Hi All, Fall is a great time of year to go bird watching on Long Island. Its one of the things that I've always wanted to do a bit more of - but, unfortunately - haven't been able to find the time to do. However...when I do take a hike or a walk, I am much more aware of my bird surroundings now....
So, whether I'm walking on the newly constructed boardwalk in Long Beach or hiking a trail in Massapequa, I look up at the trees and see....birds. Which is the topic of this blog post.
One of the many, many quality birding websites available on the web is called 'What Bird?'. Click link to visit the site. And oh...what a site it is!
Like many other websites What Bird? has a few tabs at the top of the page. Some of the more important tabs include 'Search', 'Browser', 'Expert', 'Forum' and 'Help'.
The 'Search' tab is a wonderfully intuitive way for users to discover 'What bird it is that they are looking for' by letting users sort through different birds by attribute groups. Attribute groups enable the user to sift through scores of birds by various basic criteria like location, shape, size, prominent color, primary color, habitat, bill shape, bill lenght, wing shape, order, family, conservation status and song pattern (live!).
Other attribute groups that users can search from include pattern, head, body, flight, illustrations and scientific name. Note that once the various attributes are specified, the results of the search appear at the top of the page. Users have the option to viewing the bird results by text or by icons (thumbnail pictures of the birds).
The thumbnail pictures of the birds can be expanded so users can view a larger scale picture of the bird. Along with a larger picture comes an overview/summary of the bird, information about the birds' range and habitat, a list of 'interesting facts' about the particular bird, a range map, and links to 'Similar Birds'.
At this point, users can scroll to the top of the page where they can more information from tabs entitled, 'Species Overview', 'Identification', 'Behavior' and 'Portrait'.
The previously mentioned identification tab has comprehensive information about the body of the bird: specifically the length of the bird, weight, size, primary color, under/upperparts, back pattern, belly pattern and breast pattern. There is also a comprehensive information about the head of the bird: specifically the bill shape, eye color, head pattern, crown color, forehead color, nape/throat/cere color as well.
The previously mentioned behavior tab has comprehensive information about each birds' breeding/nesting characteristics, foraging/feeding habits and vocalization information.
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WhatBird also has a tab on the homepage where users can enter a forum and either read or partake in comprehensive and detailed discussions with other birding enthusiasts. Forums are free and include topics as varied as 'Help Me Identify a Bird', 'Birds and Birding', 'Backyard Birds, Feeders, Food'. Other topics in the forum section include, 'Articles on Birding', 'Comments on Specific Birds'.
Because of the comprehensive nature of WhatBird and the ease with which a user can navigate through the site, readers and users can appreciate why I think this is a good quality, easy-to-use birding website.
Enjoy your birding and the website.
Regards,
Stu
