Know Your Neighbours:
Long Lanky Legwatching
February-March 2003
This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD
by Bryan Nichols
Despite my initial reluctance, I'll have to admit that birds are growing on me in my old age. But don't worry - though I might be in Florida right now, I'm not sporting a giant pair of binoculars and polyester pants up to my armpits just yet. I still only like 'cool' birds, not those pansy flycatchers and warblers.
In this issue, we'll take a look at avian diversity. Last outing we covered waterfowl - floating, ducky birds. This time we'll look at a variety of species that like to hang out near shore, species that Northwest paddlers see all the time. We'll include birds of all sorts of different feathers, whether they flock together or not. This checklist includes six different orders and eight families. That's pretty good diversity when you consider about half of all bird species belong to just one order, the passerines.
The size range is a good example of diversity. Paddlers often see two very different birds while cruising coastlines. The first is a one and a half-metre tall, ambush predator, its long sharp bill darting down into the shallows - death from above for unlucky fish and invertebrates. The second is a tiny nectar feeder, not much bigger than a bug. Even if you're not a birder, I'll bet you can you guess who's who without looking across at the checklist.
Birding is one of the world's most popular outdoor activities, so a lot of people are trying to get a grip (taxonomically speaking) on all those colourful feathers out there. One of the reasons birding is so popular is the startup cost. You need binoculars and a bird guide. That's it. With those two simple items, you could bird naked from your kitchen table. You could watch birds soar from your camp high in the mountains. You could watch birds cough from your smoggy SUV. But most importantly, you can watch birds swoop over the water from your sea kayak.
Binoculars I'm going to leave up to your discretion and budget, but because bird guides are so important, I've included the flagship Sibley as this month's review - plus a couple of notes on the other top contenders:
Peterson Field Guides: Birds of Eastern & Central or Western North America: I grew up with Peterson field guides, packing them on trips throughout the continent. Roger Tory Peterson's painted plates set standards for identification, as they highlighted important features called 'field marks' so you knew what to look for without a bird in hand. The eastern guide was first published in 1934, starting a series (now at 50+ guides) that helped spark the entire environmental movement. The last version came out in 2002, finished by a team of experts, and even includes the unfinished plate Peterson was working on when he died in 1996. I'm a big fan of the 'similar species' text, which anticipates mistakes you're most likely to make.
Kaufman Focus Guides: Birds of North America: Flip through the pages of Kenn Kaufman's compact new field guide and the colour and detail of the paintings will take your breath away. Closer inspection will reveal that the ingenious plates are not paintings at all, but full colour digital photographs with the backgrounds removed. It makes for a great little field guide, deliberately kept simple, with maps, images and text all on the same page.
There are numerous others designed for casual birders and children, though if you get into it you'll probably want a guide that includes all of the species you might see. There are also excellent 'companion' guides like Kaufman's Lives of North American Birds that are less portable but provide details on how the birds live, not just what they look like.
Moving from science to art, another good theme here would be symbolism, especially considering the cultural theme of this issue. A couple of the birds with deep meaning are on this month's list,including the official emblem of our southern neighbour. Bald eagles certainly look impressive, even if they tend to be bullies and scavengers. Ben Franklin wanted the turkey as America's symbol as he was less than impressed watching bald eagles steal food from hard working ospreys. Nonetheless, his industrious turkey lost out to looks - and that was before television! Who can resist the layers of ironic symbolism there?
Of course, the eagle pales in symbolic might next to the Northwest's most important feathery character - Raven. The raven's cycle is worthwhile reading - a series of tales told by people from California right across to Siberia (from whence they came). The raven is so important to Northwestern cultures it gets an article of its own. (See Raven article )
How many of these birds have you seen with your butt on a kayak seat? Bring along the checklist this season and find out.
Checklist 30 - Shorebirds Plus
© 2003. Text and graphics by Bryan Nichols. No reproduction without permission. Biologist Bryan Nichols has flown south for the winter. A coup by the right side of his brain has left him enrolled in journalism at the University of South Florida. Wearing just a T-shirt, he's been gleefully paddling with ibises, spoonbills and pelicans. |
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