Bird Watching

Birds are probably some of the most overlooked things on our planet…I mean we see them everyday, day in and day out, but we seldom find the time to give a thought to their existence; a lot of the times they are even viewed as pests, something that is not wanted around…something to get rid of. That is how it is with the majority of people; some people though see birds for what they are, wonderful creatures that are a part of God’s creation and a vital part to the whole process of nature and so on.

Birds are as divers and different as the flowers of the field and as many as the stars in the heaven, and did you know that God created every one of them for a special purpose, every species of bird either distributes seed and is food for other animals, or they clean up after other animals and of course, there are the majestic birds of prey that do their job in keeping everything in balance. God truly knew what He was doing when He decided to give us something as wonderful as birds, not only do they help the world go round, but they are also beautiful to behold and very interesting to study.

Many people have made it their goal in life to study and watch the birds on our great planet, other people have made it a hobby that is to be done in their free time; some travel thousands of miles and others are happy to just study the birds that are in their back yards…for those that want to get started, there are some general rules that need to be followed.

One of these is that you do not want to disturb the bird or birds that you are observing; never play with a nest that has eggs or chicks in it because it is very likely that the mom and dad will abandon their chicks or eggs when they realize that the nest had been tampered with; just respect the birds and their space.

There are also some different things that any bird person will want to have weather he is just starting out or even if he is a person that is an old veteran in the game of bird watching. One thing that you will want is a good bird guide…there are many bird guides to be had and depending on where you live in the world, there will be many to choose from…you will have to choose a bird guide that is specific for your area, one that will have the species of birds that you will most likely encounter. If you live in the western United States you will not want to get a book about the birds of Brazil…that should be obvious (unless you want to go there for your bird watch).

One other thing that you will need is a good pair of binoculars...this is something that needs to be taken seriously if you are serious about birding because a cheap pair of binoculars is not going to get you very far. Go ahead and spend the money and get yourself something that is of a good quality and a good brand name, because if you don’t, there will be many days of frustration and tears when there is a bird off in the distance that looks great but you cannot identify it because all you can see through your cheap binoculars is a ball of puff.

Do the research and find out what kind of birds are in your area before you run out and try to identify them all. Find out what to expect and that will make it just that much easier to identify the bird when you see it.

Along with finding out about the birds in your area, also find out the habitats of those birds so that you will be able to find them; learn the songs of those birds so that you will have some extra help. Other suggestions are to join a group of birders, these should be people that would be more then willing to help you and give you tips and such as to where to find the birds.

Nobody ever said that it was easy to go birding, but it sure is a lot of fun, it is worth it to try out and you most likely will not regret it!