Part of the fun of learning to recognize a wide variety of wild birds is sharing that knowledge with new bird watchers. But I learned the identification process could benefit from a personal upgrade.
Here鈥檚 an example. Trish, a newer bird enthusiast felt thrilled to share her recent sighting of a banded Kingfisher. I hadn鈥檛 heard of a banded Kingfisher but I wasn鈥檛 really too surprised. I never dismiss a possibility. I鈥檓 always learning new bird information.
To dig a bit deeper, we reviewed the exact location, the time of day and distinctive markings. The description was familiar鈥 stubby bird with a grey-blue body and large kingfisher-like head with a tufted crest.
Did it also have had a blue-grey band across its white upper breast? Yes, it did! I suddenly felt rather foolish! We were both talking about the BELTED kingfisher. The word 鈥榖anded鈥� described a specific identifying feature of a relatively common, primarily warmer season resident, frequently found anywhere there鈥檚 an open water food source.
鈥淏anded鈥� had caught my attention without triggering the most obvious bird identification! The Belted kingfisher that we see in South Central BC ranges over most of North America. It frequently does migrate south for open water in colder months to feed on small fish and aquatic insects. Some choose not to travel at all.
It鈥檚 interesting to note, the Belted kingfisher鈥檚 loud, raucous chatter may remind you of the Australian kookaburra, a cousin among a world-wide family of Alcedinidae.
A few days later, another relatively new birder called with a long list she had seen that morning. With the excitement of new discoveries on her mind, Donna asked, 鈥淕uess what we saw this morning? A Red-winged blackbird! We鈥檝e never seen one of those in the winter before! Is that unusual?鈥�
I鈥檇 seen one nearby just a few days ago. Other observers had mentioned they鈥檇 spotted Red-winged blackbirds recently too. Normal blackbird behaviour can include short-distance migration for breeding. That might make us think we won鈥檛 see any. But with our warming winters, some Red-winged black birds are foregoing a lengthy migration if what they need is close at hand.
Donna added 鈥淎nd we saw鈥︹�� followed by a hearty list of bird species they鈥檇 spotted including Dark-eyed juncos, House sparrows, House finches and Black-capped chickadees. 鈥淢erlin also saw, or more accurately heard,鈥� she said apologetically, 鈥渁 Brown creeper and a Mountain chickadee.鈥� I knew why Donna was hesitant. Bird folks are always warning each other that the successful use of the Merlin bird-call phone app can be a bit challenging.
Sometimes what Merlin hears, and identifies, may not be the bird you see. Donna admitted that they hadn鈥檛 seen either bird but were counting on Merlin coming up with the right answer. It鈥檚 certainly possible both Merlin responses were correct, especially as those two birds are in the neighbourhood.
To be completely sure, you need a bird call expert along. Fortunately, naturalist groups often include some very knowledgeable bird call experts. I鈥檓 always brushing up on my bird call and identification expertise.
To contact Dianne please go to writer@diannebersea.com
