BIRDING & BIRD WATCHING: A WONDERFUL HOBBY

Birding and Bird watching is a wonderful hobby to dive into., The joy of birding rests simply not on the number of birds we spot. The wonderful experience we derive from the connection we establish with nature can’t be explained. Before going further into Birding and outlining the benefits of bird watching, let’s be sure how we should equip ourselves for the activity.

BIRDING AND BIRD WATCHING – ONE AND THE SAME?

Birding simply refers to the activity of observing birds in their natural habitats. ‘Bird watching’ and ‘Birding’, essentially refer to the same activity. Birding at the outset implies to a more active, exploratory and adventurous activity. But Bird watching may mean a very casual one. Yet both Birding and Bird watching relate one and the same and many a time interchangeable too.

BIRDING – WHERE DO WE START?

Birding Locations and Hot Spots: The best place to start birding is our own backyard. There can’t be a better place than that. Our backyard may give surprise in terms of numbers, which we would not have expected,
Where else we can spot ?
Local Marsh / Wetlands, grasslands, water bodies ( eg. Local Ponds, River beds, Dam sites and Sea Shore ), Nature Reserves & Parks are other places we should look for. Once experienced, you can venture into the other popular locations near by and far. The hot spots locations like Western Ghats, Kongan, North Eastern Region, Himachal, Uttarakand and desert regions within the country are the best places one should go for birding. For the birders who can take an international travels there are lot many popular locations / places. With its rich biodiversity, varied landscapes and grasslands these areas and locations offer plenty of opportunities for birdwatching.

BIRDING – HOW DO WE START?

Learn to be calm and patient: Birds can be hard to find / locate. So, it’s utmost important to be calm and patient to get the fulfilled sightings.
Spotting and identifying Birds: Birds’ size and shape, behavior and attitudes, calls and colors , flights and perching styles of the birds tells a lot about them. So, we have to pay lot of attention to these areas. Over a period time, you’ll start recognizing different IDs of the birds.
Local Natural Societies: Experienced Birders are the best guides as always. You can learn a lot from them. The best thing to do is take a membership in the group and local natural societies/birders’ club participate and birds count activities and join group outings. With the expansion of social networking sites, lot of online guiding tools are also available for a varied searches in these areas
Equip Yourself: You only need, just a good pair of binoculars and a birding guidebook or an app like ebird / Merlin to get going. So, have a small investment in buying a pair of good bino, a good birding reference book, a pocket size note book and a pen.
Keep a Journal: Just like we do document our travel we can do one for birding too. The best thing is to keep a pocket size note, to scribble what you see / observe, the species name/id, their behavior, where you sighted them etc., for the future reference and use.

WHY SO MUCH IMPORTANCE TO BIRD’S CALLS ?

Very rarely, a person’s day start without hearing the songs or chirping of birds. Birds actions are their vocabulary. One behavior may exhibit many meanings.
Eg. Preening, Head turning, shaking of head, Grinding or wiping of beak , tail wagging, so on and so forth.
Each birds have identifiable calls., Some hoot, screech, chirp, thrill, while others warble , whiny & buzz. Song birds have sounds for different occasions. They have alarm calls too. Birds sing to attract mates (usually by males) Songs used to be longer whereas the calls used to be shorter. Birds do have alarm calls like mammal. Contact calls keep them in touch with each other while Flight calls ensure that entire flock in flight are intact . Of course Begging calls are there, the one made by the chicks to parents . Obviously they beg, when they are hunger and showing their urge for their feed. There are quite a few online apps to identify the birds through recording their calls. These will be much useful for a beginner.
Listening, memorising and tuning our ears to their different calls, make us expert in the field.

BOOKS, JOURNALS & PUBLICATIONS ON BIRDING.

The article on birding will never end without mentioning the list of journals , magazines and books on the subject. Though the under given list is not an exhaustive one, the following few books and journals both from India and International levlel, are noteworthy.

1. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp
2. The Book of Indian Birds, by Salim Ali
3. A Guide to the Birds of India, by R. S. P. Bates and E. C. S. Baker
4. Indian Birds, by Krys Kazmierczak and Raj Singh
5. Birds of India, by Bikram Grewal
6. The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley
7. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Birds, by John L. Stokes and Donald W. Stokes
8. Birds of the World, by Les Christidis and Walter E. Boles
9. The Collins Bird Guide, by Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney, and Dan Zetterström
10. Handbook of the Birds of the World, by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, and Jordi Sargatal

Apart from these books and periodicals, several online magazines and journals are also available for a worthwhile reading. To name a few,
eBird India, Merlin, Indian Bird Conservation Network, Oriental Bird Club, Birdlife International, Xeno-canto Foundation.

AS AN END NOTE: Birding / bird watching is a fascinating hobby that require a combination of knowledge, skill, and patience. Having access to reliable resources can make a huge difference in enhancing one’s experience and appreciation for these activities. Along with that we should adhere all required safety and security mechanisms too.

For a beginner into Birding, I am sure this article will do a lot .
Have an enjoyable bird watching.