intro to birding: learning & Practice resources

Don’t hesitate to reach out to Jess at jessj@tracyaviary.org if you want to know more about any of these resources!

Cornell Resources

ALL ABOUT BIRDS:

• Explore general information on a wide variety of species, including overviews, ID info, and range maps.

• Use “Similar Species” feature to compare photos of similar-looking birds side by side

MERLIN:

• Explore bird photos, songs, and calls from around the world, sorted by location

• Utilize Merlin Sound ID to learn what you are hearing, and test yourself to see if you were right!

• Track a life list (the list of birds you have seen in your lifetime!)

• Use Step-by-Step ID to narrow down a species you aren’t sure about

ebird:

• Keep lists of the species you see while out birding

• Explore birding hotspots and recent sightings

• Learn about specific species! (Species distribution, photos, sounds)

• Practice your ID skills with quizzes

• Note: Most of these eBird tools must be accessed through a web browser (aside from keeping lists in the app!)

Photo & Sound ID Quiz

• Create custom 20-question quizzes to study photos or sound recordings of birds

  • Quizzes pull from the Macaulay Library, a massive database of photos from the public, like yourselves!

  • Select your area (ex. Salt Lake County or a certain hotspot)

  • Select Year-Round or choose a specific time of year to study

  • Choose which species you want in your quiz:

    • Likely: Birds that are frequently reported in that location during that time of year

    • Likely and Infrequent: Birds that are commonly and occasionally reported in that location during that time of year

    • All Possible: EVERY bird that has been sighted in that area ever can be pulled for your quiz, including one-time vagrants

  • Choose if you want to be quizzed on photos or sounds

• Things to Note:

  • Some pictures are going to be impossible to identify. This could be because it is a terrible, dark/blurry photo, because it has several species, or because the photo was not attached to the right species! If this happens, feel free to use the “Skip” option. I encourage you to try to guess as many as are feasible, but don’t hesitate to skip a bad photo!

  • After each question, you will be asked to give a star rating to the photo. THIS IS NOT VIBES-BASED! Cornell and the Macaulay Library have specific standards for rating media, which they have a link for in the quiz. Read the standards and try to rate the photos accordingly to the best of your abilities, though I am still not always confident that I am rating every photo right…

eBird Essentials Online Course

• Need a refresher on eBird? Check out this self-paced online course through Cornell.

• While all the baseline info is the same and still helpful, the version of eBird and Merlin used in the course is quite old!

basic bird anatomy