Food and shelter

It’s not enough to just say that you can find birds “anywhere.” Fact is, there are many places that are more productive than others. Humans tend to live pretty close to where they work, and the same is true of animals. Unlike humans who, in addition to eating, sleeping and making little humans have also to worry about things like making a mess of the planet, wild animals tend to concentrate mostly on activities associated with food, shelter and sex. Therefore, if we’re looking for wild animals—birds, in this case—we need to look where those activities are likely to be taking place.  Since birds tend toward privacy in sleeping arrangements (if not sex), our best shot at seeing them in the wild is likely to be at the market.

With regard to habitat and food, there are a few interesting considerations. First is the fact that—all else being equal—the smaller the bird, the more energy it uses. This means that you’ll tend to find the smaller birds living closer to their food supplies. For many birds that isn’t a big deal, since worms, insects and so forth are available most anywhere there’s sufficient cover to provide habitat, but you wouldn’t expect to find a bird that hunts in the open, such as a shrike, in a heavily-wooded area. Hummingbirds tend to feed only at certain kinds of flowers. You’ll rarely find them nesting far away, because they use a terrific amount of energy simply gathering more food. It’s important to remember things like these about the birds you see, because it can sometimes help to eliminate possibilities when you have a tough identification.

Soaring birds and birds that eat larger prey, such as herons and egrets, may be found miles from their roosting places as they take advantage of fish ponds, landfills and so forth. The soaring birds travel very efficiently, and herons and their relatives are usually able to take enough prey to keep their energy levels up with relative ease.

Still, the kind of prey available may influence the species you will find in what appears otherwise to be perfect habitat. At a filter marsh I frequent, it is unusual to see birds that prey preferentially on crustaceans or mollusks, because the chemistry of the marsh doesn’t support them well. Others, who do well on small minnows, may be there in abundance. Limpkins and Snail Kites live almost exclusively on freshwater apple snails (pomacea.) There are no snails in the filter marsh, and you will rarely see a Snail Kite there. However you might occasionally see a Limpkin that has strayed in from one of the surrounding canals, where there are snails in abundance. (The kites require shallow water for hunting their snails, and thus don’t frequent canals, even where there are snails.)

So that’s rule one in finding birds: figure out where the bird food is. Look for fields with lots of grain or grass seed for birds such as mourning dove and meadow larks. Check out healthy ponds for a variety of water birds. Shore birds such as sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones will be found almost exclusively in areas where there are stretches of sand or mud beside bodies of water, although wet fields are sometimes fruitful. Pileated Woodpeckers hang out where there are old or diseased trees with insect infestations, not too far from the forested areas where they like to roost and nest. One of the best habitats to see Peregrine falcons is in the center of large cities, where the “pigeon hawks,” normally cliff-dwellers, feel right at home on the ledges of tall buildings, and where pigeons—their favorite prey—are available in abundance.

Ecotones—where the critters are

It’s true of all animals in the wild, with very few exceptions, that they tend to hang out in or near ecotones, the borders where one kind of habitat meets another. That’s obvious in the case of shorebirds, the boundaries between water and land being fairly clear-cut. It is less so for Mockingbirds (for example), who live in shrubbery but hunt on the ground nearby or on the outer surfaces of the shrubs themselves.

It is rare to find active animals in the deep woods, where trees cut out the light and there is little understory, (a layer of plant growth beneath the covering trees,) unless they are sleeping or just passing through. But at the edges of clearings in the woods, or at the edges of fields, you are likely to find not only animals that prefer wooded areas but also those that live in clearings, (and those that prey on both.) Thus, at the edges of the habitats there is a natural chance for roughly twice as many species, because there are three habitats: the forest, the clearing and the ecotone itself. Since these rules hold true for prey as well, a good plan is to look at the edges of wherever you are, rather than the middle.

Obviously there are places such as marshes and backyards where varied habitats overlap so closely that ecotones are everywhere and hard to recognize. Even so, you will find birds such as the Great Blue Heron, American Coots and Common Gallinules (Moorhens) in all areas around the water, while the more reclusive birds such as Bitterns and Purple Gallinules tend to hide at the edges of bulrush beds and similar places—also popular with the ambush hunters, such as Green Herons and alligators. The same is true in the yard, where Robins and Mockingbirds will hunt in the open areas while chickadees, nuthatches and warblers will occupy their various niches nearer to or within covering trees and shrubbery.

Hang out where the bad guys aren’t

A prime consideration in marshes is that the enemies of marsh animals tend to live in the marsh themselves, with marked exceptions such as Marsh Hawks (Northern Harriers), and therefore most of them are found at ground—or water—level. If you are able to find a vantage point a few feet above the surface of the marsh, you will likely frighten fewer creatures and find more to watch, especially if you take care to wear dull clothing and move slowly. The reverse is true for land birds, who generally have to worry about hawks and owls and are more easily spooked by movement above—especially if the moving object is light-colored.

I should note here that most birds and other wild critters just don’t “get” automobiles, which makes them excellent and highly portable blinds if you can get them near enough to the habitat you want to observe. They’re especially nice in the summer, when heat and bugs might otherwise constitute a bit too much nature.

The Thousand-yard stare

There is a method of viewing that takes a bit of practice, but is well worth learning. It has to do with the natural ability of the human eye/brain to discern movement. Look at something as far away as possible—the horizon, if you can see it. Then, without moving your eyes or changing their focus, concentrate on what you can see in your peripheral vision. The object is to have your eyes go out of focus entirely.

Once your eyes “defocus” you will discover that you are able to discern movement that you never noticed before. Small insects will become apparent. Milkweed floss floating in the air will jump out at you. Every leaf that moves in a breeze will be visible. So will the tiny movements of animals in your field of vision.

To begin with this is difficult, because our instinct tells us to check out immediately what movement we do see. With practice you will be able to remain defocused for longer periods, and finally be able to do it at will and for as long as you like, ignoring most things and attending only to those that interest you or that seem threatening. After while it becomes so natural—and relaxing—that you’ll find yourself doing it a great deal of the time when you don’t have to concentrate on one specific visual cue.  It’s especially useful when driving, helping to keep the big picture rather than concentrating on unimportant details such as bumper stickers and attractive drivers of the appropriate gender.

Defocusing allows us to take in the maximum amount of visual information from the largest area and, although modern man seldom practices it in time of peace, it goes back many millennia. It gives us the most information about our environment in the least time. If you master it, you will find that you become a better driver, since you will get the “big picture” much more easily. Walking in crowded malls becomes an exercise in defocusing and allowing your body to do whatever it needs to do to avoid collisions. This is the “thousand yard stare”—what Tom Brown Jr., in his excellent series of outdoor books, calls “fox vision.” It is an ability that evolved to keep us alive in the wild, but it works just as well in the urban jungle. Give it a try.

A Place For Everything

As you learn more about the creatures you’re seeing, you’ll begin to discern that each species occupies an ecological niche all its own, and seldom overlaps with others. Even in areas with a wide variety of species, such as marshes, you will find that each creature has its own hunting methods, a particular prey or favorite food, and that in each case there will be minimal competition in making a living—the exception being with food sources such as algae, which is usually in abundance. Scoping out little details like this and learning more about how birds manage to fit into the Wheel of Life can be very instructive when we come to consider our own behavior—and whether or not it measures up to that of our “dumb” fellow-travelers on the Big Blue Marble.