Bird Watching & Birding

Getting Started in Bird Watching
If you are a beginning bird watcher it is helpful to start going out with experienced birders learn what to look for.

There are many bird groups you can join. The Audubon Society and American Birding Association are probably the best know. These groups offer birding information in the form of magazines, newsletters, and guided trips. You can find birding books, recordings, binoculars, and other equipment in local retail stores. The clubs should also have lists of birds in your area.

Keeping a birding log can be fun.  Here is a good log.

Aves Bird Watcher Log is a software program designed for Birdwatchers worldwide. You can create and maintain the list of bird species along with taxonomy, feeding habits, nesting, courtship details and much more.

Where and When to see Birds
While it is possible to watch birds any time and any place it is helpful to know when and where to look. You are more likely to see specific birds at certain times of the day. For example Songbirds are easier to see two to three hours after dawn or just before sunset. This is when Songbirds are most actively feeding. Many small birds will be silent or even hidden during the rest of the day. After sunup is the best time to see Eagles and hawks. Visibility is best for hunting at this time and they can soar on the thermal currents from the warmed air. Birds like Owls are more likely to be seen in the evening. Many shorebirds and waders rest at high tide and feed when the water rises or falls.

Bird Food
All birds need food, water and shelter, but they all have different needs. You are more likely to find certain birds if you look in their normal habitat.  For information on feeding birds and types of food see Feeding-Birds.

Birds In The Garden or Backyard
Many songbirds are attracted to seeds. There are many good feeders or you can just design your own. It is best to provide a mix of sizes. Niger, billet, and sunflower seeds make a good mix. Certain birds like robins will be attracted to a piece of fruit on a stick or spike. Tree-climbers like Woodpeckers and Nuthatches like suet. Peanut butter is an old favorite and will attract a large variety of birds. Hummingbird feeders can be filled with sugar water.  For more information on types of food see Feeding-Birds.

It is great to watch birds splash in a shallow birdbath. You are more likely to attract birds to your backyard if you have trees and bushes they can rest or hide in. If you have a birdbath put it near the plants.
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Seasons
There are advantages to each season. To see birds in full colorful breeding plumage the best time to watch is in spring when they migrate to their nesting grounds. Most birds breed in the summer so that is when you can watch them build their nests and raise their young. The fall migration is the hardest time to identify birds because of the change in plumage.

Birding Technique and Skills
Birds are likely to be alarmed by noise or sudden movement so move slowly and quietly. Watch the vegetation for movement that may give away a birds location. Watch for signs of alarm in birds: a freeze in posture, a cocked head, or half raised wings. These tell you to stop moving until the bird calms down or to back away if necessary. Study an unfamiliar bird thoroughly before consulting your field guide. Many birders take extensive notes.

Bird Identification Clues
There are some basic clues you can look and listen for. 1) the bird's silhouette, 2) its plumage and coloration, 3) its behavior, 4) its song or calls, 5) its habitat.

Silhouette - Shape and Size
Each bird family has a certain shape and size. Many birds are even identifiable to species by outline alone. By placing the bird you see into a particular family, you will narrow down the number of possible birds. 
See silhouettes.

Plumage
Most people get into bird watching to see the beautiful colors. The marks that distinguishing one bird form another are called field marks. These include such things as breast spots, wing bars (thin lines along the wings), eye rings (circles around the eyes), eyebrows (lines over the eyes), eye lines (lines through the eyes) and many others.

Bird Beaks
Look at the shape of a bird's bill in low light. Cardinals, finches, and sparrows have short conical bills. Woodpeckers have rigid powerful bills to chip away at wood. Hawks, Eagles, and Owls have sharp, hooked bills for tearing meat. Shorebirds have slender bills of all lengths for probing at different depths into the sand. Birds such as Ducks have flat bills useful for filtering. Everyone is familiar with the long thin beak of a Hummingbird.
See Beaks, Bills and Feet.

Bird Watching Equipment
Some items that might make more enjoyable are binoculars, a camera and some kind of system for keeping notes. Birders often keep lists of the birds they see along with notes about the habits. There is some great bird log software that will let you keep records on your computer. Aves Bird Watcher Log is a software program designed for Birdwatchers. You can create and maintain the list of bird species along with taxonomy, feeding habits, nesting, courtship details and much more. One option for binoculars is the binocular-camera combination. For more detail on choosing binoculars see our Binocular - Optics page.

Clothes
You are best off wearing clothes with dull colors that blend into the background. Muted greens, browns, and grays are good. Avoid fabrics that squeak, rustle, or snag easily. Depending on the birds you are watching you may want to get rain gear, rubber boots and warm clothing. For birds such as Owls that you might look for in the evening a strong flashlight is also handy.

Bird Songs and Calls
To start learning birdcalls there are many recordings you can by. Bird clubs or bookstores, can help you find tapes for local birds.

Choosing a Bird Field Guide
Take a good field guide to identify birds. Look for clear color pictures that make it easy to recognize one bird form another. Next to each picture should be detailed descriptions of each bird's anatomy, habits and what it eats. The guide should have information about what habitat each species uses. Many guides have maps showing the range of different birds along with their migration patterns.