I can see where Simon is coming from with the field guide thing. No disrespects to anyone, but I suppose having a field guide is a million times better than getting your ears battered by 'helpful' co-watchers. Of course, help is taken willingly and it's good that people offer, but isn't it a real good 'buzz' when you can suss an ID out all by yourself? You feel that you have achieved something and you can measure how you abilities are progressing.
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Photo or live observation? Tips please. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ChrisLuv
- Start date
General Impression Size and Shape - what the bird looks like, and how it moves, etc.
I believe it is an ex-military term used by plane spotters in the pre-radar days.
Matt Prince
Sharkbait
Another thing you're probably well on the way to, is getting the type of bird first.. i.e Not just an LBJ but a finch, rather than a pipit or a warbler. It'll come with experience.
The camera is great for recording those fieldmarks that you didn't even know where important for an identification, but a bad picture can make things worse!
Also you can concentrate too much on getting 'that shot' rather than enjoying an excellent view through the bins..
Finally - whenever I've pulled out a birdguide at a twitch, I've invariably ended up with several people looking at it over my shoulder..
The camera is great for recording those fieldmarks that you didn't even know where important for an identification, but a bad picture can make things worse!
Also you can concentrate too much on getting 'that shot' rather than enjoying an excellent view through the bins..
Finally - whenever I've pulled out a birdguide at a twitch, I've invariably ended up with several people looking at it over my shoulder..
Sy V
Well-known member
Chris
Mine was 'Service Issue' that stayed with me when I left the Forces.
I have seen them (or similar) in various outdoor shops though.
They don't get battered or fray, at all.
Take a look here...
Azn
BF Young Birder
Hi Chris..
This may have been mentioned above.. but what I would offer is what are you best at.. photography or memory.. but at the end of the day ... it all come down to what MSA said.. what do YOU want out of birding .. thats all i would say at the moment.. (being newish to birding as well.)
i hope this has helped
Rue
This may have been mentioned above.. but what I would offer is what are you best at.. photography or memory.. but at the end of the day ... it all come down to what MSA said.. what do YOU want out of birding .. thats all i would say at the moment.. (being newish to birding as well.)
i hope this has helped
Rue
FlushUnderFoot
n00b
I'm new to birdwatching too. Here's my approach:
I currently just take my camera with me, sometimes a feild guide too.
At first I basically just posted pics in the id forum, but generally once people here helped me id a bird id be able to do it on my own the next time. That was how I got to know the basic families of birds around me. So now when I'm in the field I usually know if the bird I'm looking at is a flycatcher, or a warbler, or some kind of finch, etc.. (but not always) and there is a short list of birds that I know cold because they're everywhere (chickadees, titmouse, etc.)
So now I find myself trying to make an id in the field while also trying to get a good picture, and I never really feel like I get to just 'spend time with the bird' because I'm always preocupied with iding it or photographing it.
I want to continue this routine for a while because I feel I learn a lot by studying the pics I take after the fact. Until I feel that I've seen many of the birds around me and have had the initial adrenaline rush of seeing them for the first time I'll probably stay on the camera side of things.
Once I feel like I no longer need a picture of a bird to prove (to others or myself) that I saw it I plan on doing what cheersm8 does - some days go out with bins and just spend time with our feathery friends, watch them, laugh at their little quirks, etc.. and other days (particularly the days where lighting conditions are excellent) I'll go out and try to get some award winning photos.
Hopefully I'll be able to remember this and put down the camera when the time comes lol.
One of my fondest of moments bird watching had nothing to do with bins or a scope or a camera. I stayed in a lodge in the middle of nowhere in the world and every evening I would walk down a gravel road and sit near a street light to watch the common paraquay catch bugs over and over again and after each bug it would do a little hop and make a whooot noise as if celebrating. I don't know why watching that little guy makes me feel so fuzzy inside but I doubt I'd be birdwatching today if it weren't for that experience. So, like others have said, bring whatever you desire as long as you remember your eyes..
I currently just take my camera with me, sometimes a feild guide too.
At first I basically just posted pics in the id forum, but generally once people here helped me id a bird id be able to do it on my own the next time. That was how I got to know the basic families of birds around me. So now when I'm in the field I usually know if the bird I'm looking at is a flycatcher, or a warbler, or some kind of finch, etc.. (but not always) and there is a short list of birds that I know cold because they're everywhere (chickadees, titmouse, etc.)
So now I find myself trying to make an id in the field while also trying to get a good picture, and I never really feel like I get to just 'spend time with the bird' because I'm always preocupied with iding it or photographing it.
I want to continue this routine for a while because I feel I learn a lot by studying the pics I take after the fact. Until I feel that I've seen many of the birds around me and have had the initial adrenaline rush of seeing them for the first time I'll probably stay on the camera side of things.
Once I feel like I no longer need a picture of a bird to prove (to others or myself) that I saw it I plan on doing what cheersm8 does - some days go out with bins and just spend time with our feathery friends, watch them, laugh at their little quirks, etc.. and other days (particularly the days where lighting conditions are excellent) I'll go out and try to get some award winning photos.
Hopefully I'll be able to remember this and put down the camera when the time comes lol.
One of my fondest of moments bird watching had nothing to do with bins or a scope or a camera. I stayed in a lodge in the middle of nowhere in the world and every evening I would walk down a gravel road and sit near a street light to watch the common paraquay catch bugs over and over again and after each bug it would do a little hop and make a whooot noise as if celebrating. I don't know why watching that little guy makes me feel so fuzzy inside but I doubt I'd be birdwatching today if it weren't for that experience. So, like others have said, bring whatever you desire as long as you remember your eyes..
UtahnBirder
Well-known member
(Not that I'm any good at ID yet, but this has seemed to help.)
In any downtime that you can't go birding, try to think about birding, and keep your field guide close.
I sometimes go "Oh ya, that Western Screech-Owl I heard about on BF or eBird or something", and then flick through my field guide and read about it. Then I look through all the other owls, and see which look close, and the subtle differences between them.
If I would have seen a tern BEFORE looking through the terns, I would probably write down something like "Black Head", "Orange Bill", "Blue-Grayish wings". Of course, that pretty much narrows it down to all of them. If I had flipped through the tern section before, I could be more on the look out for things such as how far back the black on the head goes, for example.
In any downtime that you can't go birding, try to think about birding, and keep your field guide close.
I sometimes go "Oh ya, that Western Screech-Owl I heard about on BF or eBird or something", and then flick through my field guide and read about it. Then I look through all the other owls, and see which look close, and the subtle differences between them.
If I would have seen a tern BEFORE looking through the terns, I would probably write down something like "Black Head", "Orange Bill", "Blue-Grayish wings". Of course, that pretty much narrows it down to all of them. If I had flipped through the tern section before, I could be more on the look out for things such as how far back the black on the head goes, for example.
Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
It takes a looooonnnngggg time to get any good at this hobby. So just enjoy it for what it is and enjoy the little steps you take each time you learn something. Don't worry about comparing yourself to the experts....but just remember, it took them years of practice and intense bird study to get any good.
With regards to the original question....If you want to become a good birder, it's all about the binoculars. We are lucky enough to be joined by some genuine authorities on bird identification in birdforum, and I guarantee you that they learned their trade with a pair of bins, and quite possibly a notebook and pencil. They may well also use a camera now as well, but I reckon if they could only take one peice of equipment into the field they would take their bins.
A picture captures a millisecond of a birds life....it can mislead, or show ambiguous features. Studying the bird allows you to see the whole bird, learn not only about how it looks, but also how it acts, what it sounds like, its jizz, etc etc. If you can take notes while watching the bird then all the better - you'll soon become adept at observing and noting at the same time......
And don't worry if you do all this and you still can't come to an identification....you'll still have learned something. Imagine you find a small warbler and you note down it's olivey back, paler underparts, weak eyestripe, and that it is singing from the top of a woodland tree in spring. You refer to your book and realise that it was either a willow warbler or a chiffchaff....but you book also tells you to look out for primary projection, perhaps leg colour and face pattern, and above all, song. Armed with this knowledge you can go back and look for these features.....and most importantly, you can see how the features depicted in the book actually look in the field.
That way, you will become a better birder.
But far be it from me to tell anyone how to enjoy their hobby... people get enjoyment out of birding in lots of different ways. Just find the one that suits you best!
Cillana
Well-known member
Reading your field guides ahead of time is very helpful. Get to know the birds before you see them. It helps you to know what key features and behaviors to look for.
I prefer binocs over photos when seeing a bird I don't recognize. You never know how long it will stick around. It takes me longer to get my camera on and focused on the bird than to pick up my binocs and find it. Usually for those small songbirds, the bird it gone before my camera is ready. If after I've gotten a satisfactory look at the bird with my binocs, it's still there I'll go for the camera. I usually only use photos for IDing for shorebirds. They usually stay in one spot for a while and give you enough time to get a good look through the binocs and take lots of photos too.
I prefer binocs over photos when seeing a bird I don't recognize. You never know how long it will stick around. It takes me longer to get my camera on and focused on the bird than to pick up my binocs and find it. Usually for those small songbirds, the bird it gone before my camera is ready. If after I've gotten a satisfactory look at the bird with my binocs, it's still there I'll go for the camera. I usually only use photos for IDing for shorebirds. They usually stay in one spot for a while and give you enough time to get a good look through the binocs and take lots of photos too.
I find that if I try to photograph a bird, I "miss" seeing it. If I don't photograph it I regret it. I always take camera and scope to site and decide when I get there which to leave in the car. I believe you can't do justice to birding and photography at the same time, so choose one or the other.
TheSeagull
Well-known member
Personally I no longer carry binoculars, just a camera. I take a 'record' shot and then I can ID it later, if it stays for a while I get a good shot.
