Tips for woodland birding please. (1 Viewer)

Hang around near any resource valuable to birds, such as water or a fruiting berry tree. You might find these things by chance, or by noticing a few birds all headed in a similar direction.

Rivers and streams can be good, as they often provide not only drinking and bathing but also good visibility into the trees. As someone has said already, edges make for good birding.

If there's a slope with access, I often scuttle up so I can look into the trees on more of a level, or even look down into the trees.

And, if you can see a bird or a flock moving through the trees, try going ahead of it/them slightly and let it/them move towards you – if you make a B-line for any animal it is likely to be more wary of you.

I'm also new to this birding lark; no pun intended! Just been out in a local wood at lunchtime & saw virtually nothing. Came home most dissapointed. Discovered this web site today; then this thread. Absolutely "bang on" as they say. I've obviously found this information extremely enlightening & I'm sure all this related correspondance will assist me greatly. Thanks to you all.

Al Tee said:

I'm also new to this birding lark; no pun intended! Just been out in a local wood at lunchtime & saw virtually nothing. Came home most dissapointed. Discovered this web site today; then this thread. Absolutely "bang on" as they say. I've obviously found this information extremely enlightening & I'm sure all this related correspondance will assist me greatly. Thanks to you all.

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Hi Al,

Not the ideal time of year to start birding (but at least it's warm... )

The woods are obviously in full leaf, providing plenty of cover, and many birds aren't singing or calling as much as earlier in the year, so things can seem pretty quiet.

Unbelievably enough, 'autumn' migration is starting, where lots of waders etc that breed further North in early Summer are starting to head South again, so a more productive area for seeing at least some birds would probably be a suitable wetland/coastal site, assuming that you have one close to where you are....

Good luck anyway....

at this time of year if you are looking for woodland birds try to look near a pond, stream or lake, if the woodland as any of these,that is your best chance of good sightings
terry

In tropical forests (and some of it should apply for woodlands as well):

1. Intersperse periods of waiting with periods of fast walking (as Tim said) to find elusive birds like Pittas, Pheasants, etc).
2. Look for fruitng trees, in particular ficus for Hornbills and Barbets.
3. Look for Army or Driver ants, they attract many birds.
4. Find a favorite bathing spot on a hot day.
5. Use all your senses.
6. Bird along roads that cut through the forest.
7. Use an Owl call.

The one problem I have with birding in rain forests is that it can be absolutely quiet for long periods, than a bird wave comes through and you don't know where to look first!

A lot of what has been said here is sound advice. Mid to late summer is a difficult time to be birding in the woods, but that will change soon enough. Here's what I think:

1. Develop your sense of hearing and knowledge of bird calls. This will help even when birds aren't "singing" - even in fall and winter they make various chips and whistles that announce their presence.

2. Concentrate on edges.

3. Especially as we are during fall migration and winter, birds move in flocks. So a good strategy is to look and listen for the flocks, then stop and milk the flock for all it's worth. Once the flock has moved on, move on yourself.

4. Keep an eye out for sources of food and wait near them. Anything like berries will attract birds. There is a vine around here called porcellainberry that migrating birds go absolutely nuts over.

Try looking for potential nesting sites and keep an eye on them (old snags with holes in them, thickets, areas under shrubs, etc depending on what species you are hoping to see.) It's a good idea to pikc one or two species and learn their needs and look for that. During the season, they won't be away from the nest for long with their many returns to feed. Listen for the babies as well.