Day 26 - January 26, 2012 (Getting Started)

A friend of mine who reads my posts, asked/suggested that I would explain things about birding, such as - what's needed, how do you pick a place, what do you look for, how do you know what will be where, etc.  So, I told her I will try to do my best.  But, I am not expert.  There are many out there who are, but I will give it my best shot.  As I tell my students, none of us is as smart as all of us.  So here goes it.

To begin with, all that is needed for birding, like anything else that is not a job, are time and passion.  Time is needed to get to a place and to look around once there as well as the time it will take to get better at identifying birds.  Passion is always needed because without it, there's no desire to look for birds or to identify them.

Some could argue that binoculars are needed too, but there are some birds that can be identified without binoculars if they are big enough and/or close enough.  However, I would have to add that a good field guide is needed.  There are many guides out there and it is really a personal preference which one you choose to use.  I started out using Roger Tory Peterson's Guide to Eastern United States (even used his Western Guide when I went to Colorado and San Francisco) but now I use David Sibley's Guide to Eastern United States more.  Why the change?  Sibley's pictures are next to the description of the bird as well as a map showing where and when the bird can most likely be seen  where as Peterson's, at least in the addition I have, has pictures, maps, and descriptions  are in different sections of the guide.

As for binoculars, that's a tough question for me to answer.  I started out with a pair I got from my Aunt Alice.  They belonged to my Uncle Jim.  The binocs were normal ones meaning they were not able to 'super magnify' objects - I think they were 35X5?  But they were the type that you had to spin/turn a knob to focus.  The ones I have now have a lever that I can just touch on either the left or right side to focus making it easier and quicker to do so especially with cold fingers in the winter.   Which ones are best for you?  If you have a birding store near by, go there and the workers there will help you answer all your questions.  That's what I did when I bought my spotting scope (and that's another whole topic.)  Or maybe find a second hand pair at a Goodwill Store or a thrift shop.  Start small and then work up.

So let me finish this post by just summarizing how to get started:  Get a guide book, go to a spot, start looking, and then as you get more involved then you can start buying the binocs, spotting scope, camera, etc.