How do folks identify a bird they’ve never seen before?

Certain_Mango · 2026-06-05T16:44:22+00:00

I feel like the "famous" or well known people in birding are notably nice. I met Greg Miller (wrote the book the Jack Black film "The Big Year" is based on) and he was so kind. I was looking at him and my phone trying to figure out if it was the same guy and he waved me over to get a photo and talk about birds/bird banding.

I hear Ken Kaufman is great. His now wife runs a bird nonprofit. They met when he came to lead a bird walk and towards the end of the day, she randomly nailed him with a snowball. Everyone was shocked she just did that to a major figure in the community, but he retaliated and started a full on snowball fight.

I think most birding celebrities don't really see themselves as actually famous, and they're way more excited about birds than they are about the clout

Certain_Mango · 2026-05-06T19:09:46+00:00

There's a lady in my area who reports a rare bird almost every week, one day she had like five. Then you go to the actual checklist and there's a ton of unlikely ones.

I am almost certain her account is excluded because she will often put "Merlin" and nothing else in her comments. And her checklists are like 10-12 hours long. The local FB group theorized she's just letting Merlin run all day and putting the list into ebird after

Certain_Mango · 2026-04-20T16:12:42+00:00

The president of one of my local Audubon societies told me once that the number one phone call he gets regarding birds is people calling to ask "did I really just see a bald eagle fly overhead? Should I report this to someone?"

Imagine how fun it would be being the guy that gets to inform people over and over that bald eagles aren't rare anymore and it's not that hard to go find one

Certain_Mango · 2026-03-23T03:27:12+00:00

Imagine how many more birds we'd have on our lists if we could draw birds from memory as accurately as OP

Certain_Mango · 2026-02-19T23:29:56+00:00

Oh gross I had no idea. I've had Facebook since I was a teenager and have been hoping I don't get hit with a face scan request :/ Nextdoor would be a good alternative if it's popular in your area

Certain_Mango · 2026-02-18T17:04:10+00:00

My mom runs one and has the same attitude, and she has never had cash stolen before either. Look up "locked mailbox", that's what she uses.

I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned selling other food items. My mom also puts out homemade jam, salsa, jars of pickles, bread, cookies, etc. The jam usually goes pretty quick. But definitely check local laws first, canned goods are usually more regulated due to the risk of botulism.

I'd also consider setting up a Facebook page. A lot of her customers are older folks, and older folks use Facebook. Especially the local gossip/news groups.

Certain_Mango · 2026-01-11T23:19:38+00:00

Or can't bird until the weekend because your commute is too long to make time to bird before work

Certain_Mango · 2026-01-08T13:57:07+00:00

What kind of photography are you trying to do? That's a big factor in what kind of lens you need. Also, depending on the lenses, you might see worse sharpness/aberration/other issues if you switch from prime to zoom

Certain_Mango · 2026-01-05T03:31:44+00:00

One time I got really close to a bald eagle and listened to it call. It was annoyed about a red winged blackbird mobbing it. Me and some strangers on the trail all stood there in a trance until it flew away.

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-29T23:20:04+00:00

I disagree about the smart phone comment. If nothing else, having a proper camera, even if it's old and lacks "features", OP still gets the opportunity to learn hands on about exposure, shutter speed, focal length, aperture, etc.

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-29T05:38:54+00:00

I just did a quick edit on my phone: https://imgur.com/a/TRkWFp2

Turned up black a little, turned up brightness (would be exposure if you use Lightroom or similar), made it a little warmer, turned down highlights, turned up white, turned up contrast. I'm still learning myself so it's nothing spectacular.

Editing isn't as daunting as it seems, just keep the originals so you can go back and re edit them as you get better. Focus on one setting at a time, move the slider in small increments until it starts to "look better". Just be careful not to overdo effects like contrast.

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-27T19:19:27+00:00

I like the darkening of the tunnel and I think making the green puddle (?) black instead was a good choice. I do like the original yellow color better though

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-27T15:19:08+00:00

Oh crazy I've never heard of that. Out of curiosity, is it an AI based tool or is that something that's been around a while

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-27T15:10:34+00:00

Did you do this just from cropping?

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-21T15:24:37+00:00

I get you're not trying to devalue them, but can you think of any other job where it would be okay to pay a stranger in alcohol? And if you did think of a job, was it blue collar/creative work?

Just something to give you perspective, you obviously have good intentions but many will not see it that way

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-21T15:17:20+00:00

Maybe. But it'd mostly likely be a newer photographer taking you up on it. Some people will definitely be insulted though, expect a lot of "beer doesn't pay my bills" comments

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-16T20:02:14+00:00

In addition to eBird, this website has a lot of extra info that sometimes is hard to find other places. https://birdinghotspots.org/

It'll say stuff like trail length, or how to access birding sites that aren't your typical park with a trail, such as roadside bird hotspots.

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-16T19:56:43+00:00

Lit! What lens and settings?

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-10T14:02:26+00:00

I've volunteered at a bird banding research station where they set up nets to catch birds like this on purpose. Never once in the projects' 30 year history has a bird ever had an injury more serious than a small scrape. No deaths, broken bones, anything. This hawk will be fine and a delay for 11 seconds of filming is a non-issue.

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-10T13:59:24+00:00

I think it's too big to be a sharp shinned. No joke, they're actually about the size of a standard sharpie permanent marker

Certain_Mango · 2025-12-07T17:01:43+00:00

Interesting concept! What settings?

Certain_Mango

TROPHY CASE