Newbie questions

It all started when we moved to the new house 2 years ago. We have a large wooded area and creek behind the back yard. My daughter wanted to put in some bird feeders back there, so why not?

Next, we had to find out just what kinds of birds were coming to our feeders, so I got the Audubon 'guide for kids'. Lots of pics and easy to use. We noticed that not all of the birds we saw were in the book (like the red breasted grosbeak), so I've been looking for something better. Any suggestions on what guides would be more helpful?

What are the "rules" for a life list?
Can I count birds that I saw before I officially started, like the cormorants and egrets from last summer's vacation in Florida?
Any hints on how to differentiate the different varieties of sparrows and hawks? We get plenty of both in this area, but I can barely tell one from the other.
What about owls and other night birds - I hear them occasionally, but spotting them must be difficult. how do you do it?

thanks!

I can recommend some good field guides for you. My personal favorite is the Sibley Guide to Birds, which has excellent illustrations. It's probably best for reference for your feeder watching since it's bigger than your standard field guide. Sibley also has Eastern and Western US versions of the guide that are smaller and easier to take out birding. Kaufmann's guide is good too, I personally don't use it because I just don't like the design elements of the book.

Rules for a life list: If it's your list, you can make the rules. Some birders like to go by the rules of some of the birding associations such as the American Birding Association or the American Ornithological Union. The ABA area includes all of North America north of Mexico, so according to them, I only have 307 birds on my list that are "acceptable" but the AOU includes the entire continent, so my list is at 350 ( you can guess which one I go by). My own rule of thumb is that I can count birds I saw before I started keeping serious track of my list, as long as I can put the sighting of the bird on a map. If I can't, I don't count it (hence my lack of black-billed magpie on my list - I have seen them, but it was on a family vacation out west when I was 14 or 15 and I don't remember what state I was in, much less where the bird was. I have a photo of it, though). So I would say you can count your egrets. It's up to you.

The best way to differentiate the different sparrows and hawks is to pick one species and learn its field marks very well, so you have a base to compare other species to. Most folks tend to use Song Sparrow and Red-tailed Hawk to learn well, since those are probably the most common sparrows and hawks you will see. Once you know them well, you can compare other species to them. You'll begin to notice that certain parts of a bird are the most "diagnostic" or key to their identity, like the heads of sparrows and the tails of hawks.

Spotting owls can be pretty hard. They blend in very well with their surroundings. One thing you might want to consider is putting up a roosting box for screech owls. Place it where it will get direct sunlight in the morning, and any owl using the box will pop its head out to absorb Vitamin D. Otherwise, it's a matter of luck a lot of the time.

I wrote my answer before reading yours. :D

As far as guides go, I'd get two guides. I'd get Kaufman and either Sibley or the National Geographic. You first find a bird in the "easy" guide, then confirm it in the "tougher" guide. Two shortcuts for identification: get a local birding checklist and use that as a "cheat sheet," and look at the range maps in the field guide to decide what's likely in your area.

The "rules" for a life list? No captive birds (including escaped captives), no dead birds. There are general rules about what's accepted and what isn't, like there are a lot of parrot species that have small populations in cities such as LA and Miami but aren't considered "countable." Beyond that, you have to decide for yourself what you feel comfortable counting. If you saw something like a Roseate Spoonbill in Florida and you're confident of your identification, by all means put it on the list! But if you got crummy looks at a bird that might have been a Mangrove Cuckoo, maybe it shouldn't go on the list right now.

Sparrows are hard. There are a lot of them, and they can be easily confused with birds that aren't sparrows (such as finches). If you see a sparrow and you can sort it out in the field guide, great, if not, don't worry about it for now. You'll get experience with them and they will begin to make sense.

You've got a lot of hawk species in your area. The trick there is to figure out the common ones and work from there. Here in California the default large hawk is the Red-Tailed, so when I see a hawk that might be something good I first go over the Red-Tailed field marks (such as the red tail, or the leading dark areas on the wings). If it's not a Red-Tailed, then I start looking at the markings on the underside of the bird and go to my field guide to puzzle it out. But again, hawks are birds that you can spend years studying, and if you don't have them all immediately figured out, don't feel bad.

Seeing owls? When you figure it out, let me know. :P The nice thing about owls and nightjars is they are easily told apart by voice. You've got 6 species of owl to choose from, but only three species of nightjar. If you want to see a nightjar, find a nice gravel or dirt road and drive it slowly at night. They'll usually fly away quickly, but sometimes they get dazzled and will sit still for a bit.

I hope this helps, and if you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask! :D

I went out and bought a new guide. Went with National Geographic. I like the multiple drawings of each bird with juvenile and female all together, and it was on sale for only $5!

I'm finally getting some idea of what the different finches and sparrows look like. We definitely have House Finches, House Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, and Swamp Sparrows back there. Im not 100% sure on many of them, but I'll get there.
I've also seen one guy a couple times that has the black chin and eyes of the House Sparrow, but the solid brown cap like a Chipping Sparrow. Any idea what that might be? I'll have to see if I can get a picture.

As far as counting older birds, I'll definitely count the Roseate Spoonbill and Cattle Egret from Florida, as our tour guide pointed them out. And I'm sure of the Greater Roadrunner, from when I lived in El Paso and they were everywhere. Other than that, its all new from here!

Owl question - can you count it if you can only hear it? Or must it be seen to count?

It might be the most common way you will count Sora, for example. Some people prefer to see the bird to count it. I myself apply the same standard to hearing a bird as seeing it - If I hear it and can identify it myself from the song, or if someone else points it out and I can identify the diagnostic attributes of the song or call, I count it.

and since you are in St. Louis, your mystery sparrow is probably a Eurasian Tree Sparrow, since STL is pretty much the locus of the North American population of that bird.

he likes to come by after I fill the feeders and pick out all the sunflower seeds.
thanks!

I have family in the St. Louis area and I've yet to see an ETS on any of my infrequent visits.

It's Missouri's only countable exotic endemic!

Or something! :bounce: