Learn Birds

What About The Ladies?

I was leading a bird walk for a sassy group of women from Texas this summer and we were having a blast. Unfortunately, one of the women was constantly struggling to find the birds we were seeing in her field guide.

I didn’t want her to feel frustrated with her experience, so I walked over to see if I could help. That’s when I noticed something strange and a little disconcerting about the field guide she was using.

Check out today’s video to hear what we discovered. I’ll also share some of the distinguishing characteristics of the Hooded Merganser and the Eared Grebe.

Thank you to the generous folks who share their work on Flickr Creative Commons, especially:

1. Eared Grebe – John Kendall – 2011
2. Hooded Merganser – Male – Nigel – 2012
3. Hooded Merganser – Female – Paul Albertella – 2013

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Cultivating Deep Nature Connection, Mentoring Bird Lovers, and Teaching Game-changing Skills

Front cover of Identify Any Bird Anywhere Book

Take Your Passion to the Next Level

A girl who fell in love with a bird’s song.

I am the founder of Bird Mentor, a resource for live and online courses helping people worldwide build confidence learning about birds and the natural world. Through my courses, students are immersed in the principles of instinctive birding, deep nature connection, bird language, and my innovative model for advanced bird identification.

In addition to my online courses I teach birding at traditional skills events like Rabbit Stick, Winter Count, Saskatoon Circle, Buckeye, Sharpening Stone and for amazing organizations like the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, The Women’s Wilderness Institute, Crow Canyon Archeological Center, The Vermont Wilderness School, Flanders Nature Center, Eight Shields and The Powerhouse Science Center.

A few years ago I helped to found the Dipper Project, a research study designed to look at the effects of the Gold King Mine spill on avian life in the Animas River in Colorado. I’ve also lead tours for the Bosque del Apache Sandhill Crane Festival, Mesa Verde Bird Festival, the Durango Bird Club and The White Memorial Conservation Center.

During a real bird nerd phase, I helped to band birds on Great Gull Island, focusing on the Roseate & Common Terns, as well as migratory birds at Oxbow Preserve and hummingbirds at Mesa Verde National Park.

In addition to geeking out about birds, I’m also a Naturalist, Herbalist, and Photographer and made contributions to the new Peterson’s Field Guide to Bird Nests and ABA’s Birder’s Guide.

I love receiving your stories and questions if you have any. So, please send me a message whenever you like.

Enjoy,

Kristi Dranginis