Introduction:
This written for people that have at least started to dip their feet in the water, or intermediate to advanced birders (some of these tips are very useful for people who have been birding for decades!)
- Get to know (as well as you can) the common birds in your area. If you know the common birds well, similar (but rarer) birds will be much easier to identify. This means really looking at the birds you regularly see and taking note of their features.
- Try to identify every bird you see (even if only to family level). This will sharpen your observation skills and help a great deal when you are confronted with unfamiliar birds. You can even practice this will driving to work everyday!
- Cultivate a "birding ear" - starting with common bird calls you hear regularly. Listen to recordings of bird calls and try to listen to bird-sound whenever you get the opportunity. When searching for special birds, bird calls are often crucial in locating these birds. For information on bird sound resources for Southern Africa visit Sabirding
- Learn to take note of the different parts of a bird and learn the names which describe the different areas of feathers on the body. The best way to do this is to keep a birding notebook, and when you see an unfamiliar bird first note down everything you can before consulting a field guide! Most field-guides have a diagram which illustrates all the parts of a bird.
- Get to know the different habitats preferred by different groups of birds- woodland, gardens, fynbos, grassland or wetland. Knowing what birds to expect in a particular habitat type makes bird identification much easier, and is also fun as one test ones knowledge of habitat all the time.
- Attend bird identification courses. Regardless of your level of knowledge, these courses are hugely beneficial in building your knowledge, looking at things from different angles, and finding new ways of remembering bird-calls. Birding is after all a knowledge-based activity, and the more you know, the more rewarding it is.
- Go birding with others. Birding with other people is not only a great way to share your experiences, but the challenges posed by other birders and the sharing of knowledge will see your birding skills grow in leaps and bounds. Birding as a social activity can also be a way to meet new people and get even greater enjoyment out of your hobby.
-
Cultivate a "local birding patch". This can be a nature reserve, local park or patch of open veldt. Visit your local patch regularly and keep records of the birds you record on each visit. On each and every visit, you will see different things, and there is no better way to become involved in monitoring the interesting changes of birds to their surroundings. If you keep proper records you will also be contributing to science, at the same time as getting in touch with your innate skills.
- When visiting a new birding area you do not know, prepare for your visit by learning about some of the key species you hope to see - their habitat, key ID features and calls. The more research you do on what birds are likely, how to find them and how to identify them, the more rewarding your trip will be. By now you will have discovered the next greatest hobby to birding is…. Birding Travel!
- Bird with purpose. Set yourself goals. These may be small goals such as to identify 20 species in the office park where you work, or to keep a list of the birds at your bird feeder. Not only is keeping your own records very rewarding, but getting involved in a bird monitoring projects makes it all so much more worthwhile. Right now the best thing you can do is get involved with the South African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2) project - if you are GPS Geek you'll find it so much fun! Visit http://sabap2.adu.org.za/index.php
More Birding Resources
For more on our birding courses........go here.
|
