Birding 101: Don’t Get Discouraged by Lookalikes

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Birding 101: Don’t Get Discouraged by Lookalikes
Written by Conor Gearin

This is BirdNote.

    [Canada Goose flock calls, ML530928361]

Some bird species look almost identical, creating headaches for birders just starting out. One example? In the interior of North America, flocks of Canada Geese might also have another species called Cackling Geese mixed in. They look almost the same – the Cacklers are just smaller.

    [Fade first flock calls into Cackling Goose flock calls, ML119465]

Then there’s whole groups of related birds that all look alike. Even experienced birders have to take a close look at little sandpipers all scurrying around in a wetland to know who’s who.

It’s easy to get discouraged and think you’re the only one confused by lookalike birds. But all birders get stumped now and then. Try seeing it as a mystery to solve rather than a test you have to pass. If you don’t sort out two lookalike birds today, check your field guide and get ’em tomorrow.

And keep in mind some basic tips. If species look similar, could they have different voices, like the Canada Goose’s brassy honks…

    [Canada Geese calling, ML53519641]

And the nasally yelps of the Cackling Goose?

    [Cackling Geese calling, ML131490]

Can you snap a photo or make a recording to review later? Gathering all the clues you can will help you solve the mystery.

For BirdNote, I’m Jonese Franklin.

BirdNote is supported by the Tuttleman Foundation and by generous listeners like you.

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Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Canada Goose flock calls ML530928361 recorded by James Remsen; Cackling Goose flock calls ML119465 recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller; Canada Geese calling ML53519641 recorded by Jay McGowan; Cackling Geese calling, ML131490 recorded by Gerrit Vyn.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2024 BirdNote December 2024
Narrator: Jonese Franklin

ID# birding-38-2024-12-09        birding-38