Chronicles

Tips For Beginner Birders With Mike Lushington by: Mike Lushington   2. You and Your Bird Guide                                                         In last week's introductory column for this series, I wrote about the importance of getting a good pair of binoculars and of getting used to using them. There is obviously a great deal more to be said on the topic, but I am keeping in mind that these articles are for beginners, who are not likely to want to be swamped with information. Suffice it to repeat, then, that the more you practice with your binoculars, in all sorts of circumstances (including just sitting on your front lawn and reading licence plates of passing cars, or checking out the neighbour's flower gardens), the more easily you will be able to use them when you are working on a tricky little flock of warblers.              The other essential bit of equipment for birders is a field guide. There are several excellent ones currently on the market. check with experienced birders and you will be almost certain to find that they will have the Peterson Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America, The National Geographic Guide to the Birds of North America, or David Sibley's Guide to Birds. There are others, but these three have, in their own ways, set the standards by which all others are measured. I own all three, and use them all regularly. There are a couple of guides - the Stokes books come to mind - that use photographs in helping with bird identification, but the others all use drawings. Now, at first glance, a photo might seem to be a better option, but consider: a photo, even an excellent one, is of one individual bird. A drawing, on the other hand, can try to take the general characteristics of that bird into consideration. It also removes background interferences, effects of light and shadow, distance from the bird, quality of the photographer's equipment, and other factors that can and do affect even the best photographs. In the end, of course, it is your choice, but there is a reason why most birders, at least of those whom I know, prefer the guides with drawings.              Like binoculars, a guide is the more useful the more often you actually use it. I always have at least one of mine by my favourite reading chair and I will often pull it out for a few minutes to go over a certain set of drawings and text, depending on the birds that most interest me at any given time. I study the plates, reread the text, and refresh my memory on those things that I will want to remember the next time I am in the field.              Conversely, I never take a guide with me into the field. If I am driving somewhere, I will have one in my vehicle; if I am birding from home, I leave the guides behind. at first glance, that might seem strange, but I have found, over and again, that when I see a bird that puzzles me, I am far better off studying it for as long as I possibly can, rather than fumbling through the pages of a guide with one hand while trying to focus my binoculars with the other. I do, however, carry a small notebook in my binocular case. As I am examining the bird, I am reciting those details that I want to remember for future identification and, as soon as I have an instant, I jot them down. I am no artist, but occasionally I will try to sketch the bird as I am seeing it at that moment, as well as jotting down descriptions of head stripes, wing bars, length of tail - any details that might be important. Later, when I have the time to do it properly, I haul out those notes and my guides and confirm, change or reject any identification that I may have already made.

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