Birdwatching is one of the most common hobbies, and a very inexpensive one as well! Learn more about these fascinating creatures as well as migration routes for some of the more common wild birds.

If you've ever wondered what birds live in your area, check our bird range maps.

Useful Bird Information

Oakmont Titmouse

There are over 8,000 species of wild birds in the U.S. and Canada. Field guides may be useful for identification as well as having your vbinoculars handy.

Chipping Sparrow

Four steps to quick identification for the beginner birder. See what kind of birds most usually appear in the neighborhood you're watching and then apply these steps.

Size and Shape - Samll, medium or large, elongated or ball-shaped. The first steps are to learn typical bird silhouettes, find reliable ways to gauge the size of a bird, and notice differences in telltale parts of a bird such as the bill, wings, and tail.
Color Pattern -Location of colors, strips, wing markings. Every bird you see is in your field guide somewhere. Focus on patterns instead of trying to match every feather
Behavior - busy, inquisitve, short hops, log hops. Because so much of a bird’s identity is evident in how it acts, behavior can lead you to an ID in the blink of an eye
Habitat - Field, woodland, edge of forest etc. By knowing what’s likely to be seen in a given location, you can get a head start on recognizing the birds you run into

Of course you’ll need to look at field marks – a wingbar here, an eyering there – to clinch some IDs. But these four keys will quickly get you to the right group of species, so you’ll know exactly which field marks to look for. And then use your field book as well. Just practice, practice and practice. It does get easier!

Red-Bellied Woodpecker

Habitat - Nearly 80 percent of wildlife habitat in the United States is in private hands, and an average of 2.1 million acres each year are converted to residential use.

Blue Jay

Water - A source of clean water, for drinking and bathing, may attract birds that don’t visit feeders. Use a birdbath and place it in the shade if possible, to keep the water cooler and fresher. Nearby trees also provide branches on which they can preen.

Black Capped Chickadee

Landscape - How we landscape our yard and deal with insects and weeds can make the difference between a bird haven and a pile of problems When you landscape your yard, you can attract a wider variety of wild bird species and make your yard more bird-friendly. Even a small yard can provide vital habitat.

Nesting - About 80 species of birds nest in cavities and are candidates for bird houses.

Nesting Materials - Fallen leaves and twigs left un-raked make excellent nest materials for many birds. You can also put out concentrated stashes of nest material. It can be natural materials like straw, small sticks, and twigs, or manmade materials such as yarn and string. You may also use Yarn or string cut into 4-8" pieces, human hair (no longer than 4-6") Pet fur (never use fur from pets that received flea or tick treatments),sheep's wool, feather, plant fluff or down,kapok, cotton batting,or other stuffin material,moss, bark strips, pine needles, or thing strips of cloth.

You will be able to best offer nesting material by placing the twigs and leaves, in piles on the ground—other materials, too, if they won't blow away. Put fluffy materials, hair, and fur in clean wire-mesh suet cages, or in string or plastic mesh bags. Attach them to tree trunks, fence posts, or deck railings. The birds will pull out the material through the mesh holes. You may also push material into tree crevices or drape it over vegetation or use an open-topped, plastic berry basket (such as strawberries are sold in).

American Goldfinch

Did you know that....

Birds' diets are varied and often include nectar, fruit, plants, seeds, carrion, and various small animals, including other birds. Because birds have no teeth, their digestive system is adapted to process unmasticated food items that are swallowed whole.
Landbirds have a flight range of around 1,600 mi and shorebirds can fly up to 2,500 mi. although the Bar-tailed Godwit is capable of non-stop flights of up to 6,300 mi.
Bird calls are used for mate attraction, evaluation of potential mates, bond formation, the claiming and maintenance of territories, the identification of other individuals (such as when parents look for chicks in colonies or when mates reunite at the start of breeding season, and the warning of other birds of potential predators, sometimes with specific information about the nature of the threat.
Sleeping birds often use a type of sleep known as vigilant sleep, where periods of rest are interspersed with quick eye-opening 'peeks', allowing them to be sensitive to disturbances and enable rapid escape from threats.
A bird's normal body temperature is usually 7-8 degrees hotter than a human's. Up to three-quarters of the air a bird breathes is used just for cooling down since they are unable to sweat.
The oldest bird was known as an Archaeopteryx and lived about 150 million years ago. It was the size of a raven, was covered with feathers, and had wings.
The egg of the hummingbird is the world's smallest bird's egg; the egg of the ostrich, the world's largest.
A bird's heart beats 400 times per minute while resting and up to 1000 beats per minute while flying.
Swifts, doves, falcons, and sandpipers can approach 200 mph.

Information from Cornel Lab of Ornithology

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