Colorado National MonumentPage 14 of 26
Birds and how to watch them: beaks, nests, eggs and a simple birding kit
Birds are found just about everywhere, and even when you cannot see them you can often hear them. Which birds you find changes with place and season, and you can enjoy them by watching what they do, listening to their songs, noting their plumage or drawing them. This is a National Park Service guide to getting started.
American avocets on Floating Island Lake in Yellowstone National Park. NPS/Jim Peaco.
What a bird's features tell you
Bills. A bird's beak says a lot about it. Eagles, hawks and owls have strong, hooked beaks for tearing meat, and woodpeckers have chisel-like beaks for drilling into wood. A duck's flat beak is good for straining food out of mud, and a great blue heron's works like a fishing spear.
Nests. The guide calls birds engineers that build nests to be invisible, inaccessible or impenetrable, which improves the survival of eggs, chicks and parents. Nests can be more than woven bowls in trees: kingfishers dig burrows, woodpeckers chisel cavities in trees, and some birds even nest together.
Eggs. Birds hatch from protective hard-shelled eggs that take a great deal of energy to make. The shell holds and protects the embryo and its nutrients. Because the mother does not carry her young inside her, both parents can gather food and guard the nest while they wait for the chicks to hatch.
How to watch birds
The most important trait for a birdwatcher is patience, the ability to wait quietly and mindfully. It lets you learn to recognize different birds and learn more about them.
| Where to look | Trees, where most birds live; poles or treetops, favored by raptors; rivers and lakes; marshes and wetlands; beaches, where shorebirds raise young and feed in summer |
| When to look | Spring, when nesting birds prepare nests and lay eggs; summer, when adults hunt and watch over young; fall, when migrants leave for winter areas; winter, when ducks and geese are common along flowing water |
| Tips | Wear comfortable clothes; be still, in a good place to sit or stand so you do not scare birds; take time, since the more you look the more you notice |
Many birds migrate, wintering somewhere other than where they raise their young. When identifying a bird, notice its call or song, silhouette, flight pattern, location, behavior, size, coloration (beak, feet, feathers), special markings and shapes (beak, head, body).
A birding kit
You don't need special equipment, and even without binoculars you can watch behavior and listen to songs. Things to consider taking are binoculars, a notebook and pen, a field guide, a bird checklist, birding apps such as Merlin Bird ID, eBird and iNaturalist, and food and water for yourself. The guide asks that you do not feed wild birds.
Try it
The guide ends with a short activity: list the places where you have seen birds and as many birds as you can, then watch one bird for five minutes and describe its size, behavior, location, feather colors and markings, beak and feet, tail, flight pattern and call or song. It also points to a program called Healing Wings, where you can learn more about birds and help protect them.
Sources
- National Park Service, “Birds and Observing Them” activity guide (https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/birds-and-observing-them.htm), listed for Colorado National Monument and Yellowstone National Park; rewritten in hubnx's own words. Illustrations and decorative bands are left out.