When Jim Gain started his “Learn 100 Valley Birds” series, we immediately thought of one our earliest posts, “How to Really Learn the Birds.” We thought a few changes might make it more relevant to Jim’s exciting project. “How to Really Learn the Birds (Updated)” doesn’t contain anything new; rather, we’ve shifted the focus just a bit toward Jim’s excellent series, making it even more local. ed. The therapeutic benefits […]
San Joaquin Valley birds
Learn 100 Valley Birds #5: Dark-eyed Junco
Among the many joys of birding, the arrival of winter visitors is an ongoing thrill. With September looming, birders and nature lovers will be looking forward to the arrivals of White- and Golden-crowned Sparrows as well as the distinctive “little birds with the hoods.” Here, Jim Gain gives us his usual spectacular images and the proper name of our distinctive winter visitors, those, “little birds with the hoods.” They should […]
Target Bird: Bushtit
Little brown birds (lbbs) are often impediments to beginning birders’ ascent up the learning curve of bird identification. Many lbbs are sparrows, and too many sparrows look alike, especially in immature plumages. Other lbbs are simply non-descript, as much gray as brown, and difficult to identify chiefly because they lack distinguishing marks or bold colors. Those who learn to recognize these inconspicuous little creatures are rewarded by the opportunity to enjoy […]