This is the WORST way to identify a BIRD.

The best way to identify a bird is to look at the bird. The worst way is to look at the book. It's a mistake that most people make as they work to improve their identification skills

[@AmyKing-rh5sl]

Best few minutes on bird ID I have experienced

[@WildlifeEthics]

Same here. Maine is lucky to have him !

[@LesterMultimedia]

I take bird photos. My approach to to shoot first and ask questions later.

[@frednorman1]

That’s my technique also and then I use Merlin Bird ID or my iPhone to identify the bird from the photos

[@richat1691]

@@frednorman1 both wrong - you should be able to id the bird before you take the photo -with practice

[@kevinharding2099]

This is perhaps one of your best and most useful videos ever!! Thanks. I sometime see new birders looking at their phones and almost ignoring the bird.

[@Bob_Duchesne]

I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a strategy, but one benefit of getting older is the ability to look back and figure out everything you did way wrong.

[@robertpayne5165]

you can tell when you're listening to someone who has studied a subject for quite a long time - Bob you're it! You have transformed my birding - thank you

[@Bob_Duchesne]

Maybe not so much study. It's just that I've birded so long, I've made every mistake there is. Next week, the warblers begin arriving, and I look forward to getting out there an making more mistakes,

[@davearchbell9921]

Thanks Bob. That was really helpful. I'm going to look for those 4 field marks going forward.

[@twobicycles]

Excellent strategy and advice!! I've just moved to Europe and feel like a brand new birder with all of the unfamiliar species. This advice will serve me well!

[@peterjohnson617]

Hey you have to start somewhere. I birded by myself using that National Audubon photo book. Talk about taking a long time to learn a little bit but truth be told I had a lot of fun. I still recall the thrill of IDing my first bird , Tufted Titmouse. After 20 + years I took the plunge and started going out with the local bird club in the county I live in. Walking & listening to people who knew their stuff was such a pleasure and my I D skills grew in leaps and bounds. If I knew now what I didn`t know then would I change the way I did it....hard to say. I love being out in the forest by myself but I do also love being a better birder. As long as you are outdoors and learning from nature it`s all good...thanks

[@Bob_Duchesne]

I know, right? One BIG reason I do this kind of video is because I wish I knew then what I know now! It took me up to 65 years to learn this stuff. Coulda been shorter.

[@StephenJStephen_Photography]

Wonderful and clear instruction on learning to "see" identifying field marks! Thank you Bob.

[@andrewbrown4128]

Great informative video! As always, thanks Bob! You have a unique way of communicating that mixes humor and knowledge. It’s a potent combination!

[@leobachand8408]

Great tips!!! We truly enjoy your videos!!

[@WestVirginiaWildlife]

I prefer to take a picture and identify later

[@Bob_Duchesne]

That also works. Well, as long as you have the camera along. Which, if you're like me, you always do.

[@jibe22686]

excellent advice Bob. As I tell my partner after snapping a pic, got it, we’ll sort this out when we get home. besides that, those books are heavy.

[@richat1691]

you will never become a good birder doing that sorry....

[@Mad_Ancient_Computer_700AD]

For people wanting to learn some more helpful warbler field marks, I'd recommend the Warbler Guide. 10/10 book, includes super helpful pictures and guides to their songs, field marks, and even has a whole section on identifying them by undertail coverts.

[@bopyranks]

Great, practical advice, and well put together video. The idea of taking the book outdoors with me never even occurred to me because it feels cumbersome. I do rely a bit too much on Merlin to ID by sound, though, and as I'm learning calls better, I'm trying to use it less as an intermediate level birder.

[@ForbesPhoto]

Great teaching and excellent strategy!

[@martinberg6786]

Well, I don't know why the algoritm wanted me to be able to identify birds, I have never showed any interest in that direction. But now I'm a lot better at it than before, thanks for that!

[@Bob_Duchesne]

Yeah, KZbin makes me scratch my head a lot.

[@LynneH-ej6rx]

Another great video and advice. Thank you!

[@user-oc7lz4qb1j]

Bob: I learned a general indication of warblers in habitats from Paddy Cunningham who runs the Everglades Birding Festival. If a warbler has wing bars, generally, it will be medium to high in the canopy. If no wing bars, generally, medium to low. Always an exception to that general rule.

[@HeavyTF2real]

I just recently started taking birding seriously and going out specifically to bird. When I started trying to ID Thraupids (neotropical “tanagers”) in Peru, I made this mistake a lot. I managed to ID a honeycreeper (genus Cyanerpes) with this strategy, but unfortunately we have two species near the research station and I didn’t notice any of the features that would distinguish the two.

[@doublediverdown2007]

I love your channel, i love your personality and u seem like someone with real experience and u seem very trustworthy. Im glad the community of birders online is so wholesome, thank you!

[@qqxk]

Thanks a lot. As a beginner, I felt overwhelmed by looking at the birds but thanks for your great tip of the field mark, I think I probably I still fell overwhelmed😅 when I couldn't recognize them. But I will look less at my Merlin app for guidelines. That is again for sharing.

[@Bob_Duchesne]

Indeed, it's normal to feel overwhelmed. I plan to do another couple videos in a few weeks that will make it a little less overwhelming. There are lots of tricks and tips that I wish I had known when I was younger.

[@qqxk]

Really enjoy your video and much appreciated them.😊👍

[@piccadillypie]

Great video, Bob! Thanks!

[@cliftonwhittaker260]

Best way I've found is to make a picture for ID and then confirm it when I get home.

[@neeleyfolk]

This is very helpful technique, thank you!

[@davearchbell9921]

You do a great job at simplifying birding. Thanks.

[@Bob_Duchesne]

Yeah, it took me a VERY long time to realize I was making it too complicated.

[@johnvoltageltd]

Really, really helpful video!!

[@JA51711]

Excellent video thank you

[@CC-re1pu]

Another great video! Thank you :-)

[@jaurijantzi424]

The best way to identify a bird in my case , is to take a picture of the bird , then after the bird is gone , then go to the book and find the bird that matches your photo

[@jaurijantzi424]

Although there are some birds that can be easily recognized, such as the bald eagle with the white head and white tail , or the eastern kingbird with that thick white bar on the tip of the tail

[@EdieofOdessa]

Bob's videos are the best

[@justingiacobbe4419]

I used the wing bar, yellow throat, and breast streak trick to get my lifer palm warbler today! (Yes to all 3 options) Thanks Bob!

[@Bob_Duchesne]

And another tip: palm warblers are the only eastern warblers that bob their tails. And they do it a lot. If I see a warbler do that, I don't even have to guess. Northern waterthrushes will raise and lower tails slowly, but it's nothing like the quick bob of a palm.

[@justingiacobbe4419]

@@Bob_Duchesne that’s great info. You’re the best! Love your content

[@shannonniemeyer3931]

Excellent advice for a novice like me! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😎

[@robertross9074]

Peterson is still the best there is. He has an amazing facility to state the very precise consideration one needs to pin down the species. The very best way is to photograph the book and then ID later. I would miss much without my camera.

[@user-vl2to9pv7j]

super helpful

[@geronimomiles312]

Field marks may be faint OR bold in a given individual, not all common yellowthroats have strongly yellow throats , breast streaks on yellow warblers might be present ... And so on . Take a photo , decide what YOU ,think the ID is , then get a second opinion. It might be a real rarity in your area , and youll want a pic anyway. 👍

[@Bob_Duchesne]

Yup. I also tend to have a camera along with me, though I don't usually use it for identification purposes. I wouldn't second-guess anyone who prefers a photo. For me, I just want to wrap my head around all the variations so I can be quicker to identify in the field. Partly, that's because I've spent so many years guiding and need to make quick judgments. That DOES mean I screw up more than some, and I'm likely to miss rarities, LOL.

[@Revelationscreation]

Sadly this doesn’t really work with European birds- our warblers especially the leaf warblers are almost identical- sometimes a photo or a sound recording is needed to ID them. Definitely works for finches though.

[@Bob_Duchesne]

We have a similar problem with flycatchers. That's when grouping troublesome birds gets useful as a way to remember which tiny characteristics aid identification. My problem is, I don't remember them all.

[@Revelationscreation]

@@Bob_Duchesne that’s why I love using cameras… gives me another chance to get the ID right. Sometimes feel naked without it even though I only started using a camera a few months ago.

[@michaelsharpe4217]

Also head color and throat color if not yellow.. step 2. Instead of just noting wing bars or breast streaks 'yes' or 'no', try to remember what they wing bars or breast streaks look like.

[@Bob_Duchesne]

I know, right? Yellow is a helpful throat color for warblers. Not so much for sparrows. Perhaps there's a future Field Marks 2.0.

[@Alysuis]

Awesome! Enjoying all the migrants and have been noticing some of these in the field!

[@ShakespeareCafe]

He’s got a pair of $2500 Swarovski binoculars. I’d say he has the best already, why the Zeiss?

[@Bob_Duchesne]

I need a spare pair to keep in the car. LOL

[@wolv57]

Bah! Take a picture and then look at the field marks in the picture.

[@ljrt5010]

Field marks?!?! To quote another KZbinr, famous like yourself, Whaaat!?! No waaaayyy, FFS. 🤣 Great info, great videos, thanks Bob. p.s. you deserve those Zeiss Victory 10x42s.

[@alexegdelordxxx7969]

thats a great and yet almost obvious tip especially for beginners. currently im brand new to bird watching, havent even gotten my first guide in physical print yet but i think this tip will help me out a lot, it was very helpful to be told what kind of field marks are useful to focus on :))