One day I'm going to create a thread for all the photographers who have little birding knowledge, or lack the confidence or desire to even attempt to identify the creature that you just photographed before posting its' image on POTN. I'm not a birding expert. I don't even consider myself a birder. I've resorted to asking others for help with identification, but before I do, I consult several resources. Identifying a species that you've never seen is half the fun.
Many years ago I completed a Field Ornithology college course where I learned that bird identification is no different than identifying people or cars. From great distances we are able to recognize people that we are familiar with just by the way they walk. We can do the same with cars, just by their sound or silhouette. Birds are the same way. All you have to do is figure out what's unique about one particular species. This can be done with field books, mobile apps and online resources.
During that college course I also learned how to use Peterson's, A Field Guide to the Birds East of the Rockies. I still have that book today and reference it when I photograph a bird that I don't recognize. I've never used their "apps" http://petersonguides.com
, but I have used Cornell Lab of Ornitholigy's online source, All About Birds (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search/ ). It's an extremely useful resource from one of the premier ornithological institutions to ever exist.
In this thread that I plan to create one day, I plan to ask the birders to share some birding tips and resources with the non-birding photographers, maybe they would even share some photograpy tips with us.
One day.
