Introducing the fascinating hobby of Birdwatching!
Paul Duxbury
Birds are the most visible form of wildlife, they are found in every part of
the world that is not permanently covered by ice, and you can see them in
any weather, any time of day or night, anywhere you go. Whether you live in
the country or the city, there are birds nearby, 835 species of birds spend
at least part of the year in North America. You can go out looking for birds
or attract them to your home. Birding is one of the fastest-growing outdoor
activities all around the world. The Verb ‘To Bird' would serve as an
excellent jumping off point for a feature, which highlights the growing
popularity of birding. More than 70 million Americans are feeding and
watching backyard birds.
Success in bird watching is, to a large extent, based on location, either by
venturing to locations or habitats where birds are plentiful, or by devising
ways to attract birds to your own back yard. Birds seen at a distance may be
enjoyable to watch, but the true excitement of the hobby is greatly enhanced
when you can see the birds up very close. Some of the most useful tools that
enhance your bird-watching experience are those that makes birds easier to
see in striking detail.
There are numerous ways to participate in the hobby of birding. Aside from
simply viewing birds in nature, avid enthusiasts engage in numerous other
activities. Some of those may include: feeding birds, providing nesting
sites or birdhouses, growing specialized plants and gardens to attract
birds, traveling to nature sanctuaries and other bird-watching locales,
keeping lists and notes on birds seen in the wild, making diagrams and
sketches and spending hours trying to snap the perfect photograph of a
favorite bird species. In order to enhance your beautiful experience of bird
watching in winter one can learn bird’s song. Birds’ strongest senses are
sight and hearing, and they have evolved ways to communicate and to
recognize their own species by using signals based on those two senses.
Because we are also creatures of sight and sound, we can tap right into all
the fascinating distinctions of color and shape that birds embody, and just
as naturally we can appreciate the sounds that are so important in their
lives. As you begin to recognize bird songs, your own backyard will become a
much more interesting place.
For me, it was like gaining supernatural vision, being able to see through
the leaves and around buildings. I was amazed at how many birds were all
around me and how much I had been missing out on. To broaden your
bird-watching experience beyond your own backyard, consider incorporating
some bird-rich locales into your next vacation. Serious bird enthusiasts
actually plan trips around visiting bird sanctuaries, nature parks and other
natural locations where they can view birds in large numbers, in diversity
of species and in their native habitats. Traveling to a region of the
country other than the one in which you live will allow you to see species
you may have never seen before.
Try to observe the birds so they don't know you are there. Move slowly, make
as little noise as possible, and keep your distance. Going too close to a
nest or repeatedly scaring a bird off its nest can cause the parents to
abandon their nest leaving the eggs vulnerable to predators. Do not touch
the eggs or young birds. Avoid trampling fragile natural areas to get a
closer look. Stay on paths and trails. Don't litter. Now once you have
started on the bird watching its important to build bird house, start the
proper bird-feeding all year around, provide them with water either through
bird bath or providing water specially in extreme weathers. In this way the
birds would be attracted and would keep coming back to the backyard.
Paul is Head of Training for a major UK Charitable Organization with a
wealth of experience in personal development, management development,
e-learning and operational management. In addition he owns PK eBooks (
http://www.pk-ebooks.co.uk) and has just published a series of Bird Watching
eBooks which can be found at
http://www.pk-ebooks.co.uk/birding_for_everyone.htm
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