Articles & Resources

Finding Birds in the Forest
By ornithologist, Maria Stockmal of the New Haven Bird Club

Fall migration is a good time to look for birds in the forest. The birds begin to return to their wintering grounds at their leisure as early as July for shorebirds and August for forest birds. It is not like spring migration when most of the birds arrive in May which makes any birder feel frenzied about finding as many varieties of birds as possible.

Fall migration gives the casual birder a chance to spy a variety of birds at chance encounters. Many of the fall migrants will still be in breeding plumage and easy to identify. Others, notably the wood warblers, will be in confusing fall (basic) plumage.

For example, it is easy to misidentify the fall plumaged Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata) with the fall plumaged Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus). One way to tell them apart is by their legs. The Dendroica striata will have pinkish legs and the Dendroica pinus black legs. This is a diagnostic mark, a characteristic of one member of a bird family that is unique to only one species. In field guides the diagnostic marks are evident by an arrow placement on the birds.

Looking for birds in the forest in late summer and autumn can be a difficult task since the trees are still in full foliage. It isn't until November that the leaves fall sufficiently enough to find birds easily but by then, the migrants are gone. Although a few stragglers may still be found in a few places, I find November to be a scarce month for birds. By December, the fall migrants from up north arrive locally to their wintering grounds and give plenty of viewing.

When searching for birds in September and October listen for bird songs and look for movement of leaves. This is a good indication of where the birds are. Just because they can not be seen does not mean that they are not around. Many a great colorful bird is missed because the observer did not note the movement of leaves in the trees.

Once a spot is identified by bird song, listen for the placement of the bird in the tree. Is it calling from the top, middle, or base of the tree? Or, locate the movement in the leaves. Is the movement caused by a squirrel or bird? If you have a bird the fun part begins. To identify this bird, note its wings. Does the bird have wing bars or not? Look at its legs. What color are they, or, how long? Look at its tail. Is it long or short? Is it one color or two? What is the shape of the bill? Is it long and thin or short and stout? What color are the feathers on its head and back? After much practice, looking at the right parts of the bird's body will lead to its exact identification.

Lets take a look at the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis ). You may be thinking, "I know this is a red bird. There is nothing more to say." But, really look at this bird. Yes, its overall red in color, but, its wings have black in them and look darker than the overall body of the bird as does the tail. Did you notice that? It also has black under its chin and at the base of the beak. Its beak is thick and wide and the bird has a pointed crest that it raises or flattens.
Where you observant enough to notice this? Its legs are brownish or dark but not black. Did you also note that the female Northern Cardinal has different plumage and that the plumage of both the male and female cardinals stays the same all year round?

I hope you learned something new today. For instance, we take the Northern Cardinal for granted because we have seen it for many years and when we spot it we recognize it without thinking of its subtleties. The male Scarlet Tanager ( Piranga olivacea) is also a red bird with jet black wings and tail. I have seen many birders think that they spotted a male Scarlet Tanager only to discover that it is a male Northern Cardinal.