Most birds I observe are flying by so quickly I only see their overall body shape. I consider myself an advanced beginner birder. My challenge, and goal set for myself while bird watching now, is to catch sight of the bird’s head, specifically its eyebrow and eye ring. For some birds it will be the difference in being one bird or another. I am improving in noticing beak, wing bars or not, and tail shape, but have to look closer and faster to see more and then picture it all as I consult my field guide book.

The other day another bird watcher, 6 feet away from me due to Covid-19 physical distancing, told me I was looking at a MacGillivray’s warbler. I would have loved to add the bird to my life list, so I asked how do you know it is that bird, I only see its rear end? Notice its split eye-ring. Even as I used my binoculars the bird kept its rear end toward me so I saw no eye ring. I knew I would never be able to identify this bird from its tail end, so I did not add the bird to my life list.

This past month I have seen birds, photographed some, and later identified them thanks to Cornell Lab’s eBird and Merlin Bird ID. Female birds are often drab-looking and it is difficult to catch subtle differences between species. Other times I know I am looking at a new bird and yet I have not perfected the note-taking necessary to remember what it is I am looking at, so a photograph is my go-to method of capturing my sighting.

Digital cameras are fantastic! Years ago I used to budget money to purchase film, more money aside to develop the film, and finally more money to print some of the photos. Now-a-days I can take hundreds of photos on an SD card. I look forward to the time at home to see what looks like a good picture and to delete many other photos.

Here are a couple of birds I observed, photographed, and when home I used Merlin Bird ID to help me identify these two different species of female hummingbirds.

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When bird watching you always need to be ready. All of a sudden I saw a bird I knew I had never seen before and it was so cute! I had to capture a photo of it and later discovered with Merlin Bird ID it was a pygmy nuthatch.

While looking through all my photographs, I discovered another bird that looked different to me. Unsure of what this drab female bird would be, I put the photo in Merlin Bird ID and it identified as a blue-throated mountain gem. I knew these blue-throated hummingbirds were in the area, but during my observations I was looking for the blue throat of the male. The female is not so colorful, but I did notice an eyebrow or facial stripe I had not seen before, so I snapped a photo or two. I also listed the bird in eBird for my life list, yet received an email questioning if I did see the bird.

The blue-throated are the largest hummingbirds species in the US and I waited to hear back from eBird staff to learn if they agreed with the Merlin ID. Fantastic news, yes they agreed with the identification! I am so thankful to have had the photo and now have also learned how to add my photos to eBird!

No doubt, bird watching and bird photography are lifetime hobbies. In time I can only improve with patience while learning both skills. Wish me luck!