• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

If you could have known 3 things before you started birding, what would they be? (1 Viewer)

Sam Brunson

Sam Brunson

Well-known member
Hey everyone, I'm writing a book about beginning birding, and I was wondering if you all could help me by answering one quick question:

"If you could go back in time, what are 3 things you would want to know before you started birding?"

Thanks!

-Sam
 
1. Be prepared for the fact that birds don't read maps, stick to well-birded areas, and don't always sing full songs.

2. Most of the time, you don't get to see a nice profile like that shown in field guides.

3. Sometimes, it's best to let the birds come to you, rather than just tromping around.

This is a great topic. Thanks for posting.

Steve Gross
President, Texas Ornithological Society
 
1) You will miss far more birds than you will ever positively identify.
2) Just because the majority identify a bird differently to you, doesn't necessarily mean the majority are correct.
3) Numbers one & two will frustrate you throughout your birding life.
 
well...

1) you will never see all the birds in the area you are birding in. So relax and enjoy the ones you see.

2) if you persist, you get better over time and see more birds. It helped me to focus on: size and shape, field marks, habitat and behavior to get a complete picture (thanks Cornell).

3) start at home. Learning the birds in my backyard and around the neighborhood helped me build some confidence for birding in a wider area.

John
 
I presume you are asking for three things that will help you progress with birding.

1) Get to really know the more common species in your area; then you will be more confident in noticing and identifying the uncommon ones.

2) This kind of relates to no 2 of Steve's above. When you only get fleeting glimpses of birds try to notice the bill and leg details as this could help with identification later on when you are checking the guides.

3) Find a good companion to bird with preferably someone who knows more than you, spend time with them and go out as often as you can. You will learn quickly.
 
Last edited:
Sam Brunson said:
"If you could go back in time, what are 3 things you would want to know before you started birding?"
Click to expand...

1) It's going to be addictive
2) It's going to be expensive
3) It's going to be frustrating (at times)

However, it will also be very enjoyable and you will meet some great people and visit some lovely places (as well as some rather un-lovely ones, like sewage works and industrial wastelands!). It will take you to places you may otherwise never have considered visiting and in years to come you will have many happy memories to look back on.:t:
 
1 Half the pleasure from bird watching comes from being good at bird hearing (on the other hand that might have turned me off not being very good at remembering calls ...) But being good at listening will lead to more birds being seen!

2 Don't think you need to duplicate the way other people say is the only way to bird -- you might enjoy ticking of species, you might enjoy counting 100 of some species of duck, you might enjoy thinking about the behavior some bird shows in your back yard, all are ok as long as you enjoy what you do.

3 Be prepared for the fact that you will get some ids wrong especially early on. Also be prepared that there will be some you will not be able to id (on rare occasions, you might get convinced when 10 years later you see the same species again).

Niels
 
1 That people would willingly spend thousands of pounds extra just to go on an organised birdtour rather than do it themselves and set up my own company years ago ;)
2 That people would be spending thousands of pounds on optics and take out stock options with Swarovski in particular ;)
3 Eat my breakfast at Selsey Bill on April 30th '07 instead of at home and therefore not miss the Blue Rock Thrush that flew in.......
 
Lawsyd said:
1) You will miss far more birds than you will ever positively identify.
2) Just because the majority identify a bird differently to you, doesn't necessarily mean the majority are correct.
3) Numbers one & two will frustrate you throughout your birding life.
Click to expand...

I would certainly nick no. 2 and add 'never be afraid to speak up, you will be wrong at first but you will be right often hwen you get the knack. It is not unusual to be in a group of people that are actually looking for guidance'.

For me:
1. Find someone to share your hobby with even if you mostly prefer to be out alone. The speed of learning far outweighs the loss of solitude.
2. As above
3. Remember there are other worlds/lives/choices out there - choose more than one hobby/interest then you can flow seemlessly between things that you want to do (work and/or family allowing) especially if one of the hobbies is causing you even a little stress.
 
birdboybowley said:
3 Eat my breakfast at Selsey Bill on April 30th '07 instead of at home and therefore not miss the Blue Rock Thrush that flew in.......
Click to expand...

Perhaps if you had been there then this would now be an accepted record (cant recall if it was not submitted or not proven).

My contribution (partially based on the above) is be prepared to have your sightings / ID skill / motives / parentage fully questioned.
 
Nightranger said:
Remember there are other worlds/lives/choices out there - choose more than one hobby/interest then you can flow seemlessly between things that you want to do (work and/or family allowing) especially if one of the hobbies is causing you even a little stress.
Click to expand...

Well said. I would add this to make "four" to my earlier post of three things.

John
 
1. Learn as many calls and songs as you can, especially the most common ones. Why spend 10 minutes looking for a hidden bird only to find it was a very common one. Use online resources like Xeno Canto and a smartphone.

2. Learn more about taxonomy. Can help understand the differences between birds that look very similar.

3. Don't always rely on the ID of others or you'll never learn for yourself.
 
I could well type out a dozen or more suggestions, so getting it down to three was tough!

1 - Ten minutes in the field with a good 'mentor' is worth hours poring over books
2 - Time spent learning how to systematically and accurately describe birds is never wasted
3 - Admitting that you 'don't know' is the first step towards greater awareness and knowledge
 
John Cantelo said:
1 - Ten minutes in the field with a good 'mentor' is worth hours poring over books
Click to expand...

I thought of wording my own no.1 that way too John, but I realised that it was not always true when I looked back over my own life. I often went out with people during my younger days that were probably no better than me in relative skills but we got there by talking about what we were seeing. A memorable turtle dove find at Elton Reservoir when I was no more than in my early 20s (at best), illustrates the idea perfectly. My companion, Mike found the bird in the paddock at Old Hall Farm (now overgrown - the paddock, not Old Hall Farm) but he asked me for confirmation. This is a 'you will know it when you see it' situation because I had never seen a turtle dove before but there was absolutely no doubt.

In writing that now in 2013, I realise how poignant the record was given I am now hollow about the rejected black-eared wheatear (2000) and my pride in finding a second-for-the-site black redstart in 2012, not to mention how big turtle dove would be anywhere in the northwest today.
 
These might be glaringly obvious, but I was tripped up by them early in my birding days. (Bear in mind that "early in my birding days" refers to a fairly recent time; I'm not the old hand that many of the people around here are.)

1) Keep the time of year in mind, when trying to identify a tough bird. Some birds look completely different, season to season.

2) Some birds resist identification because they're hybrids. I was utterly stumped by the Western/glaucous-winged gull hybrids round here, for ages. (Gulls are hard, to begin with, but these absolutely threw me for a loop.)

3) If you're having a dull birding day, and seeing only trash birds, it can be worth sitting down for a while and watching those trash birds. I've spent many a happy hour watching the strange things crows, gulls, and house sparrows get up to, when they think nobody's looking. Weirdest thing I ever saw: a line of five or six gulls on a rooftop across from mine, shifting from foot to foot in perfect sync, and bobbing their heads. It looked like they were dancing. Favourite gull behaviour: the foot-stamping worm dance, where they run in place on the grass to get worms to come to the surface.
 
Nightranger said:
I thought of wording my own no.1 that way too John, but I realised that it was not always true when I looked back over my own life. I often went out with people during my younger days that were probably no better than me in relative skills but we got there by talking about what we were seeing.[/I]
Click to expand...

I had exactly the same concerns when I posted my comment. I started birding with a tightknit group of 4 birders of the same age (as chance would have it we were the only birders in the school and all ended up in the same form). To a large degree we were self taught as we incessantly talked about what we saw or wanted to see, but what relatively little contact we had with older, more experienced birders showed me how much more easily won knowledge was when you had a mentor to guide you. It was a close call as I very nearly opted for 'join a small group of like-minded enthusiasts of your own age', but the truth is with so few young birders about this scenario is increasingly unlikely,
 
Warning! This thread is more than 11 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

N
Upcoming trip to Egypt, asking for advices....
Replies
12
Views
795
WACCOE
WACCOE
JRP01
How did this started for all of you? (And my little story of how I got into this amazing hobby)
Replies
12
Views
1K
Patudo
P
A
What possible reasons could anybody have fir doing this?
Replies
5
Views
859
Andy Lakin
A
ohlookabirdie
eBird and Birding on the move
6 7 8
Replies
150
Views
9K
qwerty5
qwerty5
A
What Tripod and what Tripod head for Birding?
Replies
2
Views
2K
grackle314
G

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top