Look for adult birds near the nest.
Baby birds in Washington and the Northwestern United States are born during the spring and summer months and they look different than adult birds. They grow from tiny, naked, helpless creatures into juveniles with spots and downy feathers. Eventually, they develop primary feathers for flight and the downy feathers fade away. In order to identify baby birds as they pass through these physical changes you need to understand the nesting behavior and the habitat of the adult species.
Instructions
1. Look and listen for adult birds. If you are standing near a baby bird, the parents will be watching you carefully and will make a lot of noise if you get too close. If you can easily spot and identify adult birds, then it is usually easy to spot the baby birds because they will be nearby.
2. Look at the feathers for unusual patterns or markings. Most juvenile birds in Washington have different color patterns than their parents. American robins, for example, have brown spots that disappear as they age.
3. Look for a nest in surrounding trees, bushes, holes and on the ground. Different bird species will build nests in different places and out of different materials. Warblers, for example, will build nests made out of bark and position them in shrubs. European starlings build nests in tree hollows and use grasses and twigs as nesting material.
4. Check the nest for any unhatched eggs. If there are no unhatched eggs, look on the ground around the nest for broken shells. Different species of birds have different sizes and colors of eggs. For example, killdeer have speckled eggs that blend in with the ground. Woodpeckers have white eggs that are easier to spot in a dark tree hollow.
5. Observe your surroundings. Washington birds are as diverse as the Washington territories they come from. Coots are easy to find in the Okanogan region, but they are rarely spotted in the North Cascades. Belted kingfishers are just as common in both regions.
6. Compare your observations to the Seattle Audobon Society's Birds of Washington Field Guides. There are several guides available and vary by region and species of bird. Each guide is available for purchase from the Seattle Audobon Society's website (www.seattleaudubon.org).
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