I had a quick look and I didn't see any specific tutorials for new birders - seems to be an obvious resource this forum should have - but perhaps one of the longer-term users can point you in the right direction.
As for eBird - take some time, run though the tutorials they provide, they are very much aimed at new birders, and are one of the best tutorials I've ever used. So I'm not going to repeat them here - have a crack at it, and happy to answer any specific questions you can't find answers to :-) Suggest posting a separate query thread so that other people can read and contribute too.
alex and others, i have been using merlin app and ebird the past few days. ebird has a steep learning curve, but i think i have managed to start out ok. have done some checklists and uploaded some pix for this region, inverell. cheers.
as for the thornies, mum and dad are still here, so is the nest, not had any wee chirps of new life from it as yet. i can see the nest from the computer, some zebra finches are checking it out as we speak, maybe they want to make use of the top nest, hehe!
Hi Tweetee, good to hear that the Thornbills are still hanging in there.
A bird book is still a useful thing to have as it teaches what field marks to look for and it is very important to get the ID correct for uploading to Ebird. Australian Bird Gude by Monkhurst et al is generally considered the best and most recent bird guide. You can pick up the earlier edition for less than $30 online but there is a second edition now with a more user-friendly index. The first edition index more suited to experienced birders. Otherwise, the ones by Pizzey & Knight or even Simpson & Day will be of assistance.
I use more than one book as well as the apps and use Merlin only for overseas birds as there are still gaps for Australia. It is my understanding that Maccauley Library (Merlin) needs 50 different pictures to create a bird file for ID so it is still being built up for the rarer birds. There is also a Bird Identification section on this website BiB so check that one out.
Apologies if this has all been stated before but I have come back a bit late to the thread. Good luck and enjoy the birds
hi sue, thanks for response, much appreciated. no need to apologise, all feedback is great.
at this time, and with only working this local area, merlin is doing pretty good, plus my knowledge is slowly getting better of the locals, i notice their sounds a lot more now, like a dollarbird, down near the creek this morning. i would have had no idea before. but, i dare say, once i step out of the local area, a decent bird book would come in real handy and use both together. here's an example, we had a bit of difficulty id'ing some swallows a while ago. they didn't really look like the welcome swallow on merlin, different colouring, and also some rosella's too, they were in between the pale face and the eastern colours. something with other than just a few pics to go off aka merlin, would be necessary if we keep going with checklists for ebird. as you say, accuracy is paramount.
cheers and if you are ever coming this way, cooee, we can do a birdwatch together, that goes for anyone reading this thread too ;-)
ps, do birders use anything specific to chat to each other? like a messenger group? this forum is limited, can't even pm a member.
Hi tweetee, you can pm other members, top right hand side of the banner above, follow the link (Messages) and begin to type the member user name and it will predictively list similar names for you to choose. Once there I think it is straight forward. Depending on the individuals settings, BIBY will email a link to advise the member that they have a PM.
Have been enjoying your thread and following the Thornies story. Thanks.
Check top right for Messages which allows you to send a PM.
As per your example, 'swallo' may have been a Fairy Martin or Tree Martin or one of the other Swallows, Swifts or even a Needletail. Crimson Rosellas come in variety of colours depending on sub-species e.g. Adelaide Rosella and Yellow Rosella are sep of Crimson. Then there are the other separate species e.g. Northern, Green, Pale-headed Rosellas. Ringneck Parrots are similarly comprised of a number of ssp. This is where the guide is great.
dale and sue, thanks for the heads up. i am used to right clicking the profile icon and having options, never thought to look up there.
sue, yeh, i need a more thorough guide. going to look into getting one. i don't want to get things wrong, as much as i can help it.
ps, thornies are still carrying feathers to line the nest. not sure if these guys are apprentice parents or what, taking quite a while. i have seen them copulating twice, so no idea if any eggs in there.
does anyone know of a 'spy' camera, something small that can go into the nest and see what is going on?
hi guys, update, not a pleasant one unfortunately.
we noticed a different sound when gardening on friday, there was this faint little chirp coming from the nest. yay, the thorny's had some success and we were stoked to hear that sound. things were looking up, so exciting right?
then major heartache on saturday, as the nest was found ripped apart early in the morning.
something had torn into it, trying to get to the new chick that was inside. as we didn't see or hear anything, we don't know what it was.
you can see in the pix, the damage, the baby and the egg. the eggs are quite large for such a small bird.
after this 'event' the thornies only came to the nest, they were not seen going inside at all, and we spent various times out on the porch watching, wondering if they would go inside and tend to the chick. we were beginning to worry for the chick, it had no contact or food from either parent that was noticed over an extended time. then quiet set in late afternoon.
at around dusk, i checked the nest with my finger and the chick was cold and i could feel one egg, also cold. i managed to get them both out of the nest and check, but sadly life was extinguished. we both felt terrible. we buried them both under the same tree with our blessings.
thornies have been back to the nest since, only sporadic though. not going inside. one was seen to attempt a repair to the nest, but didn't continue. so we have 2 abandoned nests in the same tree. shame huh?
at least we could witness them building the nests and doing their thing, so close to the home. maybe oneday they will try again. but it seems they will need a more protected nest site to achieve success.
this could be my last update, unless the thornies decide to try 3rd time lucky, cheers, tweet
hi dale, yeh, was bit of a bumma really. it's a lot of damage for another bird to do. i'm with you, hope it wasn't a cat, as the fence is close enough for a cat to jump to the nest.
oh, on the move in thing, funny, but some zebra finches have been checking it out a few times, actually on it and showing interest.
So sorry to hear about the damage but I suppose that is nature at work. If not a cat, would a goanna do that sort of damage? Let us hope the little birds try again and are finally successful.
alex, yeh, unfortunately they are easy targets and can't defend their home. one was back this morning placing a feather in the top of the nest, but no activity that is indicative of them having another go.
sue, yeh, nature at work, it can be quite brutal at times. a goanna would most likely take on a nest on a decent branch, but these flimsy bottlebrush trees would snap with their weight. not seen a goanna here in town. plenty in the bush around the area though and saw one roadkill last wednesday.
woko, yeh, cats are around. they won't come into the yard if i am anywhere to be seen. they get a quick message 'do not enter' and often scurry away. but still they venture here at night, we experience the stench of catpoop regularly. anything you can advise to keep them out? other than a shotgun ;-)
general info - been using merlin and ebird everday for about 2 weeks. found a couple of rare and unreported birds for this area. the photo id in merlin is really amazing, even if average quality zoom pics, but if can't get a pic, have to wait until one is available for accuracy of reporting. a glossy ibis was an exciting recent unreported find at the river, and just this morning a brown-headed honeyeater is showing as rare for this area.
Hi tweetee. It seems there is a clear case for a cat control or, preferably, eradication programme in your area. Unfortunately, this is likely to be a hard, long term slog with your local media, council & neighbors being brought on board. That's if they're not already. At the very least cats need to be confined to cat runs if we're to make an impact on saving our wildlife.
An individual step which could be instituted is to regard any cat which ventures onto your property as feral by definition. In other words if it wasn't feral it wouldn't be there. This may enable any action you took to be sanctioned by any laws council may have to manage feral animals & cats in particular.
Another is to persuade your local pet food outlet to have notices on shelves explaining how cat control & confinement can help save wildlife. I've been working on this for some time but without success. So far.
Sadly & in spite of the Australian extinction crisis, we still live in a cat-friendly culture but slowly, ever so slowly, the wheel is turning. Let's hope there are still some Aussie native animals to protect by the time we have a native animal-friendly culture.
there used to be many feral cats around town, not sure if that is still the case. i do know that some locals took things into their own hands, as nothing was being done, whether they still do their own thing, i am not aware. the natparks were doing some baiting a few years back, but they are a long way from town.
some cat lovers seem to be oblivious as to their responsibility to the community and native creatures, especially here. it's a shame, as it creates tension between neighbours and community members, when some care and some don't. seems par for the course with humanity everywhere. just like rubbish, some will not throw out a morsel and will pick up crap left by others, others will just throw it and not give a stuff. the roads out here are a perfect example, rubbish thrown out by those who have little consideration for the environment.
i will have to check what i can and can't do with the local council, i do know they offer a cat-trap, but that may only be for rural use.
yeh, it is sad to see so many species, not just birds, endangered and also disappeared since the white invasion force arrived on these shores. it really must have been a pristine wild environment a few hundred years ago.
personally i feel those of us who do care, are in the minority.
Tweetee, I get the impression that there are already a few things being done to control cats in your area but they're rather fragmented. If someone, e.g., the council environment officer, could bring these efforts together to make a concerted attack on the problem you might see a significant improvement in the wildlife of your area. But sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, we're left as individuals to battle on in our own way. Such is life & we can only do what we can do. As you imply, it's good to have others of like mind with whom you can discuss your situation, not to mention your frustrations!
I had a quick look and I didn't see any specific tutorials for new birders - seems to be an obvious resource this forum should have - but perhaps one of the longer-term users can point you in the right direction.
As for eBird - take some time, run though the tutorials they provide, they are very much aimed at new birders, and are one of the best tutorials I've ever used. So I'm not going to repeat them here - have a crack at it, and happy to answer any specific questions you can't find answers to :-) Suggest posting a separate query thread so that other people can read and contribute too.
alex and others, i have been using merlin app and ebird the past few days. ebird has a steep learning curve, but i think i have managed to start out ok. have done some checklists and uploaded some pix for this region, inverell. cheers.
as for the thornies, mum and dad are still here, so is the nest, not had any wee chirps of new life from it as yet. i can see the nest from the computer, some zebra finches are checking it out as we speak, maybe they want to make use of the top nest, hehe!
Hi Tweetee, good to hear that the Thornbills are still hanging in there.
A bird book is still a useful thing to have as it teaches what field marks to look for and it is very important to get the ID correct for uploading to Ebird. Australian Bird Gude by Monkhurst et al is generally considered the best and most recent bird guide. You can pick up the earlier edition for less than $30 online but there is a second edition now with a more user-friendly index. The first edition index more suited to experienced birders. Otherwise, the ones by Pizzey & Knight or even Simpson & Day will be of assistance.
I use more than one book as well as the apps and use Merlin only for overseas birds as there are still gaps for Australia. It is my understanding that Maccauley Library (Merlin) needs 50 different pictures to create a bird file for ID so it is still being built up for the rarer birds. There is also a Bird Identification section on this website BiB so check that one out.
Apologies if this has all been stated before but I have come back a bit late to the thread. Good luck and enjoy the birds
hi sue, thanks for response, much appreciated. no need to apologise, all feedback is great.
at this time, and with only working this local area, merlin is doing pretty good, plus my knowledge is slowly getting better of the locals, i notice their sounds a lot more now, like a dollarbird, down near the creek this morning. i would have had no idea before. but, i dare say, once i step out of the local area, a decent bird book would come in real handy and use both together. here's an example, we had a bit of difficulty id'ing some swallows a while ago. they didn't really look like the welcome swallow on merlin, different colouring, and also some rosella's too, they were in between the pale face and the eastern colours. something with other than just a few pics to go off aka merlin, would be necessary if we keep going with checklists for ebird. as you say, accuracy is paramount.
cheers and if you are ever coming this way, cooee, we can do a birdwatch together, that goes for anyone reading this thread too ;-)
ps, do birders use anything specific to chat to each other? like a messenger group? this forum is limited, can't even pm a member.
Hi tweetee, you can pm other members, top right hand side of the banner above, follow the link (Messages) and begin to type the member user name and it will predictively list similar names for you to choose. Once there I think it is straight forward. Depending on the individuals settings, BIBY will email a link to advise the member that they have a PM.
Have been enjoying your thread and following the Thornies story. Thanks.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Check top right for Messages which allows you to send a PM.
As per your example, 'swallo' may have been a Fairy Martin or Tree Martin or one of the other Swallows, Swifts or even a Needletail. Crimson Rosellas come in variety of colours depending on sub-species e.g. Adelaide Rosella and Yellow Rosella are sep of Crimson. Then there are the other separate species e.g. Northern, Green, Pale-headed Rosellas. Ringneck Parrots are similarly comprised of a number of ssp. This is where the guide is great.
dale and sue, thanks for the heads up. i am used to right clicking the profile icon and having options, never thought to look up there.
sue, yeh, i need a more thorough guide. going to look into getting one. i don't want to get things wrong, as much as i can help it.
ps, thornies are still carrying feathers to line the nest. not sure if these guys are apprentice parents or what, taking quite a while. i have seen them copulating twice, so no idea if any eggs in there.
does anyone know of a 'spy' camera, something small that can go into the nest and see what is going on?
cheers, tweet
hi guys, update, not a pleasant one unfortunately.
we noticed a different sound when gardening on friday, there was this faint little chirp coming from the nest. yay, the thorny's had some success and we were stoked to hear that sound. things were looking up, so exciting right?
then major heartache on saturday, as the nest was found ripped apart early in the morning.
something had torn into it, trying to get to the new chick that was inside. as we didn't see or hear anything, we don't know what it was.
you can see in the pix, the damage, the baby and the egg. the eggs are quite large for such a small bird.
after this 'event' the thornies only came to the nest, they were not seen going inside at all, and we spent various times out on the porch watching, wondering if they would go inside and tend to the chick. we were beginning to worry for the chick, it had no contact or food from either parent that was noticed over an extended time. then quiet set in late afternoon.
at around dusk, i checked the nest with my finger and the chick was cold and i could feel one egg, also cold. i managed to get them both out of the nest and check, but sadly life was extinguished. we both felt terrible. we buried them both under the same tree with our blessings.
thornies have been back to the nest since, only sporadic though. not going inside. one was seen to attempt a repair to the nest, but didn't continue. so we have 2 abandoned nests in the same tree. shame huh?
at least we could witness them building the nests and doing their thing, so close to the home. maybe oneday they will try again. but it seems they will need a more protected nest site to achieve success.
this could be my last update, unless the thornies decide to try 3rd time lucky, cheers, tweet
So sorry to hear that tweete, guess that's nature, hoping it wasn't a cat.
Hopefully someone else will move in!
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
hi dale, yeh, was bit of a bumma really. it's a lot of damage for another bird to do. i'm with you, hope it wasn't a cat, as the fence is close enough for a cat to jump to the nest.
oh, on the move in thing, funny, but some zebra finches have been checking it out a few times, actually on it and showing interest.
Sorry to hear it - and hope you get new residents with better protection!
So sorry to hear about the damage but I suppose that is nature at work. If not a cat, would a goanna do that sort of damage? Let us hope the little birds try again and are finally successful.
sue
Have you seen cats in your neighborhood tweeter?
Have you seen cats in your neighborhood tweeter?
alex, yeh, unfortunately they are easy targets and can't defend their home. one was back this morning placing a feather in the top of the nest, but no activity that is indicative of them having another go.
sue, yeh, nature at work, it can be quite brutal at times. a goanna would most likely take on a nest on a decent branch, but these flimsy bottlebrush trees would snap with their weight. not seen a goanna here in town. plenty in the bush around the area though and saw one roadkill last wednesday.
woko, yeh, cats are around. they won't come into the yard if i am anywhere to be seen. they get a quick message 'do not enter' and often scurry away. but still they venture here at night, we experience the stench of catpoop regularly. anything you can advise to keep them out? other than a shotgun ;-)
general info - been using merlin and ebird everday for about 2 weeks. found a couple of rare and unreported birds for this area. the photo id in merlin is really amazing, even if average quality zoom pics, but if can't get a pic, have to wait until one is available for accuracy of reporting. a glossy ibis was an exciting recent unreported find at the river, and just this morning a brown-headed honeyeater is showing as rare for this area.
cheers, tweet
Hi tweetee. It seems there is a clear case for a cat control or, preferably, eradication programme in your area. Unfortunately, this is likely to be a hard, long term slog with your local media, council & neighbors being brought on board. That's if they're not already. At the very least cats need to be confined to cat runs if we're to make an impact on saving our wildlife.
An individual step which could be instituted is to regard any cat which ventures onto your property as feral by definition. In other words if it wasn't feral it wouldn't be there. This may enable any action you took to be sanctioned by any laws council may have to manage feral animals & cats in particular.
Another is to persuade your local pet food outlet to have notices on shelves explaining how cat control & confinement can help save wildlife. I've been working on this for some time but without success. So far.
Sadly & in spite of the Australian extinction crisis, we still live in a cat-friendly culture but slowly, ever so slowly, the wheel is turning. Let's hope there are still some Aussie native animals to protect by the time we have a native animal-friendly culture.
woko,
there used to be many feral cats around town, not sure if that is still the case. i do know that some locals took things into their own hands, as nothing was being done, whether they still do their own thing, i am not aware. the natparks were doing some baiting a few years back, but they are a long way from town.
some cat lovers seem to be oblivious as to their responsibility to the community and native creatures, especially here. it's a shame, as it creates tension between neighbours and community members, when some care and some don't. seems par for the course with humanity everywhere. just like rubbish, some will not throw out a morsel and will pick up crap left by others, others will just throw it and not give a stuff. the roads out here are a perfect example, rubbish thrown out by those who have little consideration for the environment.
i will have to check what i can and can't do with the local council, i do know they offer a cat-trap, but that may only be for rural use.
yeh, it is sad to see so many species, not just birds, endangered and also disappeared since the white invasion force arrived on these shores. it really must have been a pristine wild environment a few hundred years ago.
personally i feel those of us who do care, are in the minority.
Tweetee, I get the impression that there are already a few things being done to control cats in your area but they're rather fragmented. If someone, e.g., the council environment officer, could bring these efforts together to make a concerted attack on the problem you might see a significant improvement in the wildlife of your area. But sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, we're left as individuals to battle on in our own way. Such is life & we can only do what we can do. As you imply, it's good to have others of like mind with whom you can discuss your situation, not to mention your frustrations!
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