Are you looking for some adventure right in your own backyard? Why not give bird identification a try? All you need to get started with bird identification are some simple tools. A good field guide such as the one provided below, and some binoculars.
A familiar wetland bird with a distinctive white bill. Aggressive. When swimming, it pumps its head back and forth, and can dive from the surface. The downy chicks have a hairy orange-red head.
Voice: A grating kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk; various crackles, croaks
Habitat: ponds, lakes, marshes [View Distribution Map]
A very common bird in most of the U.S. and Canada. Often gregarious. A large, chunky black bird.
Voice: Loud caw, caw, caw
Habitat: woodlands, farms, fields, shores, towns, dumps [View Distribution Map]
A gregarious jay-like bird of the West. In flight its long greenish black tail streams behind and white patches flash in the wings.
Voice: A harsh rapid queng queng queng queng; also a nasal maag? [Listen To Call]
Habitat: rangeland, brushy country, conifers, streamsides, farms [View Distribution Map]
A small, plump, small-billed bird. In addition to black cap, it has a white wing patch and rusty sides.
Voice: Chick-a-dee-dee-dee
Habitat: woods, willow thickets, shade trees [View Distribution Map]
The most widespread goose. Often seen migrating in V-formations in fall or spring; often year-round residents in many areas. Fluffy yellow goslings grow up into huge brown gees with long black necks, black heads and a white chinstrap.
Voice: Deep musical honking, ka-ronk or ka-lunk [Listen To Call]
Habitat: lakes, ponds, bays, marshes, fields [View Distribution Map]
A lean gray bird that can stand 4′ tall. It has long legs, long neck, dagger-like bill, and flies with its neck pulled in.
Voice: Deep harsh croaks: frahnk, frahnk, frahnk [Listen To Call]
Habitat: marshes, swamps, shores, tideflats [View Distribution Map]
North America's largest owl. It has ear tufts and is roughly eagle-sized. This owl eats rabbits, skunks, squirrels, and sometimes smaller owls.
Voice: Hoo!, hu-hu-hu, Hoo! Hoo! [Listen To Call]
Habitat: forests, streamsides, open country [View Distribution Map]
The world's most widespread duck. While the male is more colorful than the brown mottled female, both have a shiny bluish patch on the wing, called the speculum.
Voice: Male: yeeb; Female: loud quacking [Listen To Call]
Habitat: ponds, lakes, marshes, bays, city parks [View Distribution Map]
Males colored peacock blue with a paler belly—no orange coloring like the Western Bluebird. Female is dull brownish.
Voice: A loud chur or phew, short subdued warble
Habitat: open country with some trees [View Distribution Map]
One of the first birds to migrate north in early spring. Male is bright; female is drab.
Voice: A loud check, high tee-err; song is a gurgling konk-la-ree
Habitat: marshes, brushy swamps, hayfields, along edges of water [View Distribution Map]
This gull was almost eliminated by human encroachment between 1850 and 1920, but has made a dramatic comeback. The gull takes three years to become an adult. The black ring around its bill is its distinctive feature.
Voice: A high-pitched hiyak…hiyah…hyia-hyak [Listen To Call]
Habitat: lakes, bays, coasts, piers, dumps (opportunistic feeder) [View Distribution Map]
The Montana state bird. A member of the blackbird family—not larks. Has a distinctive V-shaped bib.
Voice: 7-10 flute-like notes, double-noted [Listen To Call]
Habitat: meadows, grasslands, prairies [View Distribution Map]
