Hi forum,
I know nothing about bird watching other than what i have searched over the internet for a few days,
I know nobody who does it and i have no idea why it popped into my head and thought it would be something that may be interesting,
Anyway the main reason for my post is to see if anyone can give me some pointers and thingss to do to start getting into it,
things llike are there any intreesting books that may help someone like me or any equiptment or things that i should have?
As i said i really know nothing about it but have looked through this site and forums and seen how enjoyable people find it, and some peopls pictures look great,
cheers Benny
Benny - the essentials are a pair of binoculars and a field guide and time to get out there; where do you live and I can then suggest how you can find places to go; or there are a numbe rof books for this purpose
Peter
Benny, you lucky devil. You're about to embark on one of life's most exciting, awe-inspiring journeys of discovery. Bird watching will take you to places & introduce you to creatures you never knew existed.
There are heaps of books about identifying birds & about bird behaviour. Some of the field guides are Peter Slater A Field Guide to Australian Birds, Graham Pizzey A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Simpson & Day Field Guide to the Birds of Australia & Michael Morcombe Field Guide to Australian Birds. Each has its strengths & limitations so a trip to your local bird field guide shop where you can browse through a selection might prove worthwhile.
I've had heaps of enjoyment reading Robert Burton Bird Behaviour but it was published in 1985 so may be difficult to track down. Googling <bird behaviour> might reveal more recently published books.
I'm no hot shot on technical details but binoculars able to focus quite closely & with good light gathering power will enable you to see lots of birds that are close to you. I've found 10 power binoculars to be quite good.
You'll probably find it dificult to locate birds with your binoculars at first but practice will make much better if not perfect.
Joining a bird watching group will help you to learn quickly what species can be found where.
I hope you do find it interesting Benny. Good luck and have fun. The more birdwatchers in this world the better place it will be.
Hi Benny,
Welcome to the world of birdwatching! While some people make it their life's work to look for, identify and photograph birds, most people do bird watching as a hobby when they have time, I have found that as I do more of it, I become more interested in it and find more time for it.
I started just by identifying andobserving the birds where I live. There are over 100 species that visit our area and lots of them I have not seen well enough to identify so I am still working on that.
It has already been said that binoculars and bird field guide are a great starting point. Joining a website like this one is good too as there are many well experienced people with loads of knowledge to answer any questions.
To find out what birds are in your area you can go to http://birdata.com.au/homecontent.do and type in your postcode in the little search feature at the bottom of the page. You will get a list of birds you will most likely find in your area, then use your field guide to find out about them, their habitat type, and whether they are migratory and other useful information that helps you find the birds.
Then enjoy. A camera can be handy so when you find a bird you can't identfy you can post it on the Bird Identification forum on this site and others can help you identify it.
Most of all enjoy the process and the learning.
Happy Birding!
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