Welcome

Physicist Richard Feynman occasionally remembers, with frustration, his father's efforts to teach him the names of local birds. "When you know all the names, in every language, of a bird, you know nothing, absolutely nothing, about the bird. . . . Names don't constitute knowledge."

"Looks like a Homo sapiens.
That's new for the day."

We might dismiss Feynman's opinion--after all, he was no great naturalist!--if we didn't find some truth in it. Don't all seasoned birders worry that our hobby sometimes reduces these complex and awe-inspiring creatures to mere ticks on a list?

But Feynman's early skepticism proved to be an obstacle to discussing theories with his name-savvy colleagues. "What my father forgot to tell me is that knowing the names of things is useful if you want to talk to somebody else."

...or if you want to contribute to a citizen science project, or look up a topic in an encyclopedia, or take a bird to the appropriate wildlife rehabilitation center after it collides with your woefully unprotected windows.

At the very least, bird identification is an enjoyable puzzle. But I contend it is crucial to the study and conservation of our favorite things with wings. I'm constantly looking to improve my own ID skills, in hopes that they make me a better contributor to and advocate for bird conservation.

A chickadee--Black-Capped or Carolina? 

It matters more than you think

And you know what they say--the best way to learn something is to teach it!

Thus, in "Wing Tips" I share and aggregate knowledge about bird identification challenges, learning new things all the while. This blog includes tips and tricks (call them strategies) to identify North American bird species, especially those found in the northeastern US. Occasionally, it discusses bird conservation trials and triumphs.

I hope that you find this blog informative! Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion for an ID challenge to cover, or would like me to identify a bird you saw. I also welcome additions and corrections on all my posts.

Warmly,
Tessa Rhinehart