Birds

Common Birds

November 7, 2011 by Corey 7 Comments

Most birders, myself included, hope to find a rarity or two on every birding outing. This does not happen, of course, because rarities are, by definition, rare, but that doesn’t stop us from hoping. That is why we scope though flocks of gulls, shorebirds, and ducks, why we carefully check each little brown job, and why distant pigeons in flight can make us put up our binoculars, just in case. Mostly, we don’t find rarities. Mostly, we find common birds.

And there is nothing wrong with common birds. They are the birds that we see all the time, the background against which we hope to spot something good, the chaff from which we hope to separate the wheat. They are the haystack hiding the needle and while needles are nice sometimes it’s alright to just appreciate the hay. Not only that, but the hay, er, common birds, will often let you get good picture of them. In that spirit I present some of the common birds I have seen of late, birds that I expect to see on almost every outing in my area, birds that a birder can depend on.

Enjoy!

Northern Mockingbird at Fort Tilden, Queens, New York

Mallards at Big Egg Marsh, Queens, New York

Song Sparrow at Fort Tilden, Queens, New York

Ring-billed Gull at Mill Pond Park, Nassau County, New York

House Sparrow at Fort Tilden, Queens, New York

Canada Goose at Mill Pond Park, Nassau County, New York

European Starling at Fort Tilden, Queens, New York

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bird photography common birds

Written by Corey

Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.

7 Comments

John November 7, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Common birds can be impressive in their own right. I still get a thrill from seeing and hearing a large flock of Canada Geese take off, even though I see them so often.
Joseph November 7, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Occasionally common birds can be surprising. I saw song sparrows last week at Alley Pond Park in NYC. The surprising thing was the sheer numbers. There were at least 40 there in one large flock. I have never seen as many in one day. I did look through them carefully to see if there were any other species, but only song sparrows were there.
This reminds me I have to post this on ebird. 😉
Meredith November 8, 2011 at 9:53 pm
Good point (and great shots), Corey. I could listen to Black-capped Chickadees and watch Red-winged Blackbirds for hours at a time!
Redgannet November 9, 2011 at 10:07 am
Perhaps, “the chaff from which we hope to separate the chiff?”
Myles November 9, 2011 at 5:29 pm
On point: I was marveling at the plumage of the starlings this week.
And it’s been nice to see more Mourning Doves in the woods lately. I’ve always considered them a very beautiful bird; seeing them outside of their familiar urban setting seems a more appropriate context.
Winter also seems a good time to observe the more common species’ behaviors more closely.
Jochen November 10, 2011 at 10:58 am
Looking at your images, I can’t help but wonder if the term “common” describes their abundance or the fact that most birders the world over have these species in common?
Scott Simmons November 10, 2011 at 3:00 pm
Very nice post. A day seeing only common birds is better than a day inside seeing none.