Remembering The Regular Birds by Steve Gerow

            Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near Long Marine Lab!  Prothonotary Warbler and a list of other rarities at Antonelli Pond!  The northernmost coastal California record of Grace’s Warbler (pending review) and a host of other rare birds across the street at Natural Bridges!!  This fall is one of those few where normally quite rare species like Northern Parula and Blackburnian Warbler  are being discussed in casual tones.

            All of this is quite exciting and enjoyable for those of us (including myself) who thrive on finding rarities, seeing the first, second or third record for a given area of a certain species, and playing various sorts of listing games.  Nevertheless it is important to remember that the real basis of all our birding consists of populations of “ordinary” birds, the local breeding, wintering, permanent resident, and regular migrant species.  It would, after all, make birding rather boring and limited if all we ever saw was the occasional Least Flycatcher, Brambling, or Lanceolated Warbler, without a variety of normal species to fill out our birding days. (Well maybe not that boring, but certainly limited as a pastime.)  Beyond that, though, there are a number of good reasons for spending more time looking at the “common” stuff.

            First of all, for those who like rarities, knowing the regular birds of a given area is what makes the rare things stand out.  While it is fine to go to the site of a reported rarity and search for a group of people with binoculars looking into a certain tree, it seems more exciting to search it out oneself, and to sometimes find something of interest that was previously undetected.  Though chance plays a definite part in this, knowing the normal birds well increases your chances greatly.  It is much easier to pick out an unusual bird in a large flock if it seems “wrong”, which presupposes that you know what is normal.

            By knowing birds well, I mean not just knowing the field marks, though that is basic.  It also involves knowing their songs and calls and the variations of these, not all of which are described in most books or included in most sound recordings. Details of shape and manner of flight as seen in different situations, variations in plumage, and details of behavior are all best learned by experience.

            For new birders in particular, there is a temptation to try to see as many species as possible without really taking the time to get to know these species thoroughly.  I believe most will find their hobby more interesting and fulfilling, as well as more fun, if they learn the details about birds, including voice, habits, habitats, seasonal movements and changes, etc.

            Finally, and probably most importantly, paying attention to the ordinary birds can provide important information on their population status, movements, and on habitat and other environmental conditions.  For example, while Yellow Warblers are still common to abundant migrants through the area, the nesting populations of this species in Santa Cruz County and much of Central California have declined greatly in recent years, with a number of local populations disappearing altogether.  Paying attention to which normal species are present when and where can help monitor and provide information to analyze these types of changes.

            On top of all of this it just seems enjoyable, at least to me and many others, to observe birds of all kinds; one of the more basic reasons to go birding.        

            So enjoy the rare things when they occur, but don’t forget about the regular birds.