Bird Watching For Beginners

~Welcome To the Bird Watching For Beginners Page~

 

If you are beginner bird watcher, and need information on learning how to bird watch; then this is the blog and page for you. I already have a page for bird watching equipment, but this page tells you how, where, and when to bird watch.. ok, lets get started..

 

Every bird watcher starts somewhere, even I began as a novice bird watcher. Its a rewarding hobby to get into, takes time and training.. I'm going to give you tips on bird watching. Bird watching requires skill, and stillness.. trust me, its hard to be still sometimes.. you can bird watch anywhere, I like to bird watch in my yard.. Out in the natural habitat of birds is a great way to bird watch, again; its tougher that way because you don't have the food to draw them in like you do in your backyard. (NOTE: DON'T feed the birds when you go out into the woods to lure them in so you can watch them, because you are not going to be there to continue to feed them.) *Get you some bird watching equipment (*see Bird Watching Equipment page on this blog for information on this) choose a place to bird watch until you become familiar with it, in your back yard would be a great place to learn to bird watch. When bird watching, be quit and still.. you can move but move with very slow motion.. fast, sudden movements scare birds... when bird watching, look around.. don't just look at the feeder and expect a Chipping Sparrow to land on it.. Look up into the trees, in the sky (where hawks fly), and on the ground.. Birding does take skill and time; by this I mean you'll have to learn how to work the binoculars. This is a bit tricky, especially when trying to spot a Blue Grey Gnat Catcher gleaning bugs from the trees.. they hardly sit still long enough to ID them at times.. Watch for abnormal bird behavior, I know when a new bird arrives in the trees just by its behavior and no I haven't seen it before. You too will learn this by watching the birds behavior.. Don't get frustrated with not being able to ID a bird right away, I've spent days trying to ID a bird.. Which I had to do quickly, before I wouldn't get to see it again.. Take your time look at the important parts of the bird; Color, is it yellow? Markings, does it have black spots or marks? Size, Is it a small size like a warbler? Beak, is it a insect beak or seed beak? Behavior, does it move around a lot? If you answered all these questions with yes then its probably in the warbler family.. so you know to look under warbler.. Get a book that tells you about birds.. not a bird guide (you must also have a bird guide), but just a bird book to read. This will help you to learn to ID birds and become so familiar with them that you'll know when a new bird arrives.. I used to take a bird, and study it.. Study its manners, behavior, and eating habits.. You'll find that you'll learn more about a bird that way then just seeing it, IDing it and marking it down on paper.. Read about that bird, look in your bird book to see what it says about that bird.. You'll learn a lot that way.. Surprising, I read bird books.. I know it sounds weird, but if I want to learn about a specific bird, I'm going to have to study that bird, Right? Find a habitat that suits the bird you are looking for.. you don't go out the middle of woods to find a seagull.. you go to the ocean.. like that of finding a blue heron, you go where there Is water.. and brush..  you get the idea. Bird watching is fun, most people take birding serious.. join a bird watching group if you can, this is a great way to learn about birds.. They sometimes go out on birding trips.. this is something you might be interested in. I could go on and on about bird watching, but I just wanted to gave you some tips and hints to get you started.. I don't want to give you all of my secrets to bird watching, you've got to figure some of it out by your selves.. so, go out and bird watch!!! and you are not going to learn unless you go out and bird watch!! enjoy and have fun! ~Whitney