By Hailey Cylinder / Full360 Reporter

With the falling of leaves and dropping temperatures comes an iconic sound: Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) honking in V formation migrating south for the winter.  While one of the most notable and easily spotted birds in the sky right now, there are so many more birds flying across Bucks County and the Atlantic Flyway, aka a bird superhighway.

Most often seen as a hobby for retirees, birding is a fascinating hobby that anyone can pick up.  Most often, birding gets brought up when a rare bird pops up somewhere and the excitement that comes with it, but there are so many fascinating birds flying around in our own backyards.  Follow along with me across campus and find out what awesome birds are flying around.

My gear: $20 binoculars from Harbor Freight, Merlin Bird ID app, second-hand Peterson Field Guide, and a borrowed 2013 camera.  Truly, the only thing you need is some kind of identification guide, but while you can get by on eyesight and ear, a pair of binoculars helps, even the cheaper ones, especially in the beginning. My camera’s reach was limited, but I did my best.

Starting around 8:30 a.m., a friend and I headed out towards Lake Archer.  One of the very first birds we spotted and got pictures of were Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata). It is an extremely common bird across North America and easily identifiable to most people. 

Fun Fact:

Blue Jays aren’t blue, they’re brown!  Special cells on the structures of the feathers scatter blue light back to the eye, creating the striking blue.

Then we saw a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) being chased by a couple of American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos).  While too fast for us to photograph, this type of behavior is not uncommon.  Crows often mob various predators, like the Red-tailed Hawk to prevent attacks on nests and to teach younger crows how to protect themselves.  While well known for crows, various other smaller birds also mob predators as a defense mechanism.  (Crow mobbing photo to the side?)

A bit later, we saw two silliouts flying extremely high above us.  Initially, through my binoculars and the tiny camera screen, I misidentified them as potential Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), but after taking them to Dr. George here on campus, they were identified as Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias).  Often seen on the shore of Lake Archer, the Great Blue Heron is a majestic bird and the most common heron seen in the U.S.  

At this point, we started heading towards the main campus buildings and stopped by Segal Hall to check out the host of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) calling it home.  This is where we got our best shots, extremely unbothered by people; the sparrows didn’t give us a second look when we stopped.

Fun Fact: House Sparrows are not native to the Americas, introduced in Brooklyn in 1851, with more released in San Fransico and Salt Lake City in the early 1870s, and can now be found across the Americas in suitable habitats.

After this, we started to pack up our gear, and I got a message from the ornithology club discord alerting us to Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) on top of Feldman Hall.  Rushing over, we saw two Turkey Vultures on the chimney, sunning themselves.  This behavior is done for a variety of reasons, from thermoregulation to parasite control.  Regardless of the reason, this behavior allows you to appreciate all six feet of their wingspan.

Fun Fact:

While often seen as a dirty, disgusting animal, Turkey Vultures are a natural biosecurity task force.  Their stomach acid allows them to remove anthrax, TB, and rabies from carcasses and the environment, preventing the spread of these dangerous diseases.  Thank your local vulture clean up crew!

It was at this point that we truly put away our gear, called it a day, and went to get something warm to drink.  In only around an hour outside on a small part of campus, we saw so many amazing birds, so next time you’re walking to class, look up, look around and listen.