I consider myself more “birder adjacent” rather than an actual birder. But living in southeast Arizona, birds are one of those things that I do happen to take quite a few pictures of. I’ve had the eBird app on my phone for quite a while now, but never really used it. Then I was reading an article here on substack:
I end up taking pictures of almost every bird I see anyway, so there really no good reason I shouldn’t be filling out these checklists … at the very least later when I’m editing my pictures.
So this afternoon, that’s what I did.
First I went out to Ramsey Canyon and totally struck out when it comes to looking for birds, or any other wildlife for that matter. But then on the drive out I decided to stop down at the Brown Canyon Ranch House. There’s a little pond in the front surrounded by trees.
I was able to get pictures of 10 different types of birds. Nothing really unique or spectacular. But it did give me a chance to practice filling out the checklist and uploading my pictures to the eBird website.
The only thing I didn’t include were some hummingbirds that buzzed me a few times. I could take a guess about what type they were, but honestly I never really got a good look (let alone a picture), so decided to leave them off my list.
Here’s what I did see:
As you can see, taking pictures for birding identification is slightly different than what I might normally process and share. For instance, that Ash-throated Flycatcher shot with a freshly caught bug is an interesting scene. But given the missed focus softness of the image, if I didn’t need it for ID purposes, I probably wouldn’t have even edited it at all.
Your Turn:
Have you ever completed an eBird checklist? Did you include pictures or audio?
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Such beautiful photos. That house finch is son bright!! They are less bright here.
I did see a bright red Cardinal today. No way was I getting a picture. I don't know how you manage to capture them before they fly away.
Those are great photos! I'm kind of like you in that I don't really go out of my way, but I'm always paying attention when I go places. We get a lot of different birds in our yard plus we live across from a lake so we see a great variety. Last year I did see a Great Crested Flycatcher which was really cool, and had never seen before. So I do log most stuff, and participate in the great backyard bird count.