16 replies to this topic

[snick]

Thanks to those of you who encouraged me to post my "dumb" questions. : )

I'm using a combination of Whatbird.com, the Peterson Western Bird Field Guide, and various other sources to ID birds that I've been photographing.

Questions:

1). I live in San Jose, CA. What's the best field guide to use? The Peterson guide I have is from 1990. Might this pose a problem with recent vagrants?

I have a list of all the birds in my area published by the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society.
The list classifies birds as:
Common
Fairly Common
Uncommon
Rare
Very Rare or Casual
Vagrant

2). Are any of you skilled at parsing out these definitions? I.E., what's the difference (in numbers) between Fairly Common and Uncommon, Uncommon and Rare, etc.?

One reason I ask this, is because I'm trying to use this guide to rule-out certain IDs based on the likelihood that they're in my area. I saw two tree swallows on a hike the other day (nearly certain confirmation), but these are listed as "uncommon", so I wonder.

3). How to determine the likelihood of sighting a vagrant. Vagrants are listed with "dots" in the Audubon list, but are not classified as common, uncommon, etc. How to know? Eg., I know we occasionally have Arctic Terns in the Pescadero Creek area, but have no idea whether they're uncommon, rare, or very rare. Also, can't some vagrants become "common" if they've become established?

4). Shallow depth-of-field for bird photography.
Nearly all the "pro" bird shots have incredibly shallow depth-of-field, where the background is completely out of focus. I'm wondering if THE ONLY WAY TO ACHIEVE THIS is with an SLR camera with attached telephoto lens. I'm currently using the Canon Powershot SX20 ("superzoom") camera (non-SLR), which has a fantastic telephoto zoom (equiv. 560mm), but I can only open the aperture to 5.6 at this range, and the depth of field is nowhere near as shallow as I would like. Can any of you photo-philes educate me here?

Thanks in advance for any help with these questions!

[Aveschapines]

Well, I'm a newbie too (a little over two years birding), but maybe I can help a little. My Peterson Guide (Mexican/Central American birds) gives general definitions for the different terms of prevalence, but this can change over time. And it's not impossible to see a bird out of range (like the Mangrove Cuckoo that has visited me the past two years), but I use range information to help rule species out. When you're a beginner it can help a lot to distinguish very similar species; it's far more likely that I have seen the one that's in range than the very similar-looking, out-of-range bird.

You can check eBird to see if there have been recent sightings of the birds you're looking at in your area. That can help you decide whether your sighting is a mistake or something somewhat unusual. Also, in addition to birds changing their range, some species names have changed, so you might want to check that and update your old guide. If you remain a birdwatcher for any time you'll get other guides!

Vagrant, as I understand it, means the bird may pass through during migration but is not a regular resident or visitor. I see Yellow-Billed Cuckoos every fall for a few weeks as they pass through migrating. My understanding is that they are vagrants. I post this in hopes that if I'm wrong about this someone will correct me and we'll both learn something!

Helen

[Liam]

These aren't dumb at all. I'm not even completely sure on some of them.

I can answer your last question, though. I have the SX20 IS as well, but I also own a Nikon D70. I created a comparison here: two photos taken of the same subject with the same settings, straight of the cameras. On the left is the D70 with a Sigma AF 70-300mm f/5.6 lens and on the right is the SX20. 1/60", f/5.6, ISO400. The lens on the D70 doesn't have optical stabilization, so the result is a bit shaky, but note the difference in depth-of-field. In the D70 photo you can't even tell a house is in the background.
Both photos are taken at full length, but the 300mm reaches farther.
I'm not sure if it holds true to all point-and-shoot cameras, but the SX20 has very poor DOF abilities. If you're serious about bird photography, you should get a DSLR. My set-up is very cheap. $300 for the camera body and $200 for the lens.

[psweet]

• I'd recommend the usual -- either Sibley's or National Geographic. The Peterson will work fine, and I wouldn't worry about vagrants -- you're talking about a very few birds per year, if you're out birding every weekend.
• First, check the checklist itself -- it may include the definitions they used. If not, here's a reasonable approximation:

Common: You should expect to see a bunch of individuals in the right habitat and season
Fairly Common: You will probably see a few individuals in the right habitat and season
Uncommon: You could easily miss these in a day's birding, even in the right place, but if you bird the whole season you should be able to find them
Rare: You should only expect to see these a few times a season, unless you happen to find a breeding pair you can go back to
Very Rare/Casual: These are birds you shouldn't expect to see -- casual typically means 1-2 sightings every 2-5 years.
Vagrant: These are big news, in some cases once per lifetime in that area, up to perhaps 1 sighting every 5-10 years.

Generally speaking, regular migrants aren't referred to as vagrants. In fact, many migrants are briefly more common than any resident birds.

If you're thinking in terms of finding vagrants, here's the scoop: Learn the regular birds in your area as well as you possibly can -- the better you are at recognizing them, the quicker you'll figure out that something doesn't belong. Then, be prepared to make a lot of mistakes early on -- I've seen one of the top birders in N.Am. quoted saying that all the great birds from his childhood vanished as he figured out what he was actually looking at! Finally, when you do find something weird, be prepared for other's disbelief. It's nothing personal, it's just that mistakes tend to be more likely than actual vagrants. And if you can thoroughly document your finds, (with photos, ideally), it helps.

4. About the only thing I can offer is to be aware of the background when you take the shot. A shallow depth-of-field isn't important if there's nothing back there to focus on!

[snick]

Thanks to all of you who replied! Your responses are very helpful.

Liam, can I PM you to talk more about photography?

[Liam]

Thanks to all of you who replied! Your responses are very helpful.

Liam, can I PM you to talk more about photography?

Yes, feel free to PM me anytime.

[snick]

Liam, I just tried to PM you, but got this: "the member Liam cannot receive any new messages".

Any ideas?

[Liam]

Sorry, must be that my inbox is full. I'll have to go delete some old messages. Try again soon.

[snick]

psweet, thanks for your detailed responses!

[Pat B.]

Since you seem to be interested in birds in your own area, I suggest you get hooked up with your local birding listserv or website. Try linking through birdingonthe.net or do a Google search for your county, or try a link through your local Audubon society. If yours is like most, you should be able to subscribe to an e-mail mailing list where people post their more interesting sightings, ask questions, etc.—not unlike WhatBird, but very localized. That should give you an idea of what people are seeing, and maybe see some feedback when someone thinks they see something they didn't. I've found this very helpful, and you also get to know the local birding "players," or at least know who they are.

[snick]

Pat...good suggestions. Haven't thought about a 'local' version of whatbird, but I'll check into this.

[fisherman1313]

I grew up in San Jose, lived just a few blocks from Reid-Hillview Airport.

Concerning field guides, all the ones recommended so far are excellent but always remember, one can NEVER have too many.

When addressing vagrants I go by the zebra rule; when you hear hoofbeats, always think horse before zebra. When you see a possable vagrant first eliminate all the expected species. In fact, if you do find a rarity one of the first questions you will hear from more experienced birders in the area is, "How did you eliminate the more common species",

[Dan922]

I recently picked up a National Geographic North America field guide 2008 edition fifth printing at an OLLIES (large discount like big lots) store in NY the book is listed for $24 and I got for $7 definetly worth that money for a new birder like me

[BigSkyKen]

Snick, regarding your DOF issue, as long as you're using the SX20, your best bet to get the background blurred is going to require you to get as close as possible to the subject. You can experiment with this on your own by taking a picture of an object that is 20 feet away, and then shoot the same object 50 feet away and compare the backgrounds. Most likely the near shot will result in better blur of the background. So then the trick is to figure out how to get that close to birds. Now and then I use a small "hide," which is just a very small camouflaged tent with drop-down windows. However, I have had just as good results by wearing earth colored clothing and sitting still while playing bird calls from my iPad. I use the iBird HD, which has songs and calls for many of the birds I want to see and photograph, and it works surprisingly well. In fact, I often end up with birds too close to shoot! In the past few weeks I've had black-capped chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches and tree swallows land on my camera lens or the mirror of my truck while doing this. Case in point...

[creeker]

LOL! Looks like he's ready to say "can I see your driver's license and registration, please?"

[BigSkyKen]

He did so, in song! He was really a kick to watch, and he returned four times to serenade me.

[BarnSwallow]

I recently picked up a National Geographic North America field guide 2008 edition fifth printing at an OLLIES (large discount like big lots) store in NY the book is listed for $24 and I got for $7 definetly worth that money for a new birder like me

I love Ollie's! Good 'n Cheap! That is a good deal on a field guide. Just keep in mind that bird names change - sometimes it's hard to keep up with the changes! Don't be surprised if someone refers to a bird by a name that isn't the same as the one in your book. For instance, what is now called the common gallinule will be called a common moorhen in your book. No need to buy a new book every time names are changed, of course, just keep it in mind, and you can note the changes in your book.