Quite often I meet people who say oh I love birds, or oh I love flowers, but I don’t know what they are - where can I start? On these Wednesday “Noticing Nature” posts I try to introduce you to the broad families of wildlife in order to help you slot that little brown bird taking seed on your birdfeeder into some sort of structure and narrow the field of options before digging deeper. It’s quite alright to say “it’s a sparrow”. Don’t be an embarrassed if that’s all you know. One day you will have the knowledge and be able to say “it’s a Chipping Sparrow” or “it’s a Songsparrow,” but today, just knowing it’s a Sparrow of some sort is the first step. Once you have the group names, you have a handle that will open the door to more and more information and help you to drill down deeper. First steps matter.
Unless you’ve been following this series avidly week by week since I began, you can catch up on insects and flowering plants by checking the following link. https://1001species.substack.com/s/noticing-nature
These articles seem to have been of interest to quite a number of readers and I thank you for the feedback. The intention is to encourage people to do what it says on the packet, to notice nature when you’re outside and then to put names to your observations.
Anyway, today, I am starting a focus on birds. For each of the next few weeks on Wednesdays I’ll cover one two major groups of birds, and provide just a few pointers so that if you are not familiar with specific groups and struggling with names, you’ll at least be able to say oh that’s a Heron or a Woodpecker, even if you can’t immediately apply a species specific name to it. One step at a time.
Here we go:
There are HOW many bird species hereabouts?
“Birds will give you a window, if you allow them. They will show you secrets from another world– fresh vision that, though it is avian, can accompany you home and alter your life. They will do this for you even if you don’t know their names– though such knowing is a thoughtful gesture. They will do this for you if you watch them.”
― Lyanda Lynn Haupt, Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds
Birds are perhaps the most evident and easily seen and widely enjoyed wildlife wherever you are. Of all wildlife, birds are the group that is most watched and documented by large numbers of professional and amateur birders.
The surprising answer to that headline question is that over 250 different bird species have been reported in the suburban part of Montreal’s West Island where I live, a few more than 700 in Canada and over 11,000 in the world as a whole. Some are resident species, some are just passing through, all are to be seen and enjoyed. Even in your own garden you can enjoy quite a variety of species. For example, my personal garden list, from a rather small garden, now amounts to 124 species of birds that we have seen in or flying over at some time. Of these 97 were noted just in 2025. If they come to us then they more than likely also visit you or a neighbour. Not every small brown bird is “just a Sparrow”, not every small yellow bird is “just a Goldfinch” and not every black bird is “just a Blackbird”. Far from it.
Learning to see and identify our birds is enjoyable and educational.
“I had forgotten you were a bird-watcher till you reminded me just now. You went in for it at Oxford, I remember. It isn’t a thing I would care to do myself. Not,” I hastened to add, “that I’ve anything against bird-watching. Must be most interesting, besides keeping you” – I was about to say “out of the public houses” but thought it better to change it to “out in the open air”.
“What’s the procedure?” I went on. “I suppose you lurk in a bush till a bird comes along, and then you out with the glasses and watch it.”
― P.G. Wodehouse, Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen
Various different habitats provide a rich diversity of locations to see birds. Be it in our gardens, in an Arboretum, along a shoreline or in local parks there is always something to see and enjoy, whether for the novice or the expert. The areas of mature forest, open green spaces, groups of garden shrubs and associated forest-edge habitat that some town roads near me offer all attract a wide selection of the bird species around us.
Something that almost all people new to birding mention, and in fact the reason why some may not pursue the pastime, is that they find trying to work out the identity of the birds they are seeing more than a little confusing - even if they have a good field guide on their bookshelves those books can be daunting in themselves. It is often suggested that you start by learning the features of a small group of birds, common birds that you actually stand a good chance of seeing where you live. You can then set out to identify them in the field.
“With my new habit of carrying binoculars everywhere, I feel imbued with a readiness to see, an attitude that my life itself is a kind of field trip. The urban naturalist has the terrific luxury of stepping out her door and into “the field,” without long rides or carpools, or putting money in for gas and Dairy Queen. When does the field trip begin? Whenever we start paying attention.”
― Lyanda Lynn Haupt
Building your Life List (if you wish to).
Once you know how to identify birds with reasonable confidence, then you will be ready to add to your life lists … adding new species one by one. There is an enormous amount of help available for bird identification and birders in general are always happy to help newcomers to the challenge.
A “Life List” is simply what it says - birders usually keep lists of all the species they have seen and with a bit of friendly competition, emphasis on friendly, try to make it as long as possible. Really keen birders occasionally add spice by having other lists - for example they start a new list at the beginning of each new year, they might have different lists for places they have visited, for birds seen in their home town or their garden. Really hard core birders have even been known to keep lists of birds that they have seen television or from trains/buses as they travel. It’s your life list though that matters and where better to start compiling one than at home? Botanists and entomologists are starting to keep lists too. It’s fun and often quite compelling.
During the weeks that follow, we will group together bird species that are taxonomically related to each other. Starting with:
Aquatic Species - Waterfowl
You will be able to devise a list of possible or expected species for the area where you live. In my part of the world I would want to see:
Relatively common in season: - Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Mallard / Might see - Common Loon (probably as a fly-over), Green Heron, Cackling Goose (look amongst groups of Canada Geese), American Black Duck, Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Common Merganser, Rare - American Bittern, Northern Pintail, Snow Goose,
In the spring when the snows are melting vernal pools form in the fields and briefly attract ducks so it is worthwhile checking them, not all water species are necessarily on rivers and lakes.
Waterfowl are some of the most adaptable birds on the planet, thriving in habitats ranging from Arctic tundra to tropical wetlands. Their feathers are uniquely waterproof thanks to a dense layer of oil secreted from the preen gland, allowing them to stay buoyant and insulated even in icy waters. There are dabbling ducks and diving ducks. Some, such as the Northern Pintail, can dive to depths of over 20 feet to forage for aquatic insects and plant material., while others, Mallards for example, just forage for what their beaks can reach while their bodies stay on the surface. Some species practice “reverse migration,” where juveniles travel against the usual migratory direction before correcting course, a behavior that helps them explore new feeding grounds and avoid predators.
These birds have a number of specialized adaptations. Their feathers are coated with a waterproof oil produced by a gland near the tail, which not only keeps them dry but also provides excellent insulation. Many species are adaptable eaters, shifting from plant seeds and aquatic vegetation to insects, small fish, or crustaceans depending on what’s seasonally available.
Note that males and females very often have markedly different plumage with females often being dull shades of brown.
When it comes to identification of waterfowl, a practical way for novice birders to sort them into manageable groups is to start with three easy visual cues: body size, bill shape, and overall colour. Thus, you can at a glance separate the large “big‑bird” group of geese and swans from the medium‑sized ducks, and then you have the smallest dabbling ducks that often stay on the water’s surface rather than diving.
Look at the bill: long, flat bills usually belong to dabbling ducks such as Mallards that feed by tipping forward while short, stout, or spatula‑shaped bills tend to indicate diving ducks such as Canvasbacks or Mergansers.
Then, use the most obvious plumage clues—white‑and‑black “head‑and‑neck” patterns for many male ducks in breeding plumage, solid gray or brown tones for female and non‑breeding birds, and bright orange or yellow patches on the bill or legs for species such as the wood duck. These three quick filters—size, bill shape, and dominant colors narrow down the possibilities and move the birds you are looking at from being a confusing flock on the water into a handful of likely species to explore in more detail with the aid of your field guide.
Big Species - Geese
Canada geese are famously monogamous, often staying with the same partner for life; they even reuse the same nesting sites year after year, returning to the exact spot where they hatched as adults to raise their own goslings.
Dabbling Ducks: Example - Bufflehead
North America’s smallest true duck – At just 13–15 inches long and weighing only 8‑10 oz (225‑285 g). Its compact body makes it agile on the water and in flight. Unlike many ducks that nest on the ground, Buffleheads are cavity nesters using natural tree holes or old woodpecker cavities, and they readily use nest boxes placed near water. Males are dark brown to black with subtle iridescence; white speculum (wing patch) edged in black. Females are dark brown with less iridescence; the white speculum is also present
Diving Ducks - Mergansers (Gooseanders in the UK)
Mergansers specialise in catching fish—their slender, serrated bills act like tiny saws, letting them grip slippery prey underwater while they dive. Another duck that nests in tree cavities. There are five species of Merganser Males are often brightly colored with the emerald‑green head of the Common Merganser or the striking black‑and‑white pattern of the Red‑breasted Merganser. Females are more muted brown, providing camouflage while nesting.
Do Get a Field Guide
Having a bird field guide with you makes a big difference to the possibilities of identifying birds - Sibley or the National Geographic guides are my recommendations for North America and Collins Bird Guide for anywhere in Europe. Keeping things really simple for waterfowl though, a short and free guide from Ducks Unlimited Canada takes some beating. Follow this link:
Be a Better Birder: Duck and Waterfowl Identification | Bird Academy ...
There are several field guide identification apps that you can download to your phone, making them easy to carry, but a printed book is usually easier to flip through and use when the bird is in front of you.
Next week : Raptors - Hawks, Falcons and Owls
BONUS - the buzzing of the bees and the singing in the trees - or good observation. Darwin as an example:
https://whilstoutwalking.ca/2026/01/06/what-noticing-nature-is-all-about/
I love ducks, they're such endearing birds and often have interesting courtship displays.
In the UK we have the Goosander (which is a type of merganser) but we also (less frequently) have the Red breasted Merganser.
I keep a year list of birds, and always start every year with a birding walk in our local area on New Year's Day. Even before we left our city centre flat this New Year's Day we'd seen Sparrowhawk and Waxwing (that's Bohemian Waxwing, I think, we only have the one species and always just call it Waxwing),
Very interesting and user friendly read. The layout of your text is quite handsome with the graphics and photos. Thank you Richard.