We are all natural birders, so contends board member and volunteer docent for the Dunes Center John Deacon. From hawks swooping down off a telephone wire to a distant warble carrying through the morning fog, birds are all around us, and they can’t help but catch our attention, Deacon said.
“For me, it has kind of the thrill of hunting without all the bloodshed,” he said. “Plus it’s stimulating when you have to try and identify a bird. It’s a little bit of a puzzle because even among breeds there is a lot of variation.”
From the subtleties between winter and spring plumage, or the difference between sexes of the same species, each bird can provide a challenge for the birder hoping to identify the feathered creature. But a sharp eye, often aided by binoculars, can pluck a bird out of a landscape, pairing several colors, markings, or even behaviors in hopes of distinguishing the winged wildlife from one other.
Deacon will be leading an upcoming Dunes Center bird watching hike at Oso Flaco Lake State Park. The two-hour-long hike will traverse across several distinct types of habitat that attract various species of birds while Deacon provides information on identifying and cataloguing the various types that can be found roosting or migrating through Oso Flaco.
“Oso Flaco is definitely one of the area’s hot spots,” he said. “There are a lot of different kinds of habitat within a small area.”
The leisurely hike to the beach and back will include binoculars provided by the Dunes Center to help hikers spy birds from afar. The swallow’s migratory season begins in March, Deacon explained, so perhaps the trip will include a few early birds as well as other species enjoying the Pacific flyway.
Oso Flaco Lake also provides local birders with a spectrum of native and migratory birds to record and post on ebird.org, Deacon said. The website allows citizen scientists to record views and even post photos with a location attached. Users can also check recently recorded sightings of an area before they go out birding to get an idea of what might be encountered. Oso Flaco regularly receives new data inputed by ebird.org users, though it’s not the only technological aid available to birders, Deacon explained.
“When I first started birding we carried books around with us, but now I just carry my iPhone around with me,” he said. “If I see something or hear something that I’m not familiar with than I can confirm by looking at the app on my iPhone.”
A keen eye is helpful in spying and cataloguing birds whether perched or on the wing, Deacon said, but a tuned ear can also identify a bird without ever seeing the animal. Many birds have a range of calls depending on their mating season or social situation, so identifying them can be a matter of picking out the right bird song.
“The other day when I went out birding I didn’t see really anything, but I heard many birds, so it’s another way to not get frustrated when you don’t see anything,” he said. “You use the song, and also the time of year, location, and binoculars, and you can figure out what’s out there.”
The Dunes Center hike is a free event open to birders of all skill levels. Families are encouraged to join the hike, as birding comes easy to young and old alike. The knowledge shared by other birders with newcomers to the leisurely activity is a fun aspect of birding hikes as well, Deacon explained.
“The last event we had had a range, from people who had never been on a bird walk, people who had just got interested in it, and people who have been birding for years,” he said. “They are pretty fun to go to and listen to the different types of people who are there.”
Arts Editor Joe Payne is identifying birds just outside the Sun’s office windows. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 12-19, 2015.