We regret to inform you that motivation remains out of stock. In its place, we offer carefully curated reminders that avian life persists regardless of effort, intention, or good design. These posters are not solutions. They are documentation.

“The Birdwatchers” (Hold Steady)

He had a guide book and binoculars
He called himself a birdwatcher …

When they asked for our credentials
We told them we were looking for some birds

“Birdwatcher” (Malcolm Middleton)

And what a start with my birdwatching book and glasses, I’ve found a classic …

So the man on the piano fumbled on
It was the perfect soundtrack for emotional cripples like myself

… and again “Birdwatching” (The Burning Hell) – in my rough estimate, the fifth or sixth time it is mentioned on this blog. If you haven’t listened to it yet, my writing can hardly be called convincing.

While everybody else is busy polishing their coffins
We’ll be mixing cosmopolitans, and birdwatching

Image by freepik

Inspired by Peter’s comment on one of my earlier posts on this blog, I decided to shine a spotlight on the often ignored Bananaquit. The reaction of birders to the presence of a Bananaquit varies greatly, I have found. In the initial stages of a birding tour, these cheerful birds tend to elicit some degree of a positive reaction – this glow usually wanes in the following days for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Bananaquits are noisy. While objectively their sunshiny twittering is cheerful and uplifting, their calls can sometimes obscure the softer and more distant vocalisations of other species. Further to this, some portions of their elaborate songs can be more audible than others, and I’ve had many a birder question the source of a sound that turned out to be a Bananaquit from down the road.

This leads me to my other point, and one of the names I’ve reserved for the ubiquitous Bananaquit over the years: The Bird of False Hope. This is a bird that is similarly sized to a plethora of other species, behaves like several different families, and is usually the first bird spotted in any particular location. Sometimes Bananaquits can be furtive, bouncing around in thickets like spinetails do, other times they are flitting around in the canopy, much like a rare, migratory warbler.

But what does the science say about these little birds? For starters, they’ve confused ornithologists over the years – at various times being placed in the Parulidae family of New World Warblers, Emberizidae of New World Finches, as well as in its own family. In the first edition of Birds of Trinidad & Tobago the Bananaquit was listed as Incertae sedis, Latin for “uncertain placement”. Today, they are hosted along with tanagers, honeycreepers, saltators, seedeaters, and many others in Thraupidae.

The Bananaquit was a notable member of the avian landscape for as long as we have been looking at birds. Indigenous people were accustomed to these black and yellow blobs, evidenced by the Bananaquit‘s scientific name: Coereba flaveola – the first word originates from the Tupí word “guiracoereba” meaning “a blue, black, and yellow nectar-eating, finch-sized bird”, as described by Georg Marcgrave.

Bananaquits are distributed widely across Latin America and the Caribbean, where they are mostly common except in areas of dense forest. They readily adapt to human habitation and are often eager to grab any available sucrose, sometimes attending artificial nectar feeders in great numbers. Some hummingbird aficionados (a curious and suspect subset of birders in my mind) aren’t fond of them for this reason. For me, all birds matter, and all birds are amazing.

Full disclosure, I have seen Bananaquits robbing the nectar from flowers by piercing the base – but then again that’s how flowerpiercers operate. Further to this, I’ve also seen hummingbirds performing this very act! Maybe everyone doesn’t want to be the vehicle for plant reproduction all of the time?

Either way, Bananaquits are incredible little birds – if not at least a little enigmatic – there are no fewer than forty subspecies of these globs of sunshine that annoy some and enchant others. Some differ by size, others by coloration. All are different by voice, as far as I understand. Personally, I haven’t witnessed the full gamut of Bananaquits, but I’ll share a few I’ve crossed paths with over the years here.

This is the standard Bananaquit we get in T&T: black above, yellow below, grey throat, white supercilium.

Some Bananaquits are a bit duller, these are typically younger birds.

Occasionally some individuals have been seen with a bold eye-ring. I’m not entirely sure what this means, whether it’s a different subspecies or simply individual variation.

In some other islands in the Caribbean, Bananaquits are a bit more vivid, with a noticeable red gape. This feisty individual was photographed in Barbuda.

Perhaps my favourite of all the Bananaquits is the entirely sooty version found in St Vincent and the Grenadines as well as on Grenada. There are a couple subspecies that share this trait, within which one is polymorphic. If you think this is confusing, try searching for a needle-in-a-haystack Whistling Warbler in a thirty-metre canopy with scores of dark Bananaquits and Lesser Antillean Bullfinches hopping about.

There is a joke about this Bananaquit, but I’ll have to tell you in person. My wife holds the rights to that humorous tidbit – I can, however, assure you it is a joke that delivers each time.

Moreover, the Bananaquit is also the logo bird for regional NGO BirdsCaribbean who is having their silver anniversary conference in Trinidad this coming July. I’m not divulging too many details at this point, but I will be there delivering at least a few talks and messages. Hope to see some of you there!

Before writing this review, I arranged my National Geographic birding books on my favorite bookshelf–field guides, pocket guides, encyclopedic guides, birding essentials, birding basics, the titles practically shone in the dark, shiny yellow spines shouting ‘National Geographic’ in customized black sans serif typeface, decades of birding knowledge at the ready. Birds have always been a part of National Geographic’s history and identity. Bird images by George Shiras III, reproduced in 1906, marked the first time wildlife photographs were published in the magazine, pointing it towards its future in photojournalism. Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard, a popular bird identification guide by Henry Henshaw, National Geographic co-founder, published in the June 1913 issue, was a turning point in the magazine’s coverage of educational materials and prefigured the publication 70 years later of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America.* Last year, National Geographic published the newest volumes in the field guide series, first the regional guides–National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of the United States and Canada East, Second Edition and National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of the United States and Canada West, Second Edition by Ted Floyd, and then in September, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada, 8th edition, also by Ted Floyd. A completely rewritten and updated guide, the guide is a striking, noteworthy addition to the NatGeo field guide series and to birders’ lists of must-have identification guides .

Over eight years have passed since the previous title, National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th edition, and there have been changes. Ted Floyd is the first new author since a team of consultants and editors, headlined by Jon L. Dunn and Eirik A. T. Blum, produced the first edition in 1983.** Ted has rewritten all species descriptions, family descriptions, and added genera descriptions. There is a new, “crowd sourced” method for creating distribution maps, replacing those of Paul Lehman, map guy for editions three through seven. Subspecies maps have been eliminated. Birds of Hawaii have been added, integrated into the text. Additional species added to North American checklists have also been added, and other species eliminated because of taxonomic “lumps,” resulting in total coverage of 1,155 species, 132 more than the seventh edition (this number includes species accounts, rare birds, and extinct birds). The size is larger, the weight, paradoxically, lighter, the font is smaller and lighter. A Bald Eagle still dominates the cover, though in flight rather than repose. And the title has changed. No longer proclaimed as a guide to the birds of North America, the title is now Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada, a change acknowledging the actual geo-political parameters of the guide.

Things that remain the same include visual, textual, and kinetic aids to locating information (thumb tabs, Quick-Find Index, Visual Index to Bird Families, traditional index), much of the artwork, and the structural organization. An Introduction explains how to use the Species Accounts, shows diagrams of bird anatomy, summarizes geographic characteristics of the United States and Canada, explains the range maps, talks about how to bird and the birding community. There are Appendices listing Rare Birds, extinct birds of the continent, extinct birds of Hawaii, and checklist changes; a new five-page Glossary; Illustrations Credits; Acknowledgments; and an Index (mostly of species). Organization of species is still in taxonomic order based on the checklist of the American Ornithological Society, in this edition the 2023 checklist. This is a little disappointing considering the book was published in late 2025 and there were significant changes made in 2024 (lumping of Common and Hoary Redpolls, split of Brown Booby into Brown and Cocos Booby amongst them), but I’m glad the effort was made to include the changes in the fourth Appendix, as well as resources for keeping updated in future years.

ARTWORK

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©2025, National Geographic Partners, LLC; pages 426-427, Anianiau, Hawaii Creeper, Hawaii Akepa; text by Ted Floyd, illustrations by Andrew Guttenberg

From the beginning, illustrations for the series have been drawn and painted by multiple artists, updated and expanded over the years, and we now have a group of 21 artists credited in the Illustration Credits. This includes two new young artists, Andrew Guttenberg and Marquette Mutchler, who have added to existing species accounts, created new artwork for the birds of Hawaii (Guttenberg), and worked on the design of each plate. Artists from previous editions are Jonathan Alderfer, David Beadle, Peter Burke, Mark R. Hanson, Cynthia J. House, John Janosik, Donald L. Malick, Killian Mullarney, Michael O’Brien, John P. O’Neill, Kent Pendleton, Diane Pierce, John C. Pitcher, H. Douglas Pratt, David Quinn, Chuck Ripper, N. John Schmitt, Thomas R. Schultz, and Daniel S. Smith. If you have the inclination and eyesight, you can read who created which images in the Illustration Credits, conveniently listed in page order (please enlarge the font and put back the bolding of page numbers in future editions).

The images work best when every illustration on the page is by the same artist (or team of artists). We see that consistency in the Hummingbird family–artwork by Alderfer on his own and Schmitt and Alderfer, with the exception of Sophie Webb’s Lucifer Hummingbirds–and in three genera of Tyrant Flycatchers, including Empidonax, where all species are painted by David Beadle. I think the big question is whether having different artists represented on one illustrated plate interferes with using the guide. I also think we need to consider that a lot of effort has gone into making the overall presentation on each plate consistent in terms of poses, groupings, text labels, and overall design. Consistency in these elements helps the user focus on finding the information needed. The larger size of the eighth edition means there is room for larger illustrations, which gives many of the plates a feeling of visual ease. Text labels and symbols have been tweaked in myriad ways: species names are in color; descriptions of identification features are shortened; some text pointing out features have been eliminated and in other places, descriptions have been added. The overall goal appears to be to un-clutter the plates and make them work with the new text, or, as Floyd says in the Introduction, “efficiency of presentation” (p. 7).

This really is a grand collection of scientific illustrations.  Nitpicks could be made (that Green-tailed Towhee is too pale!) and omissions may be pointed out (ducklings? where are the ducklings?), but overall, the guide offers an astounding number of images presented informationally and beautifully. Species are depicted in poses and plumages in which they are likely to be seen–gulls are shown flying and perched, shorebirds are standing, warblers are perched. Age ranges and female plumages are illustrated when they are distinctive enough to be important for identification. We see Short-billed Gull, for example, in 1st winter, 2nd winter, breeding, and juvenile plumages, the first three stages both flying and perched. There are female images of all Wood-Warblers, but no age or female depictions of Swifts. Subspecies, or as Floyd describes them, “groups of closely related yet morphologically distinct individuals from different geographic regions,” are illustrated and labelled with the common name (when there is one, sometimes it’s just “adult Interior West”) and scientific name.

My favorite illustrations depict birds in a bit of habitat–woodpeckers perched on trees (one Acorn Woodpecker even has an acorn in its bill), alcids on a rocky ledge, Western Kingbirds flying over a farm field. In addition to being labeled for age, sex, and subspecies, images are accompanied by brief identification points, sometimes emphasized with additional close-up drawings of that feature–irregularly placed primary tips, an orange lower mandible, red facial skin and eye. Hummingbird descriptions include tail spread close-ups and outlines of primary feathers. There are comparative illustrations–Tyrant Flycatchers on a wire, woodpeckers on top of a snag, flying grebes in winter plumage. There are also some illustrations (and accompanying text descriptions) of hybrids–the expected Lawrence’s Warbler and Brewster’s Warbler (hybrids of Golden-winged and Blue-winged Warblers), and two of the many gull hybrids–Olympic Gull (Glaucous-winged  Western) and Chandeleur Gull (Kelp x Herring).

With each edition, the organization of illustrations and the illustrations themselves have been thought out, re-thought out, and improved. Guttenberg, who also functioned as Art Coordinator, talks about the art goals of the new NatGeo series in his ABA interview with Nate Swick. Additions for this volume include more birds in flight, some hybrids, species added to the Rare Birds section, and of course the Hawaiian species. Gutenberg created about 200 images, he says, many aimed at filling in “holes,” such as blackbirds in flight; the trick was to create new art while aligning poses and style with the existing art. His colored pencil drawings for the new Hawaiian species, where he could create without reference to previous artists, show off his talent for combining technical precision with graceful design, intelligent composition, and a clear love of color. He often includes typical plants and flowers, aids to identification not always found in other field guides.

SPECIES ACCOUNTS & DESCRIPTIONS

©2025, National Geographic Partners, LLC; pages 118-119, Limpkin and Cranes.

Ted Floyd has totally rewritten the text for this guide (and the two regional guides), from Introduction through Species Accounts through Appendices. Think about it. Full descriptions of the 911 species in the Species Accounts plus bird families and genera; brief descriptions of the 199 species in the Rare Birds Appendix; longer write-ups for the 40 species in the appendix on Continental Extinctions (and a summary for Hawaiian Extinctions); plus a species-by-species summary of Recent Checklist Updates. That’s a lot of writing about birds! Floyd does it masterfully. He comes to NatGeo Guide field guide authorship by way of a career engaged in ornithological writing, editorship, and education. With an academic background in ecology and evolutionary biology (B.A., Princeton, 1990) and ecology (Ph.D., Penn State University, 1995), Floyd became editor of the American Birding Association’s Birding magazine in mid-2002 and is still editing it today (with co-editor Frank Izaguirre). He is a regular participant in the ABA Podcast with his “Random Birds” series and has taught biology, math, statistics, and various birding courses, and spoken at birding festivals and conferences around the world. His books include two previous field guides, the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America (2008, available from Scott & Nix) and the ABA Field Guide to Birds of Colorado (Scott & Nix, 2014, updated in 2025), plus his book of bird identification essays, How to Know the Birds (National Geographic, 2019); he has also written numerous journal articles, technical papers, popular magazine articles, and book chapters. He is also a colleague and friend.

Species Accounts are comprised of 707 long accounts of more widespread and common species and 204 short accounts of species that are highly localized or regionally rare. The longer descriptions follow a formula laid out in the Introduction: (a) the big picture, giving a general “feel for the overall natural history of the species”: geography and habitat, behavior, brief notes on subspecies; (b) appearance–size, shape, details of color and pattern, geographic variation when needed for identification; (c) vocalization–song, calls, nonvocal communications like drumming–both descriptions and transliterations. The big picture descriptions are, in my opinion, a prime reason for using this guide. They are detailed yet compact, specific to the bird itself while giving environmental context, sensitive to common identification problems birders may have without condescension, fact-based while consistently well-written in essay-quality prose. Here, for example, is the description for Sandhill Crane:

Nests on tundra and in wet meadows in winter and during migratory stopovers, gathers on farmland in large, dense flocks. Birds on passage fly at dizzying heights, calling powerfully as they go over. Two main populations: “Lesser,” breeding mostly northern Canada and Alas., regularly reaching Russia and vagrating to Hawaii; and “Greater,” breeding mostly U.S. and southern Canada. Common Crane (p. 541), Grus grus, of Eurasia, almost annual to Nebr., invariably in large flocks of Sandhills. (p. 118)

Amazingly, this description is different from Floyd’s descriptions in the companion regional volumes. Here is the beginning of the entry in NatGeo West:

Nearly as tall as Great Blue Heron (p. 206) and similarly gray overall, often stained with rust. Cranes fly with necks outstretched and often soar; herons do neither. Adult Sandhill has red crown; immature plain-crowned with extensive rust in plumage. All have “bustle” of long tertials. Size variable. “Greater Sandhill” longer-legged, longer-necked, and larger overall than “Lesser”; wing tips of latter darker and proportionately longer. (p. 100).

And here is the first part of the Sandhill Crane description in NatGeo East:

Few sounds in nature are more stirring than the proclamations of cranes migrating overhead. The late winter gathering of this species along the Platte R. in Nebr. is widely acknowledged to be one of the grandest spectacles in the continent. (p. 96).

Some of the text descriptions are reminiscent of National Geographic’s first bird guide publication, Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard. Here is American Robin, for example, as described in NatGeo * :

The robin is so familiar that it is easy to take the species for granted. But, it is one of our greatest birds, with extraordinary migrations, an incredible song, and endlessly fascinating feeding and breeding behaviors. Found anywhere, from remote wilderness to our largest cities: Hunts worms on lawns, gorges on berries in fruiting trees, nests on homes and other structures… (p. 402).

And here is American Robin as described by Henshaw in 1906:

In the North and some parts of the West the robin is among the most cherished of our native birds. Should it ever become rare where no common, its joyous summer song and familiar presence will be sadly missed in many a homestead. The robin is an omnivorous feeder, and its food includes many orders of insects, with no very pronounced preference for any. I is very fond of earthworms, but its real economic status is determined by the vegetable food….The principal item is fruit…. (the rest of the description is concerned with alternatives to killing robins before they eat all the fruit in the orchard, thankfully not a 21st-century concern).

Floyd is very conscious that the purpose of the Species Accounts is to help users identify a bird, and his descriptions incorporate specific diagnostic features, usually also pointed out in the illustrated plate opposite. He notes how to differentiate similar looking birds in the Appearance section. This section, which can be rather technical in other guides, is very readable, relying on basic avian anatomical terms which are shown in the introductory section on Parts of a Bird and defined in the back-of-the-book Glossary. His experience working with birders on identification shows through. For White-rumped Sandpiper, he warns “beware that any fast-flying sandpiper can catch bright glare as it twists and turns” (p. 142); birders hoping they have a Bicknell’s Thrush are warned to make sure the warmer tail they’re observing does not belong to “just” a Hermit Thrush.

RANGE MAPS

©2025, National Geographic Partners, LLC; pages 16-17, Introduction: New Approach to Range Maps

A huge change from previous editions are the range maps. Sourced from eBird, as part of a partnership between National Geographic and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the maps show life cycles rather than typical seasonal distribution. Floyd goes into detail about the construction and meaning of these maps in the Introduction, emphasizing the fluctuating diversity of birds’ life cycles and movements. How different is this from the 7th edition range maps, developed by Paul Lehman? Those maps also showed (1) “breeding range, generally in spring and summer” in a dull reddish shade, (2) year-round range in purple/blue, (3) winter range in light blue, (4) spring/autumn migration range in dark yellow, (5) primarily spring range in light green, and (6) primarily autumn migration range in bright yellow. Under the new system, we have four colors to decipher: (1) breeding season in dull red, (2) year-round in purple, (3) nonbreeding season in blue, and (4) pre- and postbreeding migration season in yellow.

Comparing maps across 7th and 8th editions, I was surprised to see that most had similar color blocks and outlines, but not so surprising because most of our birds do breed in spring and summer, do not breed in winter, and migrate in spring and fall. You can see range changes over the intervening years if you look closely, a little difficult since the maps in both volumes are small and other sources should be consulted for detailed changes (eBird itself would the best source). Still, I could see the slight move northward for Carolina Chickadee, the expansion of Fish Crow into the interior states, and the contracting breeding range of Nelson’s Sparrow. Some nuance has been lost with the absence of those primary spring and primary autumn ranges, especially in the sparrow maps. Range maps for the Hawaiian Islands are uncolored outlines of the islands with notes below indicating on which island(s) the species can be found. Additional information is found in the Populations section.

CONCLUSION

Can we have too many field guides? I don’t think so, and in a publishing world where companies are being bought out and discontinuing long-standing imprints and looking towards digital publication of everything, I’m thrilled that National Geographic, a company that itself has been sold and merged and reduced in size over recent years, is still publishing birding field guides. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada, 8th edition by Ted Floyd continues the comprehensive scope of previous editions and takes the unprecedented step of presenting completely new text, reflecting the latest research and field observations. Artwork and design has been expanded and tweaked and most importantly, two young artists have been brought into the NatGeo fold. The guide continues to be easy to use–you can use the Quick-Find Index on the inside front flap to locate bird families if you know the name of the family, the Visual Index of Bird Families on the inside front and back covers to locate families if you’re not sure of the name, the Index to locate species by common or scientific name, and my favorite user aid, the thumb tabs, to quickly flip to your favorite families–Sandpipers, Gulls, Hawks, Flycatchers, Thrushes, Sparrows, or Warblers. My main criticism is the lighter, smaller font, making it difficult to read in the field. Please, National Geographic, have empathy for those of us with older eyes and use a darker font in future printings.

The 8th edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada aims to “succinctly convey the essentials for accurate identification for all bird species occurring in the United States and Canada” (p. 7), a statement that I think undersells the riches it contains. This is a guide that I think birders of all skills levels will use easily, effectively, and joyously.

NOTES

* The Feather Wars by James H. McCommons, St. Martin’s Press, 2026 & Henry Henshaw: The National Geographic Founder Who Helped Save America’s Birds by Mark Collins Jenkins, National Geographic blog, October 25, 2012 (retrieved from Internet Archive, May 2026)

** Various people worked on earlier editions, as “consultants” and “staff editors.”  Jonathan Alderfer became co-consultant and art coordinator (and a major art contributor) starting with the third edition, and the team of Dunn and Alderfer have been considered authors and editors through the 7th edition, though they were not credited on the title page till the fifth edition.

©2025, National Geographic Partners, LLC; pp. 4-5; Black Rosy-Finch by Martina Nordstrand and Table of Contents

National Geographic Guide to Birds of United States and Canada, 8th ed.
by Ted Floyd
National Geographic, distributed by Penguin Random House, September 2025
592 pages; illus.; 6.06 x 1.02 x 8.99 inches; 13 ounces
ISBN-10 : 1426223080; ISBN-13 : 978-1426223082
$32.00 (discounted from the usual suspects)

We sent out another list of questions to bird guides who have already been profiled on 10,000 Birds. In the fourth edition of this second series, we ask

What part of bird guiding do clients never see?

Here are the answers.

The preparation and research to find a hard bird. Gabor Orban, Hungary/Costa Rica

Negotiating. Zhang Lin, China

The learning up of species,  calls, and new spots to see the species. Lots of work and effort go into finding new spots and scouting areas. Also, the behind-the-scenes work. Getting the car ready and clean, preparing coffee boxes, and lunches. The planning and making sure everything runs smoothly. Marc Cronje, East and Southern Africa

Clients should never see you fretting about anything. You should appear to radiate confidence and make considered decisions at all times. David Lindo, Spain

Clients never see the effort put into crafting a seamless itinerary. Faraaz Abdool, Trinidad & Tobago

The hours of prep and researching sites. John Hague, UK

The pre?dawn logistics: checking the weather, scouting alternative sites, negotiating access, and sometimes repairing equipment. That “invisible” preparation is what makes the day look seamless. Marcelo Carlos De Cruzky, Argentina

Hearing the sound of birds or bird songs. Kwame Brown, Ghana

Much of bird guiding happens behind the scenes. As guides, we spend time studying calls, tracking movements, and understanding habitats to anticipate where birds will be. What seems like a quick sighting is often built on years of experience, patience, and careful observation. We also scout locations, adjust plans, and put in the physical effort to stay alert and in tune with nature. Most importantly, we manage timing—knowing when to wait, move, or stay silent—so that each encounter feels natural and meaningful. Magada Haily Miriam, Uganda

Logistics, safety, and planning on the eye. Spyros Skareas, Greece

The amount of time spent scouting and planning/organizing. And promoting. And the insurance premiums! Most of the work of being a guide happens outside of the day(s) in the field with clients. Also, the blood pressure of the guide when birds like Bicknell’s Thrush are making our lives challenging. Derek Lovich, Maine, USA

After dinner, when sometimes the guide has to share his room and never rests properly due to snoring and other noises that other guides and drivers do. So make sure your guide has his own accommodation! René Santos, Brazil

Pre-tour planning, including script preparation, updating information on flora and fauna, familiarizing oneself with the trails, and checking weather conditions. Sandra Maria Plua Alban, Ecuador

The secret is in the filtering. In our Goa birding zone, there are over 300 potential hotspots, but we only take our guests to the “Top 10.” Why? These specific locations have provided consistent, high-quality sightings for over 25 years. While other spots can be erratic or completely quiet, our guests only see the “best of the best.” They enjoy a day of non-stop sightings, unaware of the hundreds of hours we spend sifting, reviewing, and scouting the “no-show” spots so they never have to. Savio Fonseca, India

The online research about current observations in the region and the previous preparatory trips abroad, where I have to look for good observation areas, and also check out hotels and restaurants. And: my annual tax return – I could do without that one… Rolf Nessing, Germany

And the editor adds:

Much of bird guiding happens long before the clients ever see a bird. Guides emphasize the invisible work behind a smooth tour: researching target species, learning calls, scouting sites, planning logistics, checking weather and access, preparing equipment, arranging accommodation and transport, and constantly adapting to changing conditions. They also stress the importance of projecting calm confidence, even when things are difficult behind the scenes. In short, what appears effortless to participants is usually the result of years of experience, careful preparation, and a great deal of unseen work.

Photo: Hair-crested Drongo, Nanhui, Shanghai, November 2017

By MD Imdadul Haque

MD Imdadul Haque (Bangladesh) is the founder of BirdzFly.com. The site aims to provide insights into birds, their behavior, and their conservation.

Every August, the same thing happens across backyards in the eastern United States. A feeder that was busy all summer goes quiet. The hummingbirds seem to have vanished overnight. People assume migration happened while they weren’t paying attention.

What actually happened is more interesting — and the timing is almost never what people think.

Fall hummingbird migration doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in three distinct waves spread across three months, and most people only notice the last one.

**Wave 1: The Males Leave in July**

Adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds start leaving their breeding territories in late June and July. In Canada and the northern US, this departure begins in mid-July. By early August, most adult males have already gone.

This surprises people. July feels like the height of summer. Flowers are blooming. The garden looks exactly like it did in June. But the adult males are already responding to shortening days — the same photoperiod signal that triggers spring arrival in reverse — and they have no biological reason to stay. Their role ends when breeding is complete. They don’t incubate eggs, they don’t raise young, and there’s nothing tethering them to a territory once the season is over.

The result is that birders lose the most visible birds first. The adult male with his iridescent ruby throat, the one most people picture when they think “hummingbird,” is the first to go. What remains at feeders through July and into August are females and juveniles — and since females and young birds lack the dramatic throat patch, they are easier to miss.

**Wave 2: Adult Females Depart in August**

Females finish raising the final brood of the season and begin moving south in August. Timing varies by latitude: females in New England may start leaving in late July, while those in Tennessee or the Carolinas might not begin until mid-August.

The window between male departure and female departure is usually three to four weeks. During this overlap, feeder activity can seem stable — roughly normal numbers of birds, just different individuals — which masks the fact that the entire adult population has turned over.

By late August, most adult females from northern breeding populations are underway.

**Wave 3: Juvenile Birds in Late August and September**

This is the wave most people notice. First-year birds — hatched that summer, making their first migration south — move through in late August and September. They are the last to leave because they were the last to be born.

These juveniles are navigating entirely on innate programming. No learned route, no experienced adult to follow. They inherit a directional sense that pulls them south and southwest, toward the wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America, and they follow it without any prior knowledge of what lies ahead.

Feeder activity often peaks during this third wave. The birds are inexperienced at finding food on a migration route they’ve never traveled, and a well-stocked feeder represents a reliable energy source they will use heavily. At the same time, many of these birds are in hyperphagia — the pre-migration state of intensive feeding where they eat almost continuously, building the fat reserves that will fuel the Gulf crossing. A hummingbird in hyperphagia can gain 25 to 40 percent of its body weight in a week or two.

This is the week most people associate with “the hummingbirds are leaving.” In reality, the adults left weeks ago. What they’re watching is the juvenile population fueling its first nonstop transoceanic crossing.

**What Triggers Migration: It Is Not the Feeder**

One of the most persistent myths in backyard birding is that keeping feeders up in fall prevents hummingbirds from migrating. It doesn’t.

Migration is triggered by photoperiod — the changing ratio of daylight to darkness as days shorten after the summer solstice. This signal operates regardless of food availability. A hummingbird that is physiologically ready to migrate will leave whether the feeder is full or empty. The feeder does not cause migration and cannot prevent it.

What the feeder can do is provide fuel for birds that are actively migrating. Keeping feeders up through late September in the Northeast — and into October along the Gulf Coast — ensures that late migrants and first-year birds have access to energy when they need it most. Taking feeders down in early September, when the juvenile wave is at its peak, removes a resource precisely when it’s most useful.

**Why This Matters for Backyard Birders**

Understanding the three-wave structure changes how people read their feeders in late summer.

The quiet period in late July isn’t the end of hummingbird season — it’s the gap between the adult male departure and the beginning of the main fall movement. The spike in activity in late August isn’t the start of something; it’s the tail end of a months-long process. And the feeder that seems pointless in mid-September — when days go by with nothing visiting — may still be serving occasional stragglers and western strays that have wandered off their normal routes.

The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds most backyard birders watch are making a round trip of roughly 3,000 to 5,000 miles, including a nonstop overwater crossing of the Gulf of Mexico. The fall half of that journey is quieter and less dramatic than spring — no males singing from prominent perches, no territorial chases, no courtship displays. It’s a dispersed, individual movement that doesn’t announce itself.

But it’s happening, in three waves, from July through September, in backyards all over eastern North America.

Photo by Corey

My first morning in Mindo started at 5:00 a.m. The moth blind was only about 100 to 150 metres away, but getting there early was important. A quick look the evening before had revealed exactly where the best spot in the hide would be, and there was no intention of giving it up. The lodge owner had already warned that a group of birders would be arriving at first light, so beating the crowd became the first mission of the day.

Disappointingly, I didn’t make it. 

The group had already arrived with their guide and set up shop. I had to settle for a position closer to the entrance and convince myself it was a perfect spot.

Ecuador had been on my birding bucket list for some time now, and last January I made up my mind that the time had come to check this item off my list.

Global Big Day was in May and seemed like the perfect time to go. It was still a few months away, which gave me enough time to properly plan the trip, and so all the arrangements were made well in advance. We settled on a place called The Birdwatchers House lodge, located deep in the forest at an elevation of about 2100m, in the Santa Rosa area above the town of Mindo.

I usually do not have a target bird in mind when I travel for birding but this trip was different, I came to Ecuador and chose this lodge specifically to see one regional endemic species.

But within a few mins of arriving, I was completely distracted.

The hummingbirds seemed to be everywhere in the garden. Every time I focused on one species, another would appear from a different direction. Photographing them quickly became an exercise in patience, reflexes, and extreme luck. The cloud forest light didn’t help much or at all for that matter.

Then came the tanagers.

Golden Tanagers glowed in the morning light, while Blue-winged Mountain Tanagers seemed almost impossibly colourful at the reflection pool. Golden-naped Tanagers joined the parade and before long I found myself taking far more photographs than I had planned.

The Flame-faced Tanager was present but not nearly as numerous as the Golden Tanagers that appeared everywhere you looked.

A lone Black-capped Tanager perched surveying the action below.

This Yellow-breasted Antpitta usually makes an appearance almost every morning from around 7:30 to 8:00am.

The Flowerpiercers were around and this Masked Flowerpiercer kept trying to break into the hummingbird feeders, without success.

It didn’t take long for the Toucan Barbet to show up and added even more colour to the already colourful scene.

Back at the blind the Turquiose Jays battled for the moths and other insects on offer, the Cinnamon flycatchers, Strong -billed Woodcreepers, Slaty-throated Redstart, Buff-rumped Warblers, Masked Trogons, more Toucan Barbets, House Wrens Ecuadorian Thrush, Ornate Flycatchers, Glossy-black Thrush, Slaty-backed Nightingale Thrush, Scaly-throated Foliage-gleaner and others had a feast.

Then Global Big Day arrived. May 10th.

For the morning portion of the count, I headed to the Milpe Bird Sanctuary, another lodge owned by the folks at the Birdwatchers House and at a lower elevation site that offered a completely different birding experience from Birdwatcher’s House. The habitat changed, the atmosphere changed, and so did the many different species of birds.

The hummingbirds were all around, different species from the higher Birdwatchers House elevation.

Then one of the many highlights, the Chocó Toucan, a species that had somehow escaped my attention while planning the trip. Seeing it was an unexpected bonus.

The Chocó Toucan is one of the signature birds of the Chocó region, a biodiversity hotspot stretching along the Pacific slopes of Ecuador and Colombia. With its oversized yellow bill and striking black and yellow plumage, it is often impossible to miss when it appears in the canopy. Despite its bold appearance, this near-threatened species faces ongoing pressure from habitat loss as the forests of the Chocó continue to shrink.

This Swallow Tanager perched high up almost out of reach of my lens. Despite its name, the Swallow Tanager is not closely related to swallows. The name comes from its sleek shape and graceful flight, which often causes birders to do a double take when they first see one gliding overhead.

Probably the biggest highlight for me at this location was this Bronze-winged Parrot. It sat quietly, alone, and seemed to have picked the highest tree it could find just to tease me, as if saying, “Go on, take a photo if you can.”

The bird had clearly given some thought to its choice of perch. It was high, distant, backlit, and surrounded by enough branches to make any photographer question their choice of gear. Meanwhile, it seemed perfectly content to sit there and admire the view and the crazy birder/photographer below.

Back at Birdwatcher’s House, the birding continued much as before, hummingbirds, tanagers, trogons, and enough memorable sightings to keep any birder happy.

And of course, the bird that Finally Brought me to Ecuador... the Plate-billed Mountain Toucan.

Found only in the cloud forests of Ecuador and southern Colombia, the Plate-billed Mountain Toucan lives high in the Andes, often above 2,000 metres. Its restricted range makes it one of South America’s most sought-after toucans for birders. It showed up at the lodge every day during my visit ensuring a successful mission to Mindo.

On the last day of the trip we had the surprise of seeing the bird that no one was able to identify, it had not been seen at the lodge previously and seemed to be a leucitic bird, possibly a Tanager, the owner of the lodge, an accomplished and well known birding guide suggested its was a Saffron Finch. My online research including Merlin could not give a definite ID.

It did not stay in the open but instead favoured the undergrowth only showing itself briefly before heading back in. A little mystery at the end, but a totally enjoyable birding trip and one that produced an impressive number of lifers.

What is your favorite bird species?

I always find birds with camouflage patterns composed of all those amazing spots and stripes fascinating, especially those with outworld ornamental features, so birds like Pennant-winged & Standard-winged Nightjars are automatic favorites. But I also have a soft spot for cute songsters with melodic songs, such as members of the family Cettiidae.

Mountain Tailorbird, a member of the family Cettiidae

What is your name, and where do you live?

My full name is Wich’yanan Limparungpatthanakij. I started going by the name Jay when I was a high school foreign exchange student in the US to make it easy for non-Thais. I am currently based in Samut Prakan, Thailand.

What are the main regions or locations you cover as a bird guide?

I lead tours throughout Thailand and have increasingly co-led tours abroad, particularly within Asia.

Rufous Limestone Babbler

How long have you been a bird guide?

Close to twenty years now. I started working as a part-time guide when I was in college.

How did you get into bird guiding?

I grew up in the countryside, so I guess I am privileged for being close to nature at a very young age. I have been enthusiastic about wildlife since I can remember. The only comprehensive field guide book to any wildlife widely available then was ‘A Guide to the Birds of Thailand’ (Lekagul & Round 1991).

Giant Nuthatch

What are the aspects of being a bird guide that you like best? Which aspects do you dislike most?

It is always a joy for me when all trip participants have satisfying experiences with any exciting wildlife. Leading tours full of demanding or self-important clients is not fun, but the worst of all is when I inevitably have to deal with selfish people who pursue birds unethically.

What are the top 5-10 birds in your region that are the most interesting for visiting birders?

Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann’s Greenshank are among the top target wader species in winter tours. Rufous Limestone Babbler is an endemic species accessible with just over an hour drive from the capital city, while another endemic bird, Turquoise-throated Barbet, requires considerable efforts in hiking up a leech-infested forested mountain. There are semi-reliable spots for specific species at certain times of year, including the gorgeous Malayan Banded Pitta. Restricted-range, majestic forest birds like Siamese Fireback, Coral-billed Ground Cuckoo, Giant Nuthatch, Tickell’s Brown Hornbill (Rusty-cheeked Hornbill), and Plain-pouched Hornbill are usually high on bucket lists. Note that the best chance to see the latter species is during its southbound migration in mid-year.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper feeding alongside a Red-necked Stint

Can you outline at least one typical birdwatching trip in your area? Please briefly describe the locations, the key birds, and the approximate duration of such a trip

The most popular tour is certainly the two-week one covering parts of provinces like Chiang Mai, Phetchaburi, and usually Khao Yai National Park, in drier months when a wide variety of non-breeding visitors are present. It can be more or less guaranteed that each participant will see over 400 bird species on the trip, with good chances to see at least half of the species mentioned in my answer to the previous question.

What other suggestions can you give to birders interested in your area?

People in Thailand and many Asian countries generally prefer firm over soft mattresses. Those who find it difficult to sleep on them should consider packing a soft mattress topper for the trip.

Plain-pouched Hornbill flock

If any readers of 10,000 Birds are interested in birding with you, how can they best contact you?

My e-mail address is lim.wichyanan@gmail.com. I also have active accounts on social media platforms such as Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/jay_shrike/) and Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/jay-shrike.bsky.social).

Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers of 10,000 Birds?

There are only a few bird species endemic to Thailand, but being in the center of mainland Southeast Asia makes it convenient to explore multiple biogeographic sub-regions and diverse habitats in which birding can be overwhelmingly rewarding. The warm hospitality in this “Land of Smiles” and its renowned cuisine add up to a memorable experience.