It can be helpful to have a guidebook handy when you first start birding - it will help you identify birds you're looking at, and explain how to notice the features that differentiate the bird from other similar birds. You can get this same information from the web, as well, such as right here on this site!
If you have a pen and paper with you, you can make note of the characteristics of the bird while you're looking at it, and then look it up later. Key features to make note of are:
- Beak Shape: Is it short and stubby? Long and pointed? Hooked? Crossed?
- Feet Shape: Does it have webbed feet? Three toes? Hooked claws?
- Special wing colors: Are there any odd colored spots or stripes? Does the head have any stripes or special characteristics?
- Song: Is the bird making any noise? Try to describe it
These parts of a bird often help you tell apart two species that make at first glance look very similar.
Do you need binoculars? While they can be helpful, you can always bird without them. The song of the bird can distinguish many birds just as easily as staring at them through binoculars can. If you can afford them, though, binoculars can really bring the details of the bird close to you.
The most important thing is to have fun! Birding is a great way to learn more about your environment, and can be enjoyed by both house-bound people as well as avid hikers and canoers. It's a true sport for all generations!
If you're taking the course on birding, try to find each bird we discuss for about a week. If you see it during that week, make notes about the items listed above, and even try to sketch it a bit. You don't have to be artistic - you're just trying to get a general idea of its body shape, how it stands, where it's dark and where it's light. These things can be recorded even with the most simple of drawings.
Online Birding Course Homepage
