Birds of Waterloo and Cedar Falls a Beginner's Guide

Green Iowa AmeriCorps Birds of Waterloo and Cedar Falls

A Beginner’s Guide

Introduction

For some people, the idea of learning different species of birds can feel intimidating. They may know a few of the most common, such as a robin, cardinal, or a blue jay, but not much else. However, like all hobbies, with some learning the rewards can be worth the effort. Knowing what birds live in your town can provide a better sense of place, and connection to the natural world. It can feel like knowing the names of your neighbors, even if you aren't able to spend time with them.

It only takes learning about a dozen species to be able to identify most of the birds you will see any given day. This guide will be focusing on the birds most likely to be seen around the neighborhoods of Waterloo and Cedar Falls. It won’t cover all of the birds that show up in the area, though. It skips the migrants, that are only here a few weeks out of the year, and rarities, those that only show up occasionally. It is hard to draw a line on which to include and which to skip, but since this is for the absolute beginner, the list will be shorter. This is to prevent feeling overwhelmed with too much information and options. Another thing to keep in mind is that birds can change a lot from the fledgling stage to adult, so there might be some common birds that will look unfamiliar while they wait to grow adult plumage.

When and how to watch birds

Anyone who has heard the dawn chorus can attest that mornings are the best time to bird watch. This is especially true for song birds. They like to sing in the morning the most because the cooler temperatures and slightly higher humidity help their songs travel farther. That said, any time of day is a good time to watch birds. The more you observe them, the more you will learn about how they live. Aquatic birds, and raptors like hawks and eagles, are more active throughout the day than song birds, so any time during daylight is a good time to look for them.

The key to seeing as many birds as possible at home, is to set up a backyard that is safe and inviting to them. Depending on time and budget, focus on landscaping with native plants, shrubs, and trees. This is the foundation of a food chain that not only feeds the birds directly with fruit and seeds, but also feeds the insects other birds depend on. This is

also why it is so important to avoid pesticides. More and more studies are showing that domestic cats are a much larger threat to songbird populations than was thought before. Keeping cats indoors protects the birds and is better for the health of the cats.

Color is often the easiest way to describe a bird. In addition to overall color, markings are a key. When you are lucky enough to have a bird stay still, start with the head and work your way down. Is the head all one color? Are there stripes? Is there an eye ring or a line through the eye? Same thing with the throat and chest of the bird. They can be solid, striped, or spotted. Sometimes there are easy markings to see on the wings, even in flight. On the tail there can be details that are easier to see in flight, like when the outer feathers are a different color.

Size can be hard to guess when the bird is far away, but it’s a quick way to narrow down the list of possibilities. Often bird sizes are compared to the most well known birds; sparrows, robins, crows, and hawks.

The bane of all birders is when the subject at hand is backlit, and colors are impossible to see. Combined with size, the shape of the bird can be helpful. In particular, bill shape can narrow down which group the bird would be in. For example finches and woodpeckers have very distinctive beaks. Some birds have longer tails, like mockingbirds, and others have shorter tails, such as meadowlarks.

American Robin

One of the most well known and readily recognized birds, the robin is an easy bird to start with. It has an all black head, red-orange breast and belly, and the rest of the bird is a grayish color. Closer up you can see the incomplete white eye-ring. After watching robins enough you might notice that some are brighter with stronger contrast between the head and body. Those are the males robins. Females are a bit more washed out. The mnemonic device to remember their song is “cheerio, cheery-up, cheerio, wot wot.” They also have a distinctive call when they take off. Look for them feeding on invertebrates, especially earthworms after the rain. Robins have rather limited migration ranges, so they can be found in Iowa all year round, though more difficult in winter. Fun fact: Robins are members of the Thrush family, which has some of the most admired songs of all the birds.

American Crow

This bird needs no introduction. Living in Iowa, it seems that every other bird you see is a crow. While easy to take for granted, they can be fascinating to watch, because they are intelligent and social. They are omnivores in the fullest meaning of the word. They are also scavengers, so they help fill in the cleaner role while vultures are down south. While we hear the “caw caw” sound the most, they are capable of dozens of other sounds. Fun Fact: Crows and ravens are part of the Corvid family. This is the most intelligent group of birds in North America.

Common Grackle

Like starlings, common grackles like to flock in large groups. You will see them in areas along roadsides, or gathered together in trees. They don’t have a song as such, but make a lot of buzzy and wheezy sounds. A large flock of them can make quite a raucous noise. In the sun there is an iridescent sheen that distinguishes them from other blackbirds. In flight take note of the long, keeled tail. That fold in the center of the tail is unique to all species of grackle. Fun Fact: Grackles can be observed “anting.” This is when the grackles spread their wings by an ant nest and lets the ants climb all over them. This mutualistic relationship allows the ant to forage on the bird, and helps the grackles stay clean.

Northern Cardinal

Cardinals are dimorphic, which means the males and females have different plumage. It’s the bright red males that are usually featured in Christmas items. You can spot mating pairs as they chip back and forth to each other, as if saying “Here I am. Where are you?” They have several different whistle-like calls including “birdy-birdy-birdy-birdy,” “chew chew chew,” and “woit woit woit.” They have a finch like beak, that is used for crunching seeds. The crest goes up and down, depending on the cardinal’s mood. It can range from hard to see to full on mohawk. Note the black mask on the male. Fun fact: The cardinal is a very popular choice for state bird.

Bird Feeders

A little bit of research and planning can have a big impact on how many visitors your feeders attract. There are hundreds of helpful articles out there about the best way to select and set up bird feeders. A good thing to do first is to find out which birds are visiting your yard. From there you can choose the seed and feeders that are best suited for those birds. There are too many options to describe here, but you can put up one, several, or even set up a feeder right on your window. There are also a lot of make-at-home designs, ranging from simple enough for little kids to high quality works of art.

Blue Jay

The Blue Jay earns its name from its color and its “jay jay” call. They also have a high whistle sound that can be confused for the call of a red-shouldered hawk. While a very pretty bird, they aren’t always admired. They sometimes bully smaller birds away from feeders, and the incessant jaying isn’t as pleasant to listen to as other songs. This bird is also here year round, and is a nice flash of color on a winter day. Fun fact: Jays are members of the Corvid family, which also includes crows and ravens.

European Starling

This picture showcases an adult starling in full breeding plumage. From farther away though, it is much harder to see all these little details, so the birds could look all black. The rest of the year, the bill is dark, and the feathers aren’t as iridescent. Starlings travel in large flocks and you may have seen amoeba-like clouds of small black birds, called murmurations. In the air, their short tails and rounded bodies make them look like flying cigars. They are very noisy, with lots of different whistles, buzzes, and other chatter. The starling was introduced to Central Park by Shakespeare enthusiasts. While the other European birds died off, starlings thrived, and have been displacing natives birds as it works its way across the continent. Fun fact: Starlings can imitate sounds, so sometimes they sound like other birds. They have been known to even mimic cell phone rings.

House Sparrow

This is the bird that nests on malls and hops around fast food parking lots eating the dropped French fries. Because they are dimorphic, sometimes people think they are two different types of birds. The house sparrow is an introduced species from Europe that is very well adapted to urban and suburban habitats. Along with starlings, they make up the year round flocks of birds that live in barns. They are social, and so like to nest and eat with other house sparrows. Their song is a monotone chirp, that becomes quite the chorus of chirping when there is a large flock. Because they are introduced and aggressive they displace native bird species that might otherwise nest in urban areas. Fun Fact: Sparrow is a misnomer, as this species is a member of a different family native to Europe, and is more like the finches.

Songs vs. Calls

Most species of birds make multiple sounds, depending on the message they need to send. Two overall categories frequently used are “songs” and “calls,” particularly when describing songbirds. Not all birds have a song, but all birds have some sort of call. Songs are used to establish and defend territory, and attract mates. They are usually the more melodious, prettier sounds that we enjoy during the dawn chorus. In some birds singing together is a way to strengthen the pair bond. Calls are used to warn of threats, and tell competitors to stay out. In some cases they are a signal to other birds food is available. Typically calls are shorter, and can include a lot of sounds, like buzzy and raspy. A lot of songbirds also make a “chip” sound. Chips can sound very similar to the beginning birder, but after enough practice with local birds, some people are able to recognize birds just by the chip sound.

Black-capped Chickadee

If there is any bird that has a small dog complex, it is the chickadee. They are the most bold of the little birds, and the easiest to call in by “pishing.” A year round resident, you can always recognize them by the call that gave them the name, a buzzy “CHICK-a-dee- dee-dee.” The number of “dees” is believed to be a sign of how concerned the bird is of a risk nearby. Their song is made of 2-3 clear stretched notes. When all three notes are used it sounds like the bird is singing “CHEEEEESE bur-ger.” In more wooded areas in the winter, a flock of chickadees mean there might be other small birds nearby, like a tufted titmouse. Fun Fact: Chickadees’ brains have been studied to try to understand how they can remember where they stashed seeds for the winter. It has been discovered that the part of the brain that stores those memories regenerates each year, to create new storage to make fresh memories.

Mourning Dove

The mourning dove gets its name from the plaintive “Coo-OOO, hooo, hooo, hooo” heard on hot, humid summer days. Some have confused this call for an owl, but it is this relative of the pigeon. Even when it is impossible to see the color, the distinctive shape of doves makes it recognizable from the silhouette. Compared to other backyard birds, they have a longer body and neck, distinct “shoulders,” and a relatively smaller head and bill. In flight they have a pointed tail with white outer feathers. They are slimmer than the Rock Dove (the latest official name for what is commonly called pigeon) and don’t vary in color. Fun Fact: Dove nestlings look very different from the graceful form of the adults. The bill is large and rounded compared to the small head. People have brought them into wildlife rehab facilities believing they have rescued a raptor hatchling.

American Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch is the official state bird of Iowa. They can be easily attracted to a backyard using thistle seed feeders. This finch specializes in feeding on thistles, so planting native species of these flowers can also bring them to a yard. In flight they make a call of descending notes that sound like “Potato chip, Potato chip.” There are goldfinches in Iowa all year round, but the male molts in the fall, so it looks like the female. He molts again in the spring, and the bright yellow is a sign of spring. Fun Fact: Goldfinches nest late in the summer, after most of the other birds are done raising young for the year. This coincides with the thistles going to seed, and they don’t have to compete for resources with other birds raising their chicks.

Online Resources

There are a lot of good resources on the internet for the beginning birder, but like all things online, it is mixed in with overwhelming information and less than helpful sites. If you want to look for something online, the best route is to start with a reputable organization, and search for the answer there. The best online bird guide so far is allaboutbirds.org. It’s easy to search for a particular bird species, or read articles related to bird ecology, feeding, and population trends. It’s also a good place to start learning bird calls and songs. The official website for the national Audubon society, audubon.org, also has a lot of resources for learning to ID birds. They offer classes to learn more about bird behavior, most for a cost, but there is usually at least one for free. They also have special discounts on a regular basis, so keep an eye out for that. There is a state chapter of the Audubon Society for Iowa, so that is a good site for closer to home information. If you have a Facebook account, you can join the group “Iowa Birding.” This is a group that is open to people of all levels of skill and experience, and you can ask questions and post observations. Like all groups on Facebook, please read all of the group rules before joining.

Song Sparrow

Of the sparrows, this is the one that is common around residential areas. When singing it starts with a few warm up notes, then goes through several distinct phrases. Learning their song from recordings is a good start, but keep in mind these sparrows have “accents” so your region will be a variation on the common themes. This sparrow has gray and brown stripes on the head, and streaking on the chest. Those front streaks come together to form a spot that is easier to recognize from far away. The throat has white and brown stripes. Other things to notice are the longer and rounder tale compared to other sparrows. Fun Fact: Once you have spotted one singing on a perch, keep an eye out on that spot. They tend to return to the same place to sing.

Chipping Sparrow

The chipping sparrow is most readily identified by its rufous cap that contrasts with the gray that covers everything but the back and wings. It has a dark eye-stripe, and buffy striping on the back and wings. During the nesting season the cap is more vibrant, and the throat and stripes above the eye become white. Its call is a series of rapid staccato notes on a single pitch. Fun Fact: Chipping sparrows build some of the flimsiest nests of the bird world. They are so thin you can see through them!

Tufted Titmouse

About the same size as a chickadee, this cute little guy is another of our year round residents. They are curious and bold, so they will show up on porches and decks, even without a feeder. They have a crest like cardinals and blue jays. The small size, overall gray and white body, and crest make this bird easy to identify. During the winter, they will join chickadee flocks. The song is a series of “petey, petey, petey,” or “peter, peter, peter.” It’s an easy song to learn to recognize, and once you know it, you’ll be able to find these birds during quiet winter walks. Fun Fact: We are on the very eastern edge of this bird’s range. Travel towards the Mississippi, and they become more common.

Northern Mockingbird

This is the bird that sets the bar for mimicry in North America. When singing, mockingbirds rapidly transition from one bird song to the next. The yellow eye isn’t as obvious from a distance, but the color, size and body shape make them recognizable. About the size of robins, mockingbirds have long tails, and a more stretched appearance. Mockingbirds like to sing from a favorite perch, so if you see one at the same spot at different times, it’s probably the same bird. These birds will arrive here in the spring to nest, bringing with them the songs they have learned while farther south. These birds are very defensive, and will be aggressive to anything that comes too close to the nest, whether it be a person or cat. Fun Fact: This is the one songbird we have here that will sing in the middle of the night.

Gray Catbird

The gray catbird is in the same family as the mockingbird, the Mimidae. A little smaller than the mockingbird, it has the same shape and also mimics other bird sounds. The name catbird comes from the whiny “mew” call that has left some wondering where the cat is they keep hearing. The mew is interspersed while singing, which makes it easier to distinguish by sound from a mockingbird. Note the overall gray color, black cap, and rufous color at the base of the tail. Fun fact: A catbird’s song can last as long as 10 minutes.

Downy Woodpecker

If you see a woodpecker in your backyard it’s more likely to be a downy. That said, the hairy woodpecker is also a common backyard woodpecker. No need to feel disappointed if it’s hard to tell the two apart, it’s a common lament among birders. The downy is a little smaller, and the bill is proportionally smaller. The female won’t have the red patch on the back of the head that the male has. If you see a woodpecker that looks like this except for the red patch on the front, that could be a first year woodpecker. Listen for the stuttering whinny noise they make when on the move. Fun Fact: Bonded males and females divide up where they scrounge for invertebrates so that they don’t have to compete against each other for food.

Hairy Woodpecker

Difficult to distinguish from the downy woodpecker, the hairy is a little larger and has a longer bill. Like the downy, females don’t have the red patch on the back of the head, and the young of the year have a red patch on the forehead. The drumming pattern is noticeably different between the two woodpeckers; downies have a slow and short drum that is repeated frequently during a time minute time frame. Hairy woodpeckers have a faster and longer drum that is less frequently repeated. Fun Fact: Hairy woodpeckers have a “sweet tooth” and have been observed collecting sap from holes made by sapsuckers, and tapping holes into sugar cane.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

The earliest biologist to describe birds in North America relied heavily on stuffed specimens. Thus the red-bellied woodpecker gets its name from a wash of red that is on a part of the bird you almost never see. A robin sized woodpecker, red-bellieds are hard to miss when they visit a yard. On the male the bright orange-red marking stretches over the head from the bill to the nape of the neck. The female’s mark starts at the crown, with a little color between the eyes. Fun Fact: This woodpecker’s tongue has a sticky barb at the end, and can extend 2 inches beyond the tip of the beak.

White-breasted Nuthatch

The white-breasted nuthatch is a sparrow sized bird that specializes in foraging on the trunks and branches of trees. They often hop on the trunk, head pointed towards the ground, working their way in a spiral down the tree. They make a distinct, nasal “aunk, aunk” sound, so you might spot them by sound. Fun Fact: During the winter bonded pairs of nuthatches will follow titmice in joining flocks of chickadees.

Red-tailed Hawk

This is the easiest hawk to spot while moving around town. It is a buteo, which means it is a member of the larger and bulkier group of hawks. The most distinctive feature is the red tail, whose color is visible when viewed from behind. Check the top of utility poles, where these hawks like to perch and watch for small mammals traveling along the mowed areas. The streaking on the chest and belly can vary a lot, but the v-shaped belly band is usually a good marker. Fun Fact: That “kee-yaaar” raptor call you hear when a commercial or movie shows you an eagle? That’s really the call of the red-tailed hawk.

Bald Eagle

Another bird that needs no introduction, but this guide would be incomplete without it. The bald eagle has the largest wingspan of all the local birds. It takes 3 years before the young grow the adult plumage of the white head and tail. That means that you might see a raptor that looks like a dark hawk, but way too big. In that case it's most likely an immature eagle. When you see a large bird in the air, pay attention to how it holds its wings. If it is flat and you can see the tail is white, you have an eagle. If the wings are held in more of a V, it’s a turkey vulture. The call is a high-pitched “ki ki ki ki ki,” not the “kee-yaaar” you have heard in movies. Fun Fact: The upper Mississippi River was one of holdouts of bald eagles while the population plunged from DDT.

Turkey Vultures

Looking at them close up it’s hard to believe people confuse these for eagles, but when the vultures are gliding sometimes people get them mixed up. Vultures are unique for holding their winds at an upward angle, and have more of a wobbly glide. They are important for cleaning our fields and forests of carcasses, which prevents diseases from spreading. Fun Fact: There is evidence that the more roads and climate change are allowing these vultures to expand their range.

Barred Owl

Barred owls are more often heard than seen. Most of the time it's the “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you aaaallllll...” But when they get really excited it can sound like a rowdy monkey. They are the most diurnal of the owls, so they can be spotted during early morning or late evening walks. Fun Fact: These owls will nest in residential areas, and will use a properly sized nest box.

Dark-eyed Junco

The dark-eyed junco has five subspecies. The one we have here is the slate-backed juno. The female can have washes of brown on the head and back, or be nearly all brown. The easiest markings are the white belly, light beak, and small size, but there aren’t any other birds that are easy to confuse with this one. This little bird will show up in the chickadee flocks during the winter, but don’t expect to see it during the summer. We are in its winter range, and in the spring it heads up to northern Canada. Fun Fact: This is one of the most common birds in North America.

Other possible feeder visitors

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak House Finch

Carolina Wren Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Other Forest Birds

Wild Turkey Great-horned Owl

Red-eyed Vireo Wood Thrush

Pileated Woodpecker Ovenbird

Indigo Bunting Eastern Wood Pewee

Around the Farm

Killdeer Barn Swallow

Northern Flicker Eastern Bluebird

On open water

Canada Goose Mallard

Great Blue Heron Trumpeter Swan

Other wet areas

Red-winged Blackbird

Belted Kingfisher Ring-billed Gull

On the Prairie

Eastern Meadowlark Field Sparrow

Ringed-neck Pheasant