First, let’s establish that birds are awesome! Second, let’s establish that birding isn’t just for the retired folks anymore. You don’t have to be on the hunt for your lifelist to enjoy watching birds. With these simple tricks, you should have enough structure to head out with a friend and start watching birds. Careful, it’s addictive!
BENEFITS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT: Once you get hooked on the birding train, you will want to have some great spots to see these fascinating feathered creatures. The birds you find in typical suburban developments become really repetitive after awhile. But, beware! Sometimes birders become a bit crazy and lose sight of the bigger picture—don’t forget to take in other natural wonders while you are bird watching and make sure to follow the “Leave No Trace” philosophy to protect the environment while enjoying nature ☺
BENEFITS FOR YOUR HEALTH: It’s relaxing! Perhaps in the grander scheme of things, birding will reset your perspective and remind you that there are incredible wonders in life outside of our technological bubbles.
Cost: Low
Time and effort: Varies, so it’s up to you how much you spend ☺
Materials Needed:
- A positive, yet patient attitude.
- Shoes and clothes that can get messy if necessary.
- Bird Guide—I’m a Peterson’s guy, others prefer Sibley’s.
- Binoculars
- Bird feeders are great, but not covered in this guide.
Basic Principles of Bird Watching:
At first glance, there appears to be only two ways of identifying birds: either by sight or sound. With practice, you will soon learn many other tricks. The name of the game is narrowing down the possibilities to a manageable selection, THEN identifying by sight or sound. There are over 700 birds in North America,1 you can’t possibly expect to learn all of them by sight and sound—not to mention all the variations among species such as the differences based on age, sex, and seasonal change.
Getting Started!
I began to write a very academic approach, and quickly realized that would be no fun. The best way to learn your birds is to go out and start watching birds! Walk around outside your house, a local park, or somewhere where you can actually hear yourself think. Don’t worry about the binocs or books or anything, just enjoy watching the birds for their shear beauty. Try to see how quiet you can be, you will be surprised at how much you will end up seeing and hearing.
Once you are sufficiently pumped to start learning some names for all of your new friends, it’s time to take a more measured approach. You will first want to learn the basic types of birds. Take out your bird guide. At first glance it will appear to be arranged in a strange and random manner. Why wouldn’t they just put all the birds of the same color next to each other? Or by name? Or by some other seemingly normal structure? Well, it turns out there is a method to the madness—the birds are more or less in order of evolutionary history. You have your larger water birds towards the front, with the smaller, more nimble songbirds at the back of the book.
Spend some time flipping the pages of your bird book, maybe while you are waiting for the bus. See if you can find birds that you have seen before and see if you can learn their names. Then look at birds that are similar to them. Once you have a basic grasp of the birdworld realm, it’s time to head back to the field with some binocs and your handy-dandy guide. It’s time for some bird identifying!
When and Where Should I Look for Birds?
Birds are most active at dawn and dusk, so to really see a good number of birds you should head out in the early morning hours, as the sun is coming up. Birds also tend to enjoy habitats with running water and scrubby shrubs. Doesn’t sound very inviting to us humans, but don’t let this constrain you! You can still see birds during the day, and in the wide open—you just have to look! The key to identifying birds is to take specific observations of the bird in question.
- How big is it? Compare it to your hand or another good inches proxy.
- What are its dominant colors? Is it only one color, or is it mottled (multi-colored, variations in spots and colors)?
- Where are its unique color patterns? Does it have a mottled stomach? Or unique markings? Key places to look for unique markings are the wing bars, eye stripes, stomach, and tail.
- What about its tail? Is it long (Mimic Thrushes), is it cocked at an angle (Wrens), or is it short (some Kinglets)? What about the tail’s shape? Is it more wedge-like, or is it more rectangular?
- Check out its beak. Is it short and thick for cracking nuts (Cardinals, Titmice, Nuthatches)? Or is it a bit more nimble for catching flys (Flycatchers)?
- Now take a look at its behavior? Is it perched stoically? Or does it leave every few seconds on an insect hunt? Perhaps it is banging its head into a tree (Woodpecker), or maybe it is flying as if it had too much to drink (Cedar Waxwings)?
birdwatchingclub.netOnce you have observed to the best of your ability, check your notes against your book. You will then realize all the small details you missed, but hopefully you have been able to narrow it down to a family of birds. At this point you can use the book to figure out what other details you need to know.
What about Sounds?
Bird songs are a great identifier as well, especially because birds are often rather hard to see. The best way to learn bird songs is with a fellow birder as well as listening to birds on tape. To remember the songs, you can utilize mnemonics—putting phrases to sounds. For example, a Rufous Sided Towhee sounds like its saying, “drink your teaaaaa,” while a Goldfinch sounds like its saying “potato chip potato chip.”
Now it’s time to just keep practicing! Round up friends and make the trek to your favorite spots, or try out some new parks together ☺ Perhaps you can join your local Audubon chapter and make some new friends while you’re at it!
