After going to the bird sanctuary a few times, I realized how many birds really use this area. Normally, when I go here, I walk around the loop seeing what I can find, not staying in any place for more than a few minutes, so I miss a lot of species using the area. Because I stay at a spot for 60 minutes, and it is known to be the busiest spot, I am surprised and delighted about the number of species I have been observing.
I believe my current approach is reasonable for my skill level, so I will not be adjusting my methods. If I were to make any changes, it would be having a field partner with better identification skills than my own which is obviously not possible in the realm of this project nor the purpose of my initial goals of this project.
Hello! I had a similar experience where I was suprised by the figures in my data. I think the idea of having a “more skilled” partner is interesting. I would be interested to see a comparison of how you feel your skill level improved from the start of the project versus the end!
these are two really good observations!
There are some great apps to support bird learning in particular
Merlin Bird ID has both a visual key and a sound key – the sound key is pretty excellent and I find it accurate for about 80% of the time (sometimes it thinks it is hearing a species that should be in Florida, but as a learning tool it is pretty good)