How do you bird

Seaing as we have a lot of birders hear on zoochat. i was wondring what is your kind of birdin
.do twich raritys. do you us a scope and binoculars ? do you trawel to now palces good for birds or do you just enjoy them close to your home.
my self i have a bothe binoculars and a scope. some times i go twiching birds but. my favorti kind of biding i probebly to stand in one place for an hour or two whare i got a god view over som lockal natur reserv.

 

I'm a pretty serious birder. I do a lot of travel (though I haven't traveled for than a few hours specifically to bird - yet). I have binoculars and a scope. I do twitch rarities, especially of said rarity would be a lifer. I don't really do lists beyond a life or year list, though, because I don't like to think of birding as a competition. Birding is about enjoying birds, not about seeing more birds than someone else.

 

I'm not really an avid birder as such but I do (or "did" is a better word) enjoy visiting some of the Atlantic rainforest ecotourist reserves in Sao Paulo state on day trips to do some birding.

A favourite place of mine here is an Atlantic rainforest reserve known as "Trilha dos Tucanos" ("Toucan trail"). Here you can see amongst other species Saffron toucanettes and all kinds of tanagers including the green headed tanager at very close quarters (and by close quarters I mean even perching on peoples hands...). Sadly due to the coronavirus and lockdown I can no longer make any trips outside of the city for the foreseeable future so I have limited myself to the simple pleasure of watching the birds that can be seen here within this urban city environment.

These basically consists of Pionus parakeets, several hummingbird species, chalk browed mockingbird, several small dove species , rufuous bellied thrush , greater kiskadees, the ubiquitious turkey vultures and occasional hawks or falcons. All of the birds I've seen seem to be responding very well to the abandoned or semi empty streets due to the lockdown and I also heard the unmistakeable call of a barn owl two nights ago which is something you would never normally hear above the constant din of traffic or parties.

I don't own a scope nor indeed any other binoculars other than my trusty pair of Leica trinovid 8 x 20. These are not anything fancy but are excellent optics and are to be honest with you all I really need for wildlife watching. At the moment though even these are unnecessary so I'm just using my eyes to watch them.

 

I am more of an observer of wildlife in general and not specifically birds, so record any living wild animal I see. Having said that birds are a favorite and of the 974 animals that I have seen in the wild on my list as of today, 730 are birds. It is easier to see birds than most other animals and there is a lot of help available in the form of guide books, guides, web sites etc that also make it easier. I have also noted that there is an issue accommodating both birdwatching, which can require early mornings, with mammal watching, which can require late nights, on the same trip.

I have only taken it seriously in the last two years. For many years I did not even have a decent pair of binoculars, and only bought a pair for a trip I did to Komodo National Park, and a subsequent stay in Bali in November 2017. A trip to South Africa in 2018 allowed a few days in Chobe National Park, Botswana, and I was hooked. In total I saw 17 species of mammal and 70 species of bird in Chobe. I do travel a lot for business so always try to find a little time, usually for birdwatching, wherever I am. The only trips, other than day trips around home, that I can recall were specifically for wildlife were that to Komodo and one to Sri Lanka this February. I hope to do a lot more when we all get over Covid-19. I don't take trips to chase specific rarities (except maybe the Komodo dragon) but have visited a couple of sites especially when they have conservation related species.

Regarding equipment I do think a pair of decent binoculars are important, otherwise it can all be very frustrating. I also recently acquired a fairly decent camera with a long lens, and that does add to the enjoyment. As for a scope, I had never used one till I had the opportunity to do so on a couple of occasions earlier this year. I can certainly see their usefulness however the extra weight is an issue given how vicious airlines are now over baggage. I have also turned into a great purchaser of guide books, and use them for planning and dreaming as well as in the field. More and more I have become in favour of using local guides when available. I am only in overseas destinations for a short period of time and it has cost me a lot of money to get there, so if a guide can help me get the most out of my visit I am all for it. Lastly web sites like ebird and mammal.com and trip reports on sites like this are extremely useful to help plan trips.

I started my list on my return from Africa and decided I did not want to lose the list I had from that trip so entered the list on an Excel spreadsheet. I added in my Komodo trip, a couple of older lists I found, went through my photos and then added any animal I had a specific memory of seeing in the wild. It is not a life list, because I started it too late in my life. Animal species are listed by Phylum, Class, Order, Family then alphabetically by scientific name. Next column is the common name and then the conservation status. Using the freeze pane function the species list is always in view. Each location is given a column and again a freeze pane at the top of the column gives the location and date. I put an "X" in each cell at the intersection of the species and the location I saw it. If it is introduced I put an "I" and feral a "F". I do record some significant species that I don't see alive but do see a carcass, a track or hear a call, for instance with "D" for dead and so on. However I don't count these. Thus it is very easy to find where I saw a certain species, or what I saw at a certain location. I don't record subspecies but because I have locations it is easy enough to work out which subspecies I have seen. Being a spreadsheet it is also very easy to work with. For instance I have just rearranged the bird taxonomy in line with "Bird Families of the World".

I should also say that I do a lot of local wildlife watching, and am currently looking out the window over our wetland. Much of my overseas wildlife watching is also in cities, it is amazing what you can find in cities such as Los Angeles and Toronto.

 

I'm a pretty serious birder, and am also an avid wildlife watcher. Usually I use binoculars and my camera rather than a scope. My scope is older though so my camera is often more efficient for long-range birds. I keep a lifelist and try to add species on a regular basis, however that has been getting farther between since I haven't been able to travel out of state in awhile. Hopefully soon I'll be able to get farther abroad. I do chase closer rarities when able, and have seen a good number of rare species locally and a few when traveling even.
I normally Ebird my sightings, which is nice for tracking my past sightings.

 

I enjoy birding, mostly doing at school since the campus is swarming with birds, I don’t own a scope and only a somewhat poor set of binoculars, so I mostly rely on whatever is available at school. I rarely hear about rarities, so I don’t really twitch them either. I mostly travel to nearby lakes to bird specifically, but I obviously often see them while visiting national parks or sanctuaries to see mammals. I also keep a country list of birds and mammals, both wild and captive.

 

I've never 'done bird' over here, it's a term for prison time.
In some places, I've seen that the word 'bird' has a different use ...

 

I consider myself quite a serious birder*, though I'm not particularly good at it. I keep several lists - year list, life list and a few "geographical" lists: one for every country I've been too, one for Noord-Brabant (the province I live in), and one for the working area of the bird conservation group I'm a member of. I keep the lists mainly for myself (as @Chlidonias explained), partly because I've got a bit of a collector's mentality and collecting birds on your list is a good way to keep collecting without ending up with huge piles of stuff in your house! I also catalogue species in certain areas for the local bird conservation group and listing is obviously important then.

I use a spotting scope and a pair of binoculars.

There's a nature reserve at walking distance from my home so I naturally mostly go there - it has an almost complete set of Dutch forest, grassland and heather birds. Add in a few regional spots which are good for waterfowl, waders and marshland species and I can find a more than decent chunck of the Dutch avifauna within reasonable distance (which comes in very handy during the COVID-19 outbreak!).

I regularly twitch rarities when they turn up at these regional spots, but not when they're much further away (though there are exeptions: when driving to the Island of Texel for a birding holiday we did make a few stops to twitch vagrants along the way). One of my favourite things to do is to chose a good birding site (which can also be further away) and go birding there with a small group of friends for an entire day from dawn to dusk. Just having nothing else on your mind but wildlife and enjoying yourself.

* When I say "birding" I use it in a broad sense for wildlife-watching in general - though birds are often my main targets (followed by herptiles, mammals and butterflies - in that order).

 

I am not the most serious birder, I am much more interested in mammals, but given their invisibility in Europe, birds have to do . I also look at plants, snails, butterflies, herptiles, fish (and more rarely also grasshoppers and dragonflies). I do own a pair of binoculars, but not a scope. I am not a twitcher and have only gone looking for a vagrant 3 times in my life, all three appeared <10 km from my house. I do have a list, but it is only a lifelist, I don't keep lists per country/continent/any region. I used to find birding pretty dull in the Netherlands and I am much more fanatic when in Africa/on holiday, but with COVID-19 I have started being a bit more serious in birding around my house and started to appreciate the diversity that is there (even though there are no Mousebirds/Hornbills/Bee-eaters and other really cool groups). I have seen 110+ species within 10 km of my house this year, which is a good number for me this time of year.

 

Having been a birdwatcher all my life (to varying degrees,sometimes more than others) I've always had binoculars. Some years ago I purchased a telescope- fortunately not an expensive one- but find I very rarely use it, perhaps having come to it far too late. I find it very cumbersome. And if you are looking at something very unusual, there are likely to be others around and they'll always let you have a look.

 

Yes, I mean similar things with the word "birding", often chasing other forms of wildlife in the process, although birds are my main target about 95% of the time.

 

I keep a life list and a year list. I try to get to a new place within Australia at least once a year. I prefer to bird alone or occasionally with a very small group. I've tried being a member of a birding group but found it frustrating when big numbers go on outings. Too much stopping and starting. A lot of time wasted arguing amongst the group over common birds. And too much, "See the branch on the left? Well not that branch but the one next to it. Now look up above it. Have you got it yet? Oh it moved. It's on the ground now near the rock. Not the big rock. Don't worry it's gone."

 

I don't associate with the local Audubon chapter for the same reason. Bird treks were just too frustrating, start and stop for everything, too much talking and argument. I much prefer to be out by myself or occasionally a birding buddy but not in a group. I'll share rarity sightings and give input when asked on occasion, but I don't go to meetings or go on the group walks anymore.

 

I'm a member of several birding clubs, and go with them often. I have NEVER heard an argument break out. I don't mind the stopping often as the stops always correspond with a bird nearby. Also, it's just wonderful to be out with a group of people who are as interested in birds as you are.

 

I consciously started birding at the beginning of 2018 in preparation for going to Tanzania (where I successfully saw 200+ bird species). Nowadays I enjoy both casual and more serious birding, depending on the location and season. I use binoculars but no scope (although I've used scope for birding before). I like to go to neighborhood spots no more than 20-30 minutes from where I live at any given time, but my big hauls usually come from traveling cross-country or from the occasional longer trip I take specifically for seeing wildlife.

Unfortunately I don't bird as often as I'd like (and rarely ever with groups) because I'm very much not a morning person, which is the best time to see a lot of species. I also don't twitch rarities on my own, though I have with others before. When I do bird I like to walk around rather than stand in one spot. I record in eBird depending on the situation - I don't do it for neighborhood walks or incidental sightings, but if I visit a park or other location with the intent purpose of birding then I will write my eBird list in the field with their mobile app, then review my field guide before posting.

Mammals are either incidental for me or I go to a certain spot with one species in mind. I took it more seriously in California than I do out east, where there just isn't much that can be seen easily. While I have a personal interest in herps and some inverts, I don't record and rarely go looking for them much - partially difficulty in finding them, partially uncertainty in identifying to species level.

 

It's generally not actual arguing, but difficult groups like gulls and Empidonax flycatchers can trigger debates depending on how each person sees or hears it. I don't care for that, and in my experience it has been common. I'm all for correctly ID'ing a species, but it shouldn't have to turn into a debate unless it's a legitimately difficult bird.

It's more the stopping and taking for really common birds like Canada Goose, Rock Pigeon, or House Sparrow. I still appreciate them, but I typically don't stop to really watch a species I could see anywhere I go. When birding I prefer to spend my time with species I'm not so familiar with.

 

I've never had a group of birders stop for any of those species. They are usually simply ignored, sometimes someone will call out the name of the bird in habit (something I do on occasion) but nothing more.

I've found that when birding with a group, there are one or two people who have the most experience. If a difficult bird shows up, they just say what they think it is and no one argues.