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Birding
Advice
Advice for Good Birding
Courtesy of Black Hills Audubon Society
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| © jefflarsen.com |
1) There are two good times to study birds.
One is at home before the trip, reading the books and working
out identification schemes, so you’ll know what to look
for. The second time is in the field, looking at the bird
while someone else looks at the book and tells you what to
look for. When in the field, remember the motto: Look
at the bird, not at the book!
2) Walk and talk softly. Walk heel-to-toe,
crushing as little as possible. Hold your arms out away from
your sides to avoid swishing noisily against your coat. Bird
walks are good times for camaraderie – but not for socializing.
(This is more important when watching and trying to listen
to small forest birds than when watching large water birds.)
3) Stop a lot. Wait. Watch and listen.
Let the birds come to you or pish them out. Remember the motto:
Don’t just do something – sit there!
4) Don’t suddenly loom into a new
space. When approaching a point where you’ll be exposed
in a new space, stop, then move into it slowly, watching carefully
before you’re actually in it.
5) Know where your binoculars are focused.
When you’re watching things far away, keep binoculars
focused for that distance. Keep them focused at the right
distance for the birds you’re likely to be seeing. Or
keep them focused for close up – and know which way
to turn the knob to look further away.
6) Look at a place first with your eye,
then raise the binoculars into your line of sight. Practice
this so you’re not trying to search for the right spot
through the binoculars.
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| © jefflarsen.com |
7) Pick out a landmark by the bird before
you look through your binoculars. For example, think, “Right
side of tree, branch rising at 30-degree angle, yellow leaves.”
8) If you can’t find a rapidly moving
bird in your binoculars, drop your binoculars a little and
look again. The bird probably moved while you were trying
to sight it. It’s rarely successful to try to find it
through the binoculars.
9) When watching small birds or skittish
ones, keep your binoculars high, near your eyes, so you won’t
have to make sudden big movements that may scare the birds.
10) If you’re fooled momentarily
by a leaf bird, rock bird, clump bird, stick or stump bird,
don’t spend more time looking at it.
11) A swinging branch is more likely to
be a spot that a bird has just left than a spot where one
has just landed.
12) Listen. Use your ears to locate birds.
Directional hearing is important in getting your eyes in the
general location of the bird.
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