I have just joined. I am a rank beginner, just starting to identify the birds in the backyard and surrounds. There are so many birds that i am beginning to identify by their songs, yet I have yet to see a lot of them. The spotted doves coo all day long. The koels, lorrikeets, (although i have difficulty differentiating their call from the noisy mynas), the lovely sound of the butcher birds, birds that sound a bit like magpies but are not and many more.
Elizabeth
Welcome to BIBY (Birds In Backyards) Elizabeth. I hope you enjoy learning about birds and please feel free to post photos of some birds if you have any. Have fun! :-D
M.M.
Welcome to the birding journey, Elizabeth! I'm sure you'll find both birding and being on this forum rewarding. We'd love to see any photos you get of the birds in your area or any interesting observations you make, and most certainly happy to try and help with ID
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Thank you both, I am pretty hopeless with photos, but have fun with them, which is what matters I suppose.
Elizabeth
elizabeth
Hello and Welcome!! It's so great to have you here. I hope you enjoy your time here, there are heaps of people who are always happy to share knowledge and help out if you're stuck on a bird call :) And having fun with your photos is very important! As long as you're happy with them, and you had fun!
Enjoy your time here,
Elsie
Thanks for that Elsie.
Elizabeth
elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth,
Welcome and enjoy! There is a feast for the eyes and the mind on the forums. Please upload some of your pictures to share. Plenty of is are still in early learning stages of photography and bird identification, so while we do have some excellent photographers, highly experienced birders and a load of knowledge and experience here the site is for everyone who just enjoys the birds.
Looking forward to hearing more from you.
Cheryl
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Thank you Cheryl, you have some very beautiful pictures.
elizabeth
Elizabeth, always keep in mind that we all began somewhere. Or so my parents told me. Welcome!
Too true, thank you.
elizabeth
Thank you Elizabeth,
My photographs are improving over time, I am a long way behind many of the brilliant photographers who frequent this website but I have never let my amateur status prevent me from sharing photographs of the birds I find. I don't have the professional camera gear either and it is financially out of my reach but I find my bridging camera (the bridge between fully automatic cameras and DSLRs) to be quite good. I use the Canon SX60HS and have made myself use it only on manual settings so I am forcing myself to learn about the settings.
When I started out on this website a few years ago I found the Bird Finder feature on Birds in Backyards to be very helpful in helping me to identify the birds in my yard. It isn't perfect but there is tons of information and many of the birds have recordings of their calls too which helps enormously in some situations. It also helps you learn to recognise the differences between similar birds such as the differences between the Red Wattlebird and the Little Wattlebird which to long time birders can be overly obvious but when you start out it may not be so obvious.
I also own a few field guides which have at various times become my bedtime stories I concentrate on learning the birds in my area and what to look for and where I might find it, our yard has several different forms of habitat so different birds visit different areas.
I hope you truly enjoy your time here and find what you are needing!
Cheryl
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Thanks Cheryl, yes the fact sheets on this site are very helpful. And i am finding that i can identify more birds which is a really good feeling. And i am learning heaps by coming onto the forums. I don't have a camera yet - I will get around to that eventually hopefully.
Elizabeth
elizabeth