ADVICE FOR NEW BIRDERS

September 2023

From the Birds & Brew Flock

Composed by Stevie Morris

If you find yourself intrigued by the birds around you and want to learn more, but aren’t sure where to begin, the Birds & Brew flock pondered over what advice they would love to give to fledgling birders. Here is the resulting list of tips and tricks they would like to pass on:

Ask stupid questions! (“Hey, is that a bird?”) You’ll never know unless you ask!
Be quiet! It’s best to tread quietly in order to hear the birds. Every species of bird makes a unique sound, which is often critical in identification.
Start in your own backyard—you can set out water and birdseed, and watch what comes to visit.
Learn the local birds before you go birding, as well as some of the calls these birds make. No need to learn the birds of a region 5,000 miles away just yet!
Download the Merlin app, which can help you tremendously with real-time sound and photo identification, and which offers free, complete species guides for wherever you are in the world.
Get a good guide book, such as the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, Fifth Edition, by Roger Tory Peterson—and take it with you wherever you go to bird!
Learn to get up early! Many more birds are out early for their breakfast. (But it is perfectly fine, of course, to go any time of day which works for you!)
Go out with a birding group. Bring binoculars or borrow some from group leaders.
Befriend someone in the group who has a scope—they will be more than happy to let you have a look! (“Hi, whatcha lookin’ at? Find something good?”)
Try going on BHAS birding walks or field trips, found on our website. Our calendar of events is posted here: https://southsoundbirds.org/full-calendar/ .
Try out BHAS’s “Birding with Breakfast” Saturday walks, also posted on our calendar.
In your backpack, bring water, snacks, and a raincoat… Every single time! You know what the Pacific Northwest is like…
Discover what eBird can offer you. Start your life list! You can explore all kinds of data, such as exact locations of species sightings, photographs, audio, video, and more. You can create a free account and begin to keep track of the birds you see by submitting your own checklists!
Check out Cornell’s thorough website, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/ , where you can find species accounts, informative articles, live feeder and nest cams, and so much more!
Don’t be intimated by all those birders who know more about birds than you do, because some have been birding for years, but remember—they were once new birders themselves.
Take birding classes—online or local.
Email BHAS regarding any bird-related questions you have, such as identification, how to attract birds, how to build or maintain bird houses, and more, by sending your query to questionsforBHAS@gmail.com .