On February 15, 2024, at 6:30 p.m., we invite you to join us at the Carpinteria Library meeting room or online via Zoom for our next meeting, where we will focus on identification of birds in flight. I spent many years as a birdwatcher not trying to identify many flying birds; I thought it was too hard to ID them in flight. But now I realize you can tell a lot from things like flight characteristics and the field marks you see in a quick binocular view, and with practice you can get better at that.
During the meeting, we will concentrate on several groups of birds commonly seen in the sky, including:
- Pigeons and Doves: We’ll look at key differences in flight style and silhouette for our local species.
- Birds of Prey: Some species can be identified best in the air, which is good, because that’s often where we see them.
- Gulls: Take the plunge and go beyond “gull sp.” for those gulls in flight. It’s easier than you think!
- Swallows and Swifts: Learning to identify these birds on the wing is crucial, since they spend so much of their lives flying.
- Little Brown Jobs (LBJs): Species like House Sparrow, New World sparrows, and House Finch are most often seen perched or on the ground, but learning to recognize them in flight is still a useful skill.
As always, Carpinteria Birdwatchers meetings are free and open to all ages and ability levels. Hope to see you there!
— John Callender
Details:
- Location: Carpinteria Community Library meeting room, 5141 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, or online via Zoom.
- Date/Time: Thursday, February 15, 2024, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
- Topic: Identifying Birds in Flight
YouTube Livestream:
Links:
- Slides from the meeting
- Identification of Birds in Flight, an article from Birding magazine by Christopher L. Wood
- Video of two Common Ravens soaring at the Carpinteria Bluffs
- Video of Cooper’s Hawk display flight by Alex Lamoreaux
- Video of Cooper’s Hawk display flight by Paul Fenwick
- Video of Bohemian Waxwings in flight by Mikes_Nature