Aimee Phillips is an amateur photographer and a volunteer with the Summit County Metro Parks and the Mustill Store. In tune with nature, she enjoys bird watching and capturing the world and creatures around her.
Just as spring was signaling its presence, we were sent to our homes to socially distance ourselves rather than break free of our winter chains. So many people already experiencing cabin fever and winter blues were likely to see this as a prolonging of an already depressive time. However, the optimist in me saw quarantine as an opportunity to immerse in my favorite hobby—birding. After all, one of the options that remained open after the stay-at-home order was access to the great outdoors. Spring in Ohio is a birder’s paradise—migration begins and the splendor of dozens of species pass through for a few short weeks.
It started about fourteen years ago with a bird feeder strategically placed outside the window of my office. Although my office is favorably situated in Peninsula, Ohio—in the heart of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park—a feeder in most any yard in Ohio will produce rewarding results. A variety of seed and suet will attract different species according to the seed type. I bought a cheap beginner’s guide (with photographs) to identify birds, and every time a winged creature appeared, I would flip through the book, find the bird, and label it with the date to track my progress. Tabs marked a wide array: stunning red northern cardinals and their drab-but-beautiful orange-beaked mates; loud and hoppy blue jays; the feisty brown Carolina wren with his tail flipped up in defiance of who knows what; cute gray mohawked tufted titmice; tiny-but-brave black-capped chickadees; and determined downy woodpeckers.
I realized over time that I was seeing some species intermittently, and although I knew from my limited nature expertise that birds migrated “south for the winter,” I was now starting to see it in action. Over the next couple of years I would note how the change of season indicated what I could expect at the feeder. Winter marked the return of dark-eyed juncos. The American goldfinch would show up as a gray bird in the spring, but quickly don his brilliant yellow coat in the spring/summer. Many birds stay all year.
There is beauty in the details. I was now familiar with birds by sight, without the book. There weren’t simply “birds” flying around. It opened up a new world—or rather defined the world I was in more precisely. Individual birdsongs could be distinguished, such as the chicka-dee-dee-dee of the black-capped chickadee. Habitual behaviors were on display. The white-breasted nuthatch spreading his wings, dancing back and forth to ward off competitors at the suet cage. The male cardinals feeding their mates seed during mating season. The blue jays mimicking hawk calls in order to throw off other birds near the feeder.
If you are a novice and would like to learn more, all you need is an app. “Merlin Bird ID” or “Audubon” allow you to input size, color, location, and setting of the bird you see, then magically spits out a number of birds that match and are likely to be in your region, while “Chirp! USA” lets you listen to birdsongs. Should the apps not find your bird for whatever reason, physical identification books will still likely have it. A complete guide for North American birds should cover you, but an Ohio book may be more helpful in narrowing down your options as you learn, but be sure it refers to the region in which you live. In my personal experience, “The Sibley Guide to Birds” by David Allen Sibley is a most valued resource. Binoculars are helpful depending on your sight and distance of viewing, but not necessary if you want to keep things simple.
Your backyard, neighborhood streets, or local park are perfect sites for bird sightings. There is a heightening of activity in the coming weeks as birds return and/or migrate through. Search the ground, bushes, muddy puddles, trees, and the air. There is a soulful reward in discovering birds. Beauty, curiosity, and delightful pleasure abound.
