[adfgvx]

Does anyone have any tips about how to see more birds? I have been out birding in the yard, the woods around my house, and at our lake in the woods, but there are hardly any birds. Sometimes I hear two or three and get very excited, but they disappear before I can see them. I know it is wintertime and birds are out more in the summer, but there are birds out there - I hear them. I have been out for about thirty minutes every day this year but Sunday, and I have only seen 5 species. Am I doing something wrong? Or is this to be expected?

[perseid28]

Try putting up a feeder or two; I am currently in northeast Minnesota and the birds are pretty sparse if one just walks through the forest--the birds really don't prefer one spot of forest to another and are spread out. Putting up a food source gives the birds a reason to come to a particular spot.

New Mexico in the winter is a completely different story; there are multitudes of birds that migrate there, and since there are only a few locations with trees and water there is no question where the birds will be.

Of course, the best place to start is to look through a field guide and see which birds are in your location at this time of year. Most field guides will also tell you what sort of habitat each bird can be found in, and this is invaluable in deciding where to look for birds. There are countless Black-capped Chickadees at the foot of Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, and a multitude of Mountain Chickadees a couple miles away at the top of the mountain. I have yet to see a Black-capped Chickadee on the mountain, or a Mountain Chickadee off the mountain.

[J. Moore]

Originally Posted by adfgvx

Does anyone have any tips about how to see more birds? I have been out birding in the yard, the woods around my house, and at our lake in the woods, but there are hardly any birds. Sometimes I hear two or three and get very excited, but they disappear before I can see them. I know it is wintertime and birds are out more in the summer, but there are birds out there - I hear them. I have been out for about thirty minutes every day this year but Sunday, and I have only seen 5 species. Am I doing something wrong? Or is this to be expected?

Winter deciduous woods in many temperate climates are often among the least birdy areas you'll find--especially if there's little ground cover. In any event, this book will give you a lot of great info about finding birds when they are there to be found: http://www.birderslibrary.com/review...rd_finding.htm

Also, you don't say what time you've been out. Early morning is best. And you should learn about "pishing" if you don't know already: http://10000birds.com/pishing.htm

Best,
Jim

[dacol]

Adfgvx, you got some very good advice above. I would add the following:

1) Half an hour is a bit short. I was out this morning (quite late also: from about 10am to a bit after 12 noon) by myself here in Gainesville, Florida, in an area that is known to be good for birding, I saw 31 species. If they were uniformly distributed in time it would average to almost 8 species in 30 minutes, not too different from your 5 (I understand your total is from multiple trips, there are many reasons for the small number, one of the most important is if you are in the same kind of habitat every time).
2) Try to find out where any other birders in your area like to go. Birdforum gives your location as being close to Ripley, MS. If this is correct perhaps you could visit the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs:
http://strawberryplains.audubon.org/...audubon-center
Besides information about Audubon activities there are also trails in the property with a variety of habitats, their bird list has some 200 species.
3) Familiarize yourself with the concept of habitat, that is the kinds of places that different species of birds like. Most of the time it is as simple as vegetation types: hardwood forest, pine forest, scrub (bushes and grasses), grasslands, etc. Often the areas most productive for birding are the borders between different types of habitats: forest border near grasslands, forest border near lakes and rivers, marshes etc.
4) Find out what birds can be expected in your area at different seasons. Local (at least state wide) checklists are best but you can also get an idea from a good field guide book.

Good luck!

Dalcio

[Cheshire Birder]

Originally Posted by dacol

Adfgvx, you got some very good advice above. I would add the following:

1) Half an hour is a bit short. I was out this morning (quite late also: from about 10am to a bit after 12 noon) by myself here in Gainesville, Florida, in an area that is known to be good for birding, I saw 31 species. If they were uniformly distributed in time it would average to almost 8 species in 30 minutes, not too different from your 5 (I understand your total is from multiple trips, there are many reasons for the small number, one of the most important is if you are in the same kind of habitat every time).
2) Try to find out where any other birders in your area like to go. Birdforum gives your location as being close to Ripley, MS. If this is correct perhaps you could visit the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs:
http://strawberryplains.audubon.org/...audubon-center
Besides information about Audubon activities there are also trails in the property with a variety of habitats, their bird list has some 200 species.
3) Familiarize yourself with the concept of habitat, that is the kinds of places that different species of birds like. Most of the time it is as simple as vegetation types: hardwood forest, pine forest, scrub (bushes and grasses), grasslands, etc. Often the areas most productive for birding are the borders between different types of habitats: forest border near grasslands, forest border near lakes and rivers, marshes etc.
4) Find out what birds can be expected in your area at different seasons. Local (at least state wide) checklists are best but you can also get an idea from a good field guide book.

Good luck!

Dalcio

Sound advice

CB

[adfgvx]

Thank you all so much! I learned a lot!

[kurakura]

Get out at sunrise spend as many hours as possible. In winter birds seem to be active allday. At xmas I spend a few hours in an oak forest and did not see much till I stood still and waited and suddenly it was all alive with quite a few birds and squirrels.

[gene-v]

I agree with Cheshire Birder. The edges of different habitats are the best places to look for birds. Where woods meet a grassy area is a better spot than looking in the woods themselves for example.

Gene

birdwatching-birds.blogspot.com

[Mysticete]

I would try to get involved in any sort of local Audubon group. This is usually what I do when I am new to an area, as it will give you a "feel" for good birding spots.

I wouldn't be discouraged though at lack of birds though. Here in Laramie I seldom get over 10 birds in an entire morning's birding. Birding can just be really slow at this time of year.

[Laggard]

My wife is sometimes jealous of the birds I see. I remind her that I bird every single day. Min of 1 hour on weekdays and several hours on weekends. If I only went on weekends for 30 minutes I doubt I'd see a whole lot.

My first few weeks birding were frustating as I didn't feel like I was seeing anything. You get better though and realize if you are patient there are actually more birds around than you think.

[BennyBoyBird]

Originally Posted by adfgvx

Does anyone have any tips about how to see more birds? I have been out birding in the yard, the woods around my house, and at our lake in the woods, but there are hardly any birds. Sometimes I hear two or three and get very excited, but they disappear before I can see them. I know it is wintertime and birds are out more in the summer, but there are birds out there - I hear them. I have been out for about thirty minutes every day this year but Sunday, and I have only seen 5 species. Am I doing something wrong? Or is this to be expected?

I find if I stay put, birds will often just happen by. Also, as others have mentioned, early morning is best. One of my favorite bird watching positions is at the edge of a field just inside the woods. Hope that helps!

www.bensalisbury.net

[kennethwfd]

Relax, take things slowly and pretend that you couldn't care less if you never saw a single bird. Many wild creatures, even butterflies seem to sense when they are "hunted". If possible, some sort of concealment, even sitting in a car can help

[Tred]

A few more things to add:

You can see some great birds when you're not even "officially" birding. I've seen life birds while driving. Granted, you should watch the road but if a bird flies in front of you, you'll probably get a decent look at it. Also, glance at ponds when you drive past them during migration.

Evening can be a good time to see birds too. I sometimes head out an hour or two before sunset and head back once the sun goes down. You're not as likely to see birds then as you are during the morning, but it's still a good time especially if you're not a morning person. On a related note, the third best time of day in my experience is about the time I'm eating lunch. The birds seem to be looking for some food then too.

Track ebird sightings. The maps (http://ebird.org/ebird/map/) are easiest for me to follow. Don't think that just because someone saw a bird at a park a few days ago it will still be there, but look for patterns.

[Saltwater Cowboy]

I agree with Ben. The hardest thing I had to learn was that I see more birds by just sitting still. It also makes for a much more "zen" experience.

[Paul Collins]

Originally Posted by Saltwater Cowboy

I agree with Ben. The hardest thing I had to learn was that I see more birds by just sitting still. It also makes for a much more "zen" experience.

Case and point example of that:

I'm currently in Italy and was sitting yesterday on a bench just by the entrance of the local park (it's a very small entrance area, with just a small patch of green and some trees that hide the rest of the park from view). Initially I only had a couple of species - swifts, feral pigeons, blackbirds in very small numbers - and then as time passed the numbers of each species rose (so about 20 swifts, 6 blackbirds at once, etc) and the number of species rose, until I had 20 species in an hour of sitting - including a stunning hoopoe!

I should add that I wasn't actively birdwatching - these were flying around or calling in the trees, and I was reading a book most of that time (well, until the hoopoe flew past). Definitely learn some bird songs - that will make a huge difference - and have patience.

[Positive1]

You should try talking to them, seriously.. Every time you see a bird fly close by, say "hi" to it and say "thank you" for letting you see them. They love the words "thank you". When you talk to them, do it in a soft cadence sort of manner and not bluntly. For some reason this works. It's like your talking in their terms when you do it that way. But talk to them under good intentions and they'll get used to your tones and will start responding back. Don't try to mimic their sounds because you don't know what their tones mean and some get offended by it. What I do is whenever we go to the park and walk down the trails I'll talk to the birds by saying "hi there, how are you doing?" and usually they will land and walk right in front of us acting like they are guiding us down the trail (lol).. I tell them "thank you for visiting us" and say how beautiful the day is and how nice they look while we are walking down the trail at their pace. If they stop to pick at something on the ground, we stop walking. When they start walking again, we start walking- it's sort of a body language/communication thing too. But we don't even need to go to the park to see birds because we have PLENTY that comes by our house and sings/communicates everyday to us. Practice talking to them and see what happens..

[Mevcrna]

I am also trying to see more birds but having some difficulty in getting beyond the most common. Does wearing camoflauge help? Is it better to stay on the trail or go through the bush? Should one stalk birds or wait for them to come to you? In bow hunting, i have worn socks over my boots to reduce noise and hunt upwinf. Does this type of thing help birding?

[Positive1]

The main thing is try to be part of their community. Once you start TALKING to them and maybe feeding them, other birds will notice and realize your not a threat and that you actually care. Just use common sense and be open. If you remain quiet/stealthy or try to stalk them, you WILL pose as a threat to them and you won't get the satisfaction of being part of their world/domain. Let them know your there and that you care for them and they will make time/schedules to come and visit you and/or talk to you.

[etudiant]

Originally Posted by Mevcrna

I am also trying to see more birds but having some difficulty in getting beyond the most common. Does wearing camoflauge help? Is it better to stay on the trail or go through the bush? Should one stalk birds or wait for them to come to you? In bow hunting, i have worn socks over my boots to reduce noise and hunt upwinf. Does this type of thing help birding?

Birds tend to be fairly indifferent to people, unless hunted. Of course, they notice it if you stop and they may fly off if you point at them.
Camouflage is overkill, but dull colors are generally thought preferable. There is even a book published 'Good birders don't wear white', so you get the idea.
Here in the North East, many birds are only seasonal visitors, so there is much more variety in spring and fall, as the migrants come through. The summer residents tend to keep quiet, as they are now focused on raising their broods rather than on finding a mate or a territory.
Trails are better for seeing birds, because they give more open lines of sight.
Walking through the bushes just puts more leaves between you and the bird.
One option is to focus for now on shore birds, first because they start migrating back south around now, second because they are generally easier to see currently. Gulls and terns will hone your ID skills, gulls especially are a lifelong avocation(or frustration), so visible, so hard to identify correctly.

[Brian2]

get out more, earlier the better. go to different types of habitat...woods, estuary, coast, marsh etc etc...this will increase your chances of different types of bird.
I've seen 248 species so far this year but that has taken many hours of sitting and waiting .....some places will produce many species (Saturday I saw 85 species). stick with it and if you put in the hours you'll get the rewards.

[MJHamilton]

One thing I'm working on is birding by ear. It involves a lot of home study- familiarize yourself with different bird calls and the species. When you go out, try to be quiet and listen for the bird calls. Then you can hone in on a bird and try to locate it in the trees.

There's also a neat trick I've picked up called pishing. If there's a bird in a nearby bush or tree, you can make a "psh" sound in rapid succession. To the birds it sounds like a mobbing call, so they pop out of hiding to investigate. However- this doesn't always work. In my (limited) experience it has worked only about 50% of the time. It's more effective with passerines. Also, it should be used only rarely since it's disruptive to the bird's normal activity and may put it at risk.

Other than that, just be aware of the type of habitat you're in- if you're at the edge of a forest, scan the treetops, if you're looking at a field of tall grass, look for birds perched on top of taller stalks etc.

[GraemeS]

We can go to the national park and see almost nothing, then go back the following week and be surrounded by tens of species. It's unpredictable and wonderful.
My advice is to plan on enjoying your time in the woods or wherever, and treat burds as a bonus!
However, giving out food or using bird calls helps. Staying in one place and sitting patiently seems to work best, but only if you are in the right place - like humans, birds seem to ignore some locations and congregate in others. Pay attention to where birds are, and try to understand why.