All Creatures Great and Small: Getting into Birding

Monday, March 11, 2013

Getting into Birding

I grew up with a love of birds, instilled in me by my paternal grandmother. I spent a lot of time with her as a little girl, and everywhere we went, she would point out different species of bird and ask me what they were. I loved it! It even went so far, in my funny little girl's mind, that I thought I could tell the difference between birds of the same species I saw around my house, and I would name them and talk to them when I played outside. When my grandmother passed away, I was 9 years old. I inherited her field binoculars and bird book, the same binoculars and book we used when we went anywhere to look at birds. Now, I'm 24, and my parents bought me a very nice pair of binoculars for Christmas. So, what did I do? I took up bird-watching, or birding, of course! I'm still very much a beginner, but I'm loving everything about delving into the world of birds. It's not just about what birds you see, identifying said birds. It's about the time spent to find an elusive bird, even if it turns out to be a common sparrow. It's about watching the bird's behavior, taking your time, understanding what they're doing.

The best resources I've found for anyone interested in bird watching are the Sibley Guides (written by David Allen Sibley) and the Audubon Society. I own several guidebooks, field guides, and other literature on birding from both of these sources. There is also a Sibley phone app that I am looking into purchasing, which (in addition to having field notes on the birds) has sound recordings of bird calls and songs.

I've been on a few bird watching excursions since receiving my new binoculars, and have since listed the species of birds I was able to identify. My list now stands at 22 different species, and I know that I will add to that every day. I will post pictures that I took on these excursions soon. In the meantime, here are generic pictures of some of my favorite birds: