Almost every birdwatcher will admit to a time in the early development of their skill when they gathered up their binoculars, field guide, and notebook, and headed out to a local park to observe the birdlife.The park was most likely chosen because it was full of spectacular, leafy trees, lovely flowers, and vast expanses of green grass that made strolling its grounds easy and comfortable. It is also likely that the number of birds sighted that day was not large, nor was the number of species particularly varied; some Song Sparrows, a few Northern Cardinals, and a good number of American Robins would have been the most notable birds seen that day.
It was not the limited bird identification skills of the observer that accounted for this meager trip list; it was an error in the choice of location.
Despite many commonly held and not unreasonable assumptions, birds are ambivalent to attractive landscape design. Regardless of the beauty of any garden, park, yard, forest, or seashore, birds will consider it worthless unless it contains the requisite resources to provide them protection, shelter, and most importantly, food. This is where the needs of birds and the preferences of people diverge.
For humans, open areas that are not involved in either forestry or farming are judged by their appearance. Shade-giving trees, vast expanses of evenly clipped green grass, colorful blooming and decorative plants, and ponds filled with clean, clear water are all deemed attractive. In fact, areas lacking these features often have them added and maintained at considerable cost. The problem is that most often these additions to a landscape render it less useful to the needs of birds.
Examine the diets of the species that comprise North America’s birdlife and you will quickly notice that the vast majority of them depend either directly on, or only one step removed from, insects and other invertebrates. Whether it is the flycatcher catching moths that wander too close to its perch, the sandpiper pulling worms out of an exposed mudflat, or the heron spearing fish that eat insects from the pond in which they live, most North American birds are heavily dependent upon invertebrates for most, if not all of their diet.
The conflict that arises is that the most commonly used ornamental plants in landscapes design are either insect resistant or treated with sufficient pesticides to prevent insects from living upon them. For the gardener, this is ideal as the plant will grow and develop without its branches, leaves, flowers, or fruit bearing the telltale marks of insect life. But for the bird, it is a dietary wasteland. There are exceptions to this rule, of course.
The American Robin has thrived upon the expansion of the classic suburban landscape with its open expanses of manicured lawns, as has the Canada Goose (much to the bane of groundskeepers) upon the overly-groomed terrain of golf courses from coast to coast. But for the most part, birds do best in areas that retain their wild attributes, which means native, plants free of pesticides, and the things most invertebrates like best—mud, muck, and mire.
Bearing this in mind, some of the best birdwatching is found in locations not always deemed pleasant by most non-birdwatchers. Ask around your local birding club where the hotspot for the best sightings is, and you’re likely to be directed to the local waste water treatment facility.
These necessities of modern industrial society are generally located at the edge of town where the smells they produce will offend the smallest number of people. While the most modern facilities will often have their activities contained to be least offensive, if you’re lucky, your local facility will still use open-air ponds and evaporation fields in their work.
As part of the natural order of things, evaporation of waste water attracts a vast array of invertebrates, and as a result, a host of birds that feed upon them. From the waders patrolling the soft muddy flats for similarly soft-bodied and muddy worms, to the swallows, warblers, and flycatchers darting through the air after the flying insects that lay their eggs in every nook and cranny available, waste treatment plants are an excellent location for birdwatching.
Some even build observation platforms specifically for the purpose. Bring a spotting scope as well as binoculars; treading out into the ponds is almost never allowed, nor would it be much fun.
Marshes are another superb, if less than pleasant, birdwatching location. Whether they are filled with salt, fresh, or brackish water, marshes not only provide a wide variety of birds with food, but often with protective shelter and nesting areas as well. Thick, reed-filled shallows can host a surprising number of species from wrens and warblers to rails and waders.
Small fish and crustaceans often patrol the shallows for the invertebrates for which they compete with the birds for food, and are then themselves preyed upon by the long-legged herons and egrets that hunt throughout the area. Even the top insect predators themselves, the dragonflies, are potential prey to birds not commonly associated with eating insects—American Kestrels.
As with waste water treatment facilities, spotting scopes are strongly recommended when birding in and around marshes. In some locations, observation platforms, raised dry-land areas, or constructed walkways may have been built that can provide the visiting birdwatcher a much better view of the area. If you are particularly fortunate, it may be possible to venture out into the marsh itself using either a kayak or a shallow-bottomed skiff. In locations where a nature interpretation center or park service facility has been established, surface level tours may even be available.
Swamps, bogs, and fens are also home to an astounding number of invertebrates, adding them to the list of less commonly visited but highly productive areas for birdwatching. Unlike marshes, they are less common, less accessible, and far more ecologically delicate. For those birdwatchers willing to locate one, they can provide the necessities of life to some truly spectacular species of warblers such as the Prothonotary, water-loving birds such as ibis and the Anhinga, and in the southeastern U.S., a particular species of woodpecker that most avid birders would trade their right arm, eye teeth, and an internal organ to be named later just for a good look and the opportunity to take a clear photograph.
Despite their proliferation of wildlife, swamps, bogs, and fens are ecologically delicate. In addition, swamps are mostly covered by water, the ground of bogs is too soft to walk upon, and fens are composed of floating mats of vegetation that don’t allow much incursion of any sort. It is best when birding these areas to do so from a distance using a spotting scope or by contacting a local birding or nature organization to find out if guided field trips are offered in the area.
Then there are the coastal birds. As most beachgoers may have noticed, a trip to the local strip of sand where bonfires, volleyball, and sunbathing are most popular are little frequented by birds other than a few species of gulls. For the best look at the seagoing birds (at least the ones that can be seen from shore), hillsides overlooking the ocean with little or no sandy beach below them, or rock formations along or just off the coast are the best bet. Frequently covered with seaweed at their base and decades of bird excrement over the rest, these seaward locations are ideally situated to provide such species as murres, guillemots, gulls, oystercatchers, and a variety of other lesser seen seabirds easy access to their off-shore feeding areas, as well as nesting areas that are difficult for predators to reach.
Low tide offers the best opportunity to get close enough for binocular-distance viewing, but a spotting scope will bring the birds into much better view. As most birds in these locations will be sitting on nests, at the openings to burrows, or simply resting on rocky outcroppings, they provide excellent subjects not only for prolonged viewing but for digiscoping as well, provided that the fog that frequently blankets many of these locations is not too thick.
The next time you are planning a birdwatching excursion, put aside thoughts of pretty parks and cultivated landscapes. Think instead of places that would be of the greatest value to birds. Think of where the highest concentration of insects might be, and where the best naturally protected nesting or resting areas are, for that is where the best chance of seeing the widest variety of birds will be. Just remember to pack a spotting scope, some sturdy shoes that can withstand getting wet or muddy, and a sufficient supply of insect repellent because just as the insects look like dinner to many of the area’s local birds, to many of the insects, so do you.
This article was written for The Binocular Site by John E. Riutta.
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