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Birding in the National Parks

Birding In The National Parks: The Birds No One Seems To See

I’ve spending an awful lot of time thinking about the birds no one sees. That’s not something birders, or anyone, ponders often. We like to think about our lists, talk about the birds we’ve seen and the ones others have seen that we just missed. We don’t talk about the birds that no one ever sees, mostly because we don’t know anything about them.

Birding In The National Parks: Where Is It Appropriate To Bird?

I generally don’t have a problem wondering whether or not it’s a good time to bird. If no other duty calls, I’ve got binoculars in hand. I’ve certainly had birding as a top priority on every visit to a national park. Yet, on a dreary day in Pennsylvania last week, I visited a national park and wasn’t sure if wanted to bird, or even if I should consider it.

Birding In The National Parks: Grand Canyon National Park Designated Important Bird Area Of Global Significance

When it comes to the preservation of threatened and endangered bird species, it’s safe to say that there’s no such thing as too many layers of protection. Just because the habitat of a declining bird falls within the borders of a national park doesn’t mean that bird’s best interests will always be served. In most cases it will, but it never hurts to have that extra recognition.

Birding In The National Parks: Birding By The Season Through The National Park System

National park travelers are keenly aware of the changing seasons. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a completely different experience in August than in October. The hoodoos of Bryce Canyon need to be seen both in the blistering July sun and the January snow to be fully appreciated. And, of course, there’s Yellowstone – a bustling city on a summer weekend and a tranquil white wilderness on a bright February morning.

Birding In The National Parks: Birding By Ear

When I was first learning the basic skills of birding, I read a line in Roger Tory Peterson’s famous field guide that almost made me want to give up any aspirations of becoming a good birder. He said something about skilled birders sometimes doing 95 percent of their birding by ear. I was horrified. Here I was, looking through a field guide, imagining all of the pretty birds I would see some day, and Peterson was telling me I’d learn to do 95 percent of it by sound. That’s no fun at all!

Birding In The National Parks: A New Birding Book For Your Library

Spring migration is in full swing here in the Great Lakes, and your humble birding columnist has been run ragged. Among my recent travels was a stop at Ontario’s Point Pelee National Park. It’s a small park, but loaded with unique geographic features and plenty of fabulous birds. You’ll hear about the actual birds right here in a couple weeks, but for now I want to focus on the birders. One group in particular was out in force.

Birding In The National Parks: Some Great Birding In Western Parks This Spring

I readily admit I have a bit of an Eastern bias. Birding as a hobby in North America tends to have a bias toward the right side of the continent, as well. There are more than a few reasons for that. North American ornithology was born and raised in Philadelphia. There are far more people within an afternoon’s drive of multiple bird habitats throughout the east. And finally, the warblers are better.

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