1. ESRM 452 Field Ornithology Professor: John Marzluff Office: 123 E Anderson Hall Phone: 206 616 6883 Email: corvid@u.washington.edu corvid@u.washington.edu

2. Class Basics ► Web site  http://courses.washington.edu/vseminar http://courses.washington.edu/vseminar ► Follow links to ornithology (field and lecture) ► Class email list  Important to monitor your u. account for announcements related to field trips, etc. ► esrm452a_au13@uw.edu esrm452a_au13@uw.edu

3. Schedule of Events (see syllabus for details) Mondays and Fridays at the Burke and nearby field sites Examine specimens, sketch key characters, short lectures on biology of group Look at photos of birds, listen to calls Field Trips Oct 18-20 (camping, eastern Washington) November 2 (day trip, Nisqually) November 16 (day trip, Skagit)

4. Assignments and Grades ► 3 Field Exams (150 pts) ► 1 Lab Final (200 pts) ► Field Journal (30 accounts; 60 pts) ► 1 Life History Report (50 pts) ► 1 Field Study (100 pts)

5. Some Fundamentals of Bird ID

6. What You Need ► Binoculars! ► Good eyes and ears ► Careful observation and sketch of key characters ► Field Guide (Sibley) and Audio Guide (Keller and Vyn)  Ibird and other new electronic guides ► Patience ► Curiosity

7. Strategies of Birdwatching 1.Before you look, know what you are looking for. 2.Know the key characters of orders and likely suspects. 3.What you don't see is as important as what you do see. 4.Look carefully enough to render a sketch in the field, then look it up.

8. Sketch First ► http://www.easy-drawings-and- sketches.com/draw-a-bird.html http://www.easy-drawings-and- sketches.com/draw-a-bird.html http://www.easy-drawings-and- sketches.com/draw-a-bird.html ► Focus on proportions ► Bill, legs, key coloration

9. Some Basic Tests of ID After your sketch consider: 1: Characters of the Order or Family ► By using the general appearance of the body shape, size of bill, legs, behavior etc. you can eliminate certain families of birds from consideration.

10. Ericson 2008 Ratites and Tinamous Nightjars, owlet-nightjars, potooes, oilbird, frogmouths, hummingbirds, swifts Shorebirds, gulls, auks Pelicans, cormorants, herons, storks, cranes, rails, loons, penguins, albatrosses, cuckoos, turacos, bustards Parrots and Passerines Accipitrid diurnal raptors, osprey and secretarybird, rollers, woodpeckers, trogons, mousebirds, owls Pheasants, quails, currasows, ducks, geese, swans Heterogeneous assemblage of enigmas

11. Silhouettes Can Help (From Peterson ’ s Field Guide)

12. Silhouettes Can Help (From Peterson ’ s Field Guide)

13. Some Basic Tests of ID 2. Location ► You can eliminate all birds not found in your geographic area, elevation, season or habitat. Obviously, this is not foolproof because occasionally a bird does occur where or when it isn't supposed to but this is a good general rule to use in the beginning of your adventure with birds.

14. Some Basic Tests of ID 3: Characters of the Species ► A species can now be identified by looking at specific details of a group of species. For example, look at color patterns, wing bars, eye-rings, etc. The field guides are good for this level of identification.

15. Key Characters (From Birds of Costa Rica)

16. More Characters (From Birds of Costa Rica)

17. More Characters (From Birds of Costa Rica)

18. More Characters (From Birds of Costa Rica)

19. Lets Start with What You Know ► Common birds of campus ► Historical perspective (Miller and Curtis reading) ► This Weekend go outside, observe one bird that is not familiar to you, sketch it, consult book to ID it.