Osprey
Crows (of course)
Hawks
Blue Cranes
Eagles

I'm not really sure which of these birds migrate. It seems like most of them stick around for the year. ?

Non-migratory: roadrunners, ravens, peplas, cactus wren

Migratory: vultures come through in massive numbers, but some stick around; I've seen large migrations of pelicans (weird to see).

Live in part of Pacific flyway. Many stop at the Salton Sea.

Learned this by observation and bird ID books.

starlings,snowbirds,swallows ---migrate
sparrows blue jays, cardinals ---stick around

Robins, sparrows, hummingbirds, eagles and gulls. The first four are regular residents. The gulls migrate to Pacific islands, Mono Lake or the Great Salt Lake to breed.

Meadowlark (non-migratory); robin (migratory); magpie (non-migratory); eagle (migratory); geese (migratory)

Five songbirds that migrate here are Eastern Kingbird, Oregon Junco, Whitecrowned Sparrow, Horned Lark, and Cowbird. Five songbirds that stay year round are robins, chickadees, magpies, house sparrows, and European starlings. Five birds of prey found here are Bald Eagles, Redtailed Hawks, including Harlan race, Northern Harriers, American Kestrel, and Ferruginous hawks. Five wading birds include American Avocets, Great Blue Herons, greater and lesser yellowlegs, and Sandhill Cranes.

Egrits are now in latge nimbers in Maui. I would like to know what they eat, besides gekos. I do not recall seeing them in Maui ten years ago. They may have arrived on a container ship?

Those That Stay put: Crows, scrub jays, California quail, California twohy, sea gulls, mocking birds, morning doves, blue herons, owls (barn, great-horned), starlings, pelicans, red-wing blackbirds, white herons, egrits, English sparrows (yes, I know that they're not native, but they're not leaving), Canadian geese (the bums won't leave anymore; the pickings are too good)

Those That Migrate: Rufus twohy, juncos (Oregonian), chestnut-backed chickadee, piliated woodpecker, American robins, goldfinches, tufted titmice, Canadian geese (the ones that still
adhere to tradition)

Yes, I'm a birder, and I know what they are from various field guides, and their travel patterns from many years of observation - It's always a giggle each year when I look out my window and call out to anybody within earshot, "The Oregonian juncos have arrived!"

The maps in guides like the Peterson series can also confirm your answers.

Local: cardinals, crows, buzzards

Migratory: robins, hummingbirds

Method: pay attention. Or consult a bird book.

Get a decent field guide that covers the area where you live. There are a half-dozen or more good ones that cover all of the continental U.S.; I like the Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America. Field guides have range maps showing where the birds are in winter, summer, and during migration.

Most people probably knew that. What I really wanted to point out was that birding tends to lead you to the answers to the other questions on the list. You'll care and therefore learn about habitat, the human impacts on it, the impact of invasive species, the life cycles of plants, climate patterns, and so on.

The Audubon Society has local chapters in most areas. Most likely the nice folks at a local chapter would be happy to answer some basic birding questions. To get the list of chapters in your state, including contact information, go to http://www.audubon.org/states/xy, where "xy" is replaced by your state's postal code. Alternatively go to http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/states/Regional_Resources.html for a clickable map.

enature.com; possibly local extension offices

Crow, mockingbird, various hummingbirds, Calif. Jay, blue heron, egret. I don''t htink any of them is migratory in the "lets go to Central/South America sense.

1. Look, whistle and walk around
2. Put out some food or grains and wait
3. Sit on the roof and see who buzzes you
4. Ask the local museum or wildlife people
5. talk to the neighbours
6. Pay attention to what the cat drags in
7. Buy a Bird Watchers Guide to your local area and learn something

Ducks, geese, pigeons, sparrows, bluejays, robins, owls, falcons, crows, hawks... Ducks and geese migrate and everyone else stays put. Oh, and seagulls, year-round. Sandpipers... the list goes on...

I just know this stuff. I read newspapers, was a Boy Scout, fished and hiked (still do), and read Nat'l Geographic. I'm surprised when people *don't* know this stuff.