Birding Brevard: Now We Can Check Field Marks

By Dave Freeland

Okay, so now we've gotten the bird's size and basic shape figured out. The next step in identifying the critter is what you thought you should be concentrating on all the while - its field marks. Field marks are what the field guides concentrate on, so it's natural that a novice birder would zero in on field marks as that strange, new bird comes into view. But I insist that its size and shape are the first two things to note, the field marks third.

If you've ever been on the receiving end of a "what bird was that?" question, you would know what I mean. Just yesterday, a relative called on the phone about a "red-headed woodpecker" she has just seen in her yard. Having been in this predicament before, I was wary about someone seeing a woodpecker "with an all-red head." I've learned the hard way that an "all-red head," which should indicate Red-headed Woodpecker, the species, is all too likely to mean a woodpecker "with red on its head." That usually results in the bird being identified as a Red-bellied Woodpecker, not a Red-headed Woodpecker. But in this recent case, further discussion revealed a red-crested bird and a very large one. It was a Pileated Woodpecker!

Years ago, a woman in New Jersey called completely mystified by a bird she had seen with a "blue tail." All the birds with blue tails flashed to my mind - Blue Jay, Eastern Bluebird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (a reach at best) - and even some blue birds without blue tails at all like Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak. None of them stuck. It was many minutes before a series of questions disclosed more about the bird the lady had seen and I came to realize it had actually been a Mourning Dove! No blue tail at all, but the sun shining through the white patches at the ends of the tail feathers. If you've seen this yourself, you'll know that those spots can look light bluish.

Field marks are critically important, of course, including a bird's primary color pattern, but also the presence or absence of wingbars, eyerings, superciliary or malar stripes, spotting on the underparts, streaks on the back or white edges to the tail. Take notes of what you see and, by all means, stay with the bird as long as you are able to see all of what it will reveal about its field marks. Then go to your field guide and look up what you've just encountered. You will find bird identification much easier if you follow a planned approach Ð size first, shape second, field marks third.

Where to Go: This is a good time of year to check brushy or weedy areas for wintering passerines like sparrows and other seed-eating birds. Two nice areas I learned about from David Simpson and Doug Stuckey are in northern Brevard County. One is the road to Hatbill Park off of Route 46 west of Mims. The other is the dirt road known as Dixie Way that crosses Huntington Avenue (the road off Route 1 that goes to Scottsmoor Landing, a good vantage point onto the north end of the Indian River Lagoon) and runs north to County Line Ditch Road at the Brevard/Volusia County line. As with most passerines, early morning is best.

Bird of the Month: Snow Goose, one of those special birds of autumn. An adult of the beautiful blue morph was found in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on Shiloh Marsh Road and, later, a white-morph individual began frequenting Cocoa Beach Country Club. Finally, at press time for this newsletter, Al Brayton discovered four blue-morph Snow Geese -- two adults and two smoky immatures -- on Blackpoint Drive at the refuge. Snow Geese remind Yankees like me of birding in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, but we are fortunate to pick up a few individuals each fall somewhere in Brevard County.

Your Question: Since the Christmas Counts are coming up, perhaps you can tell me how to estimate the number of birds in huge flocks.

A: If the flock is flying past you, quickly count the number of birds in a measurable segment, then extrapolate across the whole flock. For instance, decide on what chunk of the flock is 25 birds, or 100 if it's a really big flock. Then multiply by the number of those segments there are in the whole flock. If you estimate 24 segments of 25 birds each, the estimate of the whole flock is 600. If you approximate 32 100-bird segments, the whole flock is 3200.

Forward your birding question to me at freela148@aol.com. I'll answer as many as I can directly and will publish one each month in The Limpkin.