Bird Watching for Beginners

The sport of bird watching has been around for years and, right behind gardening, is the second fastest growing hobby in America. It has been said that learning to bird is like getting a lifetime ticket to theater of nature. And indeed, with their beauty and elegance, birds are an awesome part of life. Birds flash past in every shade from emerald to vermillion, beautiful as showy flower blossoms. How could we not watch birds?

As with any sport or hobby, however, bird watching does require patience and practice to learn and will by all means have its moments of frustrations. But if you give it a good try and learn the basics, in no time you will be addicted!

What follows are some tips to help you along the way.

Binoculars are a birder's eyes on the world, and they can greatly affect the quality of a bird outing. Good binoculars make for good birding, while bad binoculars can lead to missed birds and severe headaches induced by blurred images, double vision, and eye strain. When choosing a binocular for birding, cheap is definitely not the way to go.

Make sure the power (or magnification) is at least 7-power. The power is the first number given in the numerical notation that describes binoculars. For example, a "7 X 35" pair of "glasses" will make objects appear as if they are seven times as close as they actually are. Seven-power binoculars are about the minimum needed to see birds well. Binoculars 10- power or stronger can be difficult for some birders to hold steady.

Make sure that the second number ("35" for a "7 X 35" pair of glasses) is at least five times as large as the power (e.g., "7 X 35," "8 X 40," etc.). This second number describes the diameter, in millimeters, of the large lens that faces the object of interest - the "objective" lens. The larger this lens is, the greater the amount of light the binoculars gather and thus the easier it will be to see characteristics in dim light or on a dull-colored bird.

Don't buy compact or pocket-sized binoculars (typically 8 x 21, or 10 x 21) as your primary pair for birding. The size and weight are attractive, but no matter how good the optics, compacts provide a lower quality image than mid- or full-size binoculars. Another drawback is that most compacts have a narrow field of view, which makes it very difficult to locate and follow birds.

A field guide is a little book that's packed with information about birds. It's the next best thing to an expert birder by your side. It describes and shows pictures of the birds, and it tells you which details of each bird to look for. A field guide can tell you what kinds of birds might be in your particular area and give some excellent tips on what to look for in your bird watching. If you don't have a field guide, you won't have a clue about what kinds of birds you will be seeing, so this is essential to have.

Most guides are roughly organized in "phylogenetic order." Phylogenetic order is the way scientists classify all living things (not just birds) based on their evolutionary history - which creatures, according to likenesses in their present-day appearance, most probably evolved from common ancestors.

The beautiful part about birding is that it can truly be done anywhere! You can go to your local park and find some great specimens. If you're traveling, you'll find a new appreciation of the songs of birds and what you can find. You can even watch birds in your own back yard!

Patrick Carpen

Two Campgrounds Great for Bird Watching, Hiking and Beautiful Views

Dedicated to finding campgrounds that have beautiful views of natural settings, I recommend Bog Springs and Lakeview campgrounds located near Tucson, Arizona in Coronado National Forest for their beautiful views of the unique terrain of southeastern Arizona. They're also great for bird watching and hiking.

Bog Springs Campground

Bog Springs is the only campground in Madera Canyon - a world-class birding area with over 200 species of birds. Hawks, Quail, Doves, Road Runners, Owls, Woodpeckers, Hummingbirds, Jays, Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Thrashers, White-breasted Nuthatches, Bridled Titmice, Ruby-crowned Kinglets and many more bird species can all be seen in the Madera Canyon area. The campground is at an elevation of 5,200 feet and is small (only 13 camp sites). Once the birds arrive in early spring, it fills up fast. Weekdays are best for finding a camp site during the peak bird watching season.

It's also a great base camp for hiking, biking and stargazing. Three trails leave from the campground to nearby springs and the campground is just a short walk away from Madera Picnic Area, where there is access to a nature trail. Within driving distance are over 65 miles of Forest trails that lead into the Mt. Wrightson Wilderness, a mountain bike ride around spectacular Elephant Head Rock, and three scenic drives, one of which visits the Smithsonian's Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory.

If you're not a bird watcher and don't like to hike, Bog Springs is still a great campground to visit with beautiful views of the Santa Rita Mountains and surrounding desert/arid landscape. The campground is open all year. We visited the campground in Late November (not many birds that time of year). The weather and scenery were gorgeous. Most of the camp sites had beautiful views of the mountains and desert landscape. There were only 2 other campers in the campground at the time. Most of the camp sites are shaded and well spaced with boulders, trees and other vegetation providing good separation between sites. Some of the sites are terraced which also provides separation. The campground has a rustic feel but is very easy to get to with paved roads almost all the way to the entrance.

Getting to the campground is easy. From Tuscon, go toward Green Valley (about 25 miles). Off Interstate 19, take the Continental Road/Madera Canyon Exit. Turn east and follow the Madera Canyon signs 12.5 miles to the campground.

For more information on this campground, call the District National Forest office at 520-281-2296.

Lakeview Campground

Lakeview campground is located on a hill overlooking Parker Canyon Lake. Many of the campsites are well shaded and are spread among a stand of oaks and junipers. Although the campground is just a short walk to the lakeshore, only the tent sites have views of the beautiful clear waters of Parker Canyon Lake.

Lakeview Campground is more remote and less accessible than other campgrounds which is a plus if you don't like crowds. There is a five mile trail hugging the shoreline that leads around Parker Canyon Lake. The lake is great for watching ducks and other waterfowl as well as bald eagles, osprey and even hummingbirds in season. The trail has several viewing areas with benches and interpretive signs.

Parker Canyon Lake is also great for fishing. It offers both cold and warm water species, including stocked rainbow trout and resident bass, sunfish, and catfish. There is a fishing pier and a paved boat ramp at the lake. There is also a small concessionaire-operated store at the lakeshore for boating, fishing and other supplies.

Getting there from Tucson isn't quite as easy as Bog Springs. A good bit of the access roads are not paved. From Tucson, travel east on Interstate 10 to State Route 83 (exit 281) and turn south 50 miles through Sonoita to Parker Canyon Lake.

For more information on Lakeview campground call the District National Forest office at 520-378-0311.
If you like bird watching, hiking, fishing or boating and appreciate beautiful views from your camp site, try Bog Springs or Lakeview campgrounds.

Carl Zimmerman

Bird House Kits - Bird Watching In Your Own Backyard

Birding enthusiasts find all kinds of ways to attract birds to their gardens and backyards. They often use bird feeders of various sizes and shapes, filled with a variety of food and other things to attract many different species of birds.

A bird bath is another common fixture, providing a place for passing birds to perch and drink in peace.

One of the best ways of attracting birds is to provide them with a place to nest - they will keep returning instead of just stopping on their way past. You can buy pre-made bird houses or kits that you assemble yourself. If you're handy you can even build your own from scratch.

If you're thinking of using a bird house kit the first thing to consider is how it will be used. Is it going to be a permanent fixture in your yard or do you want it to be more portable? And what types of birds are you hoping to attract with it?

Some kits are made for single birds, others for more than one. Some are hung while others can be mounted on a fence or a post of some sort. Taking the time to plan ahead will make your birding experience much more satisfying.

If you're buying a ready-to-assemble kit, the wood will all be pre-measured and cut and all the other hardware will also be included. The entrance holes will be pre-cut and the mounting holes will be prepared for you. These kits are generally made from cedar as it is a good weather-resistant wood.

You may find the surfaces are rough or possibly primed, ready for a finish coat of paint. Painting the bird house is often half the fun. You can go simple, with a color that attracts the type of birds you want or you can go with a fancier paint job, making it a nice addition to your garden.

Ronnie Booth

Bird Watching in your Own Backyard

If you like to watch the playing, fluttering and fanciful nature of birds, watching birds in your own backyard or right outside your window can be a great joy. It's extraordinary how many different kinds of species you can see. If you think there aren't very many birds in your yard, there are a few things you can try that will attract them. With bird baths, different bird feeders and a couple of bird houses, you'll soon have some special visitors.

You'll find many different bird feeders on the market, and you will find that most of them fall into three different categories. There are hoppers, tray feeders, and tube feeders. Tube bird feeders are cylindrical, with landing places at the holes where the feed comes out. Tube bird feeders are good for various kinds of seed, as long as the opening is big enough for it to fit through. Hopper feeders will attract birds that might be leery of tube and tray feeders. Tray feeders are wonderful for birds that are smaller. If you really don't care what types of birds visit your backyard, and you would just like to watch and enjoy any bird that shows up, you can purchase a general bird seed. A lot of bird seed can appeal to a number of different varieties of birds, because it's got a number of seed varieties. If you want a particular kind of bird to come to your backyard, then you want to include a seed or food that appeals to that species.

Bird baths are a great thing to add to your backyard if you want to attract more birds. Birds love wading and splashing in the water, and if it's kept clean, that's even better. You can choose from more conventional bird baths, or you could go for something different, like a fountain that's solar powered. Bird baths with moving water will appeal to wild birds that customarily would not frequent a regular fountain, like humming birds, robins, warblers and thrushes. Birds particularly like moving water, and it easily attracts them. Bird baths also look great as garden accessories. There are those that love bird baths for the fact that they bring the birds very close. This is the perfect chance to take some fantastic photographs, and enjoy the company of the birds.

If you decide to add a birdhouse to your yard, birds could potentially nest in it. Not only will they frequent now and again, but if it's safe and secure, they might choose it as the place to lay and hatch their eggs. What a delight this would be because you could get a peek at the babies every once in a while, or when it is time for them to start flying. Not only is a birdhouse a place the birds will like, but it is a charming yard decoration too. Naturally, there are a variety of sizes, kinds and shapes of birdhouses, and the one you decide on depends on your particular taste.

Implementing these three things easily can make your backyard a little bit more accommodating for birds. There are a couple of other simple things you can add, like fragrant flowers, and crevices and openings so the birds can hide. If they feel safe in your yard, they will stick around. Happy backyard bird watching!

Anna Mcanthony

Bird Watching is a recreation anyone can enjoy at anytime of the year

Do you ever have a day when you have nothing to do ?, You know them times when your on the internet in some chat room, and you type ' I'm bored ! ', or your flipping through the TV channels, and you say to yourself or out loud ' 250 channels, and nothing good to watch ! ', yes, you know what I am talking about. Now you have something you can do on them so called boring days, go bird watching.

No matter where you live you probably have birds of some kind, even folks in New York have central park and other places where they can go bird watching. There are three things you should have when bird watching, these are a pair of binoculars, a notebook, and a bird guide.

Binoculars can be purchased for under $60 at most Kmart or Walmart stores. Binoculars with a magnification of 10 x 50 are perfect for bird watching. Don't think that a more powerful pair of binoculars like 20 x 60 or 30 x 80 are better, this is not the case. Stronger binoculars are fine if you are into star gazing, but they are horrible for bird watching. The higher powered binoculars need a tripod to use them without shaking, and even without a tripod, the powerful binoculars are larger and can be very heavy to carry around, the 10 x 50 ones are perfect for every occasion.

A small tablet or notebook can be purchased at most stores, don't get nothing expensive just a small spiral one will do fine. Now the last thing is the most important item when it comes to bird watching. If you are truly going to watch birds, you should know what type of birds you are looking at when you spot a new one, so visit your local book store or look in the birding section of an online bookstore, such as amazon, at the end of this article I have a website address that has some of Amazons best bird guides, videos, binoculars and more.

Ok, so you have your binoculars, notebook and pencil, and your bird guide, now let's go outside and go bird watching. I am sure you won't have to walk very far to spot a bird or two. I am lucky enough to currently live here in the country, all I have to do is open my door and I will hear the sounds of birds. If I step outside my front door, I can often see sparrows or finches, in the spring time the yard always has a couple robins hopping around, and crows flying around the nearby woods, high overhead I often see turkey buzzards soaring against the blue sky. One time I opened my front door and across the road in the top of a large tree a horned owl was sitting, it stayed there for about 10 minutes, turning it's head often as it looked around.

If you have any grassy, wooded or open areas with trees or bushes, you can usually find birds. One of the best things about bird watching is anyone can do it, even if your in a wheelchair, you can sit and watch birds. It's a great recreation for anyone that is alone, or for the whole family to do together.

When you go out, remember to take your bird watching items with you, your binoculars, notebook and pencil, and bird guide. When you spot a bird look in your binoculars too see all it's beauty in close detail, if you do not recognize the species of bird your seeing, get out your bird guide and look it up. When you realize the type of bird you see, write down in your notebook the following information; ' the name of the bird, the area where it was spotted, the date, and time '. The information in your notebook, helps you understand what types of birds frequent your area, it also is pretty neet being able to read back and see when you spotted a new or rare bird.

If you have a yard, tree or even a window you can attract birds by installing a simple feeder. Bird feeders are very inexpensive and they have feeders that can hang on a tree branch, or fence, or even stick to the outside of a window.

Attracting different species of birds often requires different types of bird seed and other food. Hummingbirds are attracted to red, pink and orange flowers, they especially like trumpet vines or other tubular-flowered plants, they are also very attracted to hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water or red sweetened kool-aid. Robins like mowed lawns, so in the spring and summer if you want to see robins, mow your grass, the birds come looking for bugs and earthworms that are more easily accessible because you cut the grass length. Goldfinches love thistle seed, thistle is more expensive then most common bird seed, but you cannot beat it if you want to attract goldfinches. Blue Jays are large and sometimes noisy, but if you want to bring them, put out a feeder full of black oil sunflower seeds. Cardinals are very neat looking, there is nothing nicer than looking out the window in the winter, and seeing a bright red cardinal sitting on a nearby tree branch or feeder. Cardinals are like Blue Jays, in that they both love a diet of black oil sunflower seeds. If you want to attract sparrows, a bag of plain mixed bird seed will do just fine.

There is Computer Software that is made just for ' Bird Watching '. The software is called: ' Bird Watcher Professional ', you can read the details and download a trial version of it for free at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/bwpro

Here is a website address that has some of the best Bird Guides (Books), Videos, Binoculars and other birding equipment that Amazon sells:

http://www.rb59.com/bwpro/bird-watching-information.html

Robert W. Benjamin