-400mm lens. with a Canon 1DX and a 400mm DO lens.
PUTTING ON THE BRAKES: A Northern
Mockingbird flies toward a suet feeder at
Bucktoe Creek Preserve in Kennett Square,
Pennsylvania. Hank Davis used a Nikon
D850 with a 200-500mm f/5.6 Nikkor lens.
REGAL: Mark Ray made this image of

a Red-shouldered Hawk with its garter
snake meal in Cincinnati, Ohio. He used
a Canon 80D camera with a Sigma
125-600mm lens.
SITTING STILL: Gloria Markiewicz
of Venice, Florida, shot this photo of a
well-camouflaged Eastern
Screech-Owl at Pinecraft Park in
Sarasota. She used a Nikon D610
and a Tamron 150-600mm lens.
NATIVE FLORIDIAN: This Florida

Scrub-Jay, the Sunshine State’s one
and only endemic bird, was seen at the
Scrub Oak Preserve in Deland, Florida.
Clark LaGrange took the photo with a
Nikon Coolpix P900.
POSING: Ian Davis of Ottawa,
Ontario, used a Canon T2i camera
and a Tamron 150-600mm lens to
shoot this photo of a Blue-gray
Tanager in Tarapoto, Peru.
OUT OF RANGE: Geoff Smith

spotted this Indigo Bunting at Logy
Bay, Newfoundland, in early May. The
species is a rare vagrant on the
island of Newfoundland. Smith used
a Canon 80D camera and a Sigma
150-600mm lens.
Let’s hear from you!

Submit photos as full-resolution, high-quality JPG files via email
(no TIFFs, please). Include a short description of the photo;
include the bird name, the equipment used, and the location.
Please include your name, address, phone number, and email
address. If we publish a story or photo of yours, we’ll send you a
complimentary copy of the issue in which it appears. There’s no
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Send your photos and stories to:

Your View Editor
BirdWatching Magazine
yourview@birdwatchingdaily.com
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Regular Guest Mike O’Connor
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CONTACT www.talkinbirds.com
—
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Media Solutions Director time at talkinbirds.com or on
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On sale August 27
HOW THEY FEED: These illustrations depict the typical movements of four types of shorebirds. Blue lines show the path of the bill tip as
the bird forages. Clockwise from top right: yellowlegs, plover, dowitcher, and peep.
Keys to identifying shorebirds

Start by learning to recognize the four distinct groups of beach-combers
You might not be thinking of bird likely to encounter: (sometimes walking on wet mud) with
migration in July and August, but this is Plovers are small- to medium-size their heads down for long periods.
the peak of southbound shorebird with short, stout bills. These species Peeps are small- to medium-size
migration, when any mudflat is likely to forage visually and move across the flats with relatively short legs and short,
provide a resting place for a few species, in short bursts, running a few steps, slender bills. This group includes the
and the best locations can host 20 or dipping down to grab something in the most numerous species (Least,
more species together. Shorebirds mud, then standing still to watch for Semipalmated, and Western
(sandpipers and plovers) provide some of their next target. Plovers almost never Sandpipers), and the birds can be found
the most exciting late-summer birding wade in water and are often found on the in flocks of hundreds. They forage
opportunities, but they are widely drier parts of the flats or even in dry mostly by touch and taste, walking with
known for being among the most fields. Killdeer is the most widespread short, quick steps and keeping their head
challenging birds to identify. Many and familiar species. down as they pick food from the surface
similar species are often in mixed flocks. Yellowlegs are medium to large, or probe rapidly into the mud.
As with any other large group of elegant, with relatively long bill and Other variations occur, of course. But
similar species, the shorebirds can be legs. These birds forage mostly by sight, these four groups include all of the most
subdivided into smaller groups of related walking steadily and reaching down to common shorebirds in most locations,
species based on shared characteristics. pick food deftly from the surface of the and they’re a helpful first step to simplify
Once you have found a flock of mud or in the water. They do not probe their identification.
shorebirds, one of the best first steps is to in mud and are usually found wading
figure out which of the subgroups are in water.
represented. Pay special attention to Dowitchers are medium-size, stocky David Allen Sibley is the author of The Sibley
overall size and proportions, habitat with very long bills and relatively short Guide to Birds, Second Edition, Sibley’s
choice, and foraging motions. Don’t legs. The dowitchers forage entirely by Birding Basics, and field guides to the birds of
worry too much about details of touch and taste, probing repeatedly to eastern and western North America. In our
plumage at this stage. find prey buried in the mud. Their bills last issue, he explained the importance of
Four distinct groups encompass the move like the needle on a sewing
wing patterns for identifying birds.
majority of all of the shorebirds you are machine. They often wade in water
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What are some of the birds and topics discussed in the magazine?

What are some of the birds and topics discussed in the magazine?

What photography equipment is recommended for birders?

What photography equipment is recommended for birders?

A DUCKLING IN AN OWL’S NEST • BIRDING SOUTH AFRICA

Attract • Find • Identify • Enjoy

+ The fun new board

You’re never too far from a great close-up.

SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2

FEATURES IN EVERY ISSUE

46 Amazing birds ELDON GREIJ

12 top 48 Attracting birds LAURA ERICKSON

FROM OUR READERS

COVER PHOTO Lucifer Hummingbird

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ART & PRODUCTION

one of its brightest stars on March 25, when Bill OPERATIONS

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SUBSCRIPTIONS: 1 Year (6 Issues) US $26.95, Canada $32.95, Foreign: $34.95

BirdWatching (ISSN 2158-3838) is published bimonthly by Madavor Media, LLC, 25

ZEISS Victory Harpia 85 & 95

The Best Birding Optics since 1970

August 2008-18 January 2008-18

Q Why do birds always

Secret life of birds

With great guides and

“I like the people-centered philosophy of Field Guides. The trips are

the risk of predation. Locales

well before dusk might do so be-

John P. McCown, a Confederate

POTENTIAL SPLIT: The two populations of

field-guide pioneer and artist

Few experiences ignite passion in a a common gift — treasured

tool for the task

truer than in bird

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Golden Gate Audubon Mass Audubon and the City of Boston

citywildlife.org/programs/lights-out-dc Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington,

Charlotte, North Carolina Salt Lake City, Utah

» LIGHTS OUT CHICAGO Mecklenburg Audubon Tracy Aviary

Finding, following and identifying requires a

THE CYNDI LAUPER BIRD: The

southwestern South Africa, is home incredible wildlife.

nectar from flowering protea plants (such as pincushions). Habitat: Fynbos

A distinctive ground-living grouse of south-central Africa, including northern regions of South

Africa. Habitat: Savanna, grasslands, shrublands. Status: Least concern.

Bateleur Blue Crane

Matt Mendenhall; Shutterstock (2)

Southern Ground Hornbill

The world’s largest hornbill, measuring up to 50 inches long and

Lion Vervet monkey

Wild dog Buffalo

Birding tours: Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, WINGS, Rockjumper,

Safety: The country is generally safe for travelers, especially if you’re

Travelers’ vaccines: The CDC recommends most travelers receive

The cliffs above Klipgat

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