mystery pretty birds - ID

[florence]

Originally Posted by genevieve

usually go to rspb and then the bird id on this website, we have a bird id book but i tend to go to that after looking at rspb and this id thing cos otherwise ill end up trawling through page by page, so i like a bit of an attempt at a head start. with this example though i think we both lost our heads a little :P we went out through the woods yesterday and saw tons of greenfinches and were like...ahh..greenfinch, lol its more fun when you know what your looking at (woulda been pretty fun to go loudly oo golden oriole and got poeple nearby all excited though :P)

ha! - they would run over and we would be like 'oh your too late, its gone now!' - although that might be a bit harsh...

[genevieve]

Originally Posted by florence

ha! - they would run over and we would be like 'oh your too late, its gone now!' - although that might be a bit harsh...

lol yeah but itd probably turn out to actually be a golden oriole, and then we'd look really dumb!

[florence]

yer we would.

but bird identifying is really difficult when you’re a beginner because a lot of the species look the same until you see them close up - and even then it’s hard to identify them, especially with my blurry pictures!

[david156]

Originally Posted by florence

but bird identifying is really difficult when you’re a beginner because a lot of the species look the same until you see them close up - and even then it’s hard to identify them, especially with my blurry pictures!

Yes it is difficult and not just for beginners. There is a few hundred twictchers including a lot of professional birders who have been stuggling to identify a warbler in cornwall. (is it a green or is it a greenish!!!) I know its a bit more of a rarity but you have to remember we all started at the begining. Everyone had to see their first greenfinch. The second one was easy to identify and then the third and fouth and so on. From watching you'll pick up how the birds feed, how they move, their calls, their plumage and so on. Then you'll see a bird flick through the trees, a flash of a wing bar and a call and you'll say greenfinch and everyone will say "how did you know that???"

Good luck, keep birding and enjoy.

David

[Dinasaw]

Loving this thread!! Well done you two for even being interested enuff to try and find out. When I first came to Suffolk from Suburbia I had never seen a lapwing, and thought they looked so exotic with their perky crests! and although i knew what pheasants were, I had no idea what that strange 'craaaking' call was. Thought it was someone rattling an Ovaltine tin with a pencil......(I'm more countryfied now!) so keep on looking and listening and loving yer birds.

[florence]

thanks - will do! I was walking to the bus stop the other day and a robin landed on a bush about a foot away from my head - it was very exciting, even if Robins are very common! - i could see every detail on him/her! - very cool.