Birding Programs

• Bird Video Playlists

  Coffee with the Birds

  

  Fun Bird Videos

  

  Birding Adventures

  

  Bird Natural History

  

  Backyard Birding

  

  What's That Bird I Hear?

  

  Virtual Bird Walks

  

  Behind the Binoculars

  
• Bird Identification
  • Web Resources
    • All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s online Bird Guide with ID help, songs & calls, and life history information for 600+ North American Species.
    • Audubon Guide to North American Birds - Online Bird Guide with photos and drawings, songs and range maps and natural history information for the birds of North America.
    • BirdNet Website & App - The Easiest Way To Identify Birds By Sound. Record the birds you hear, then let the software analyze the sounds and tell you what you’re listening to! BirdNet is the research and development partnership between The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Chemnitz University of Technology aimed at developing ways for computers to recognize and identify birds sounds.
  • Apps for Smartphones
    • eBird Mobile App - eBird Mobile makes it easy to record the birds you see in the field, while making your data openly available for scientific research, education, and conservation. eBird Mobile is the only app that passes information directly from iOS and Android devices to your eBird account on the web.
    • Merlin Bird ID App - This app both provides the pictures, range maps and songs of your regional birds but also helps identify the birds you are seeing. It asks you three simple questions about a bird and comes up with a list of possible matches. Snap a photo of a bird, or pull one in from your camera roll, and Photo ID will offer a short list of possible matches.
    • Sibley Guide to Birds App - The entire content of the Sibley Guide to Birds – the most popular, most comprehensive, and fastest-selling printed field guide to North American birds – is now available in digital form as an app for several mobile phone platforms. It includes over 6600 images, every word of text, 800 range maps – along with the songs and calls of nearly every species… and all in your pocket.
• Local Birding Clubs & Resources

  Connect with other birders and find birding programs and outings by joining a local club.

  • Local Bird Clubs
    • Holland Audubon Club
    • Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society (Grand Haven)
    • Grand Rapids Audubon Club
    • Muskegon County Nature Club
    • Michigan Audubon Society
    • Audubon Great Lakes
  • Birds of Ottawa County Checklist an Annotated Checklist (2015) - This book is KEY to your birding success in West Michigan and Ottawa County specifically. It contains valuable information on where and when to look for all the birds that visit Ottawa County! Bar charts and descriptions for each species are extremely helpful to learn about our local birds. While this does not contain identification information, it pairs well with the Sibley Guide to Birds. In the future you may be able to purchase one online, but otherwise you can find one at the Nature Center at Hemlock Crossing County Park.
    
    A NEW 2020 Update to this book has now been released and is available for free download here:
    • Five Year Update of Birds of Ottawa County, Michigan: An Annotated Checklist
    • Photo Supplement for Five Year Update
    These documents are ONLY SUPPLEMENTAL to the book and only contain updated information such as new species added or new early/late dates for each species. The Photo Supplement contains images of new and unusual to rare sightings.
  • Birds of Ottawa County: An Annotated Checklist is available to purchase ($14.95, plus tax) at the following locations:
    
    • Ottawa County Parks office located at the Ottawa County Parks Administrative Office.
    • The Bookman in Grand Haven - check their website for hours.
    • Reader's World Bookstore - check their website for hours.

    You can also purchase the book by phone by calling (616) 738-4810. You can choose to pick it up at the Administrative Office or have it shipped to you (please note a shipping fee will apply).

  Watch the video linked below for more information on this book and 2020 update and how to use them in concert with a bird identification book.

• Backyard Habitats for Birds

  For the Birds: Fostering Backyard Habitat to Attract Birds

  Curtis Dykstra - Parks Naturalist, Ottawa County Parks & Recreation

  Resource List (Updated 3/10/23)

  Native Plants for Birds

  • Native Plants for Birds - MI Audubon
  • Native Plants for Birds - Wild Ones Red Cedar Chapter
  • All About Birds - Best Plants & Trees for Birds
  • Native Michigan Hummingbird Plants
  • Ottawa Conservation District
    • Native Plant Sale
    • Tree Seedling Sale
  • Kent Conservation District
    • Native Plant Sale & Info

  Videos

  • Building a Brush Pile
    • Cardinal Couple uses Brush Pile & Bird Bath (Extended video)
  • Setting Up My Bird Bath
  • Setting up Hummingbird and Oriole feedersh

  Bird Feeders

  • Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Project Feeder Watch
  • AllAboutBirds: How to Choose the Right Kind of Bird Feeder
  • The Spruce: 7 Best Bird Feeders
  • All About Birds: How to Clean Your Bird Feeder
  • VIDEO: Leslie the Bird Nerd - Why EVERYONE should keep their Bird Feeders CLEAN
  • American Bird Conservancy: Preventing Window Strikes

  Cleaning Bird Baths

  • Audubon: Why You Should Keep Your Birdbath Clean
  • The Spruce: How to Clean a Dirty Bird Bath

  Bird Nest Boxes

  • Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Project NestWatch

  Ottawa County Parks

  • Bird Resources Page (Birds of Ottawa County Book & Video)
  • Backyard Birding Videos by Curtis Dykstra
  • Bringing Nature to You (Ottawa County Parks Online Programs & Resources)
  • Coffee with the Birds
  • Sign Up for our Birding Update Email List
    • View a sample newsletter
• Other Birding Resources
  • eBird – Report and track your bird sightings while providing valuable data for scientists and conservationists to protect birds and their habitats. eBird also give you the ability to receive notices about birds you don’t have on your list and research both where to go to find the birds you want to and to know what birds you can expect to find when you travel to new locations along with MUCH, MUCH MORE!
    • New to eBird? Start by taking the FREE eBird Essentials course. This 100% free, online course answers most new user questions and helps you start eBirding faster!
  • Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Your one stop shop portal to anything to do with birds from identification and feeding & attracting to conservation and citizen science projects to get involved with. Their mission states: Dedicated to advancing the understanding and protection of the natural world, the Cornell Lab joins with people from all walks of life to make new scientific discoveries, share insights, and galvanize conservation action.
  • BirdCast - When, where, and how far will birds migrate? Our migration forecasts will answer these questions for the first time. Bird migration forecast maps show predicted nocturnal migration 3 hours after local sunset and are updated every 6 hours. Additionally, watch real-time analysis maps of intensities of actual nocturnal bird migration, as detected by the US weather surveillance radar network between local sunset to sunrise. Cornell Lab of Ornithology currently produces these maps.
  • Cornell Lab Live Bird Cams – Watch birds around the country or around the world LIVE online! From the feeders at Cornell’s Sapsucker Woods in New York to the Panama Fruit Feeders or the Royal Albatross nest in New Zealand, viewing these cams is sure to be an exciting look into the lives of birds all around the world.
  • Cornell Citizen Science - Become a “citizen scientist” by getting involved with various projects that Cornell Lab sponsors such as Feeder Watch, Nest Watch, Great Backyard Bird Count and more!
  • Native Plants & Garden Designs for Bird Friendly Landscapes - Michigan Audubon – The best local guide for planting native plants in your yard to attract birds.
  • American Birding Association (ABA) - The American Birding Association inspires all people to enjoy and protect wild birds. The ABA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides leadership to birders by increasing their knowledge, skills, and enjoyment of birding. We are the only organization in North America that specifically caters to recreational birders. We also contribute to bird and bird habitat conservation through our varied programs.
  • American Bird Conservancy - American Bird Conservancy is dedicated to conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. With an emphasis on achieving results and working in partnership, we take on the greatest problems facing birds today, innovating and building on rapid advancements in science to halt extinctions, protect habitats, eliminate threats and build capacity for bird conservation.
  • Audubon's 10 Best Podcasts About Birds – For your listening pleasure so you can get your birding fill, even when you can’t get outside!
  • Lesley the Bird Nerd – A YouTube channel about our incredible avian species, as well as the wild birds that she knows really well. Leslie learns as she goes and her goal is to get people interested in birds and birding because it's a rewarding experience that everyone should try!
  • Wildlife Rehab Center - Grand Rapids – If you have questions about care for injured or orphaned wildlife, please contact the Wildlife Rehab Center in Grand Rapids. The Nature Center at Hemlock Crossing is not equipped to help in these situations. The website is a great resource to help you know what you need to do when you find injured or orphaned birds, mammals and more!