Right in my Own Backyard - Birdwatching and Birdfeeding - by Brandt Carter
posted: Dec. 02, 2021
Birdwatching and Birdfeeding
Birdwatching and birdfeeding are not the same hobby! People who feed birds may watch the birds and never get out of their yard to go look for birds to identify, and people who watch birds may never feed a bird in their yard but go miles and continents away to add a bird to their life list.
I've written lots of advice about birdfeeding, so I'd like to digress now to focus more on birding or birdwatching - the activity of observing wild birds. Birding is something you can do in your own backyard, your local park (Eagle Creek, Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Marion College Ecolab are perfect locations), and anywhere you travel. Many are the organized trips available to take you to see birds of the region and distant, more exotic environments such as Costa Rica.
People of all ages watch birds. It's an activity you can keep doing all your life, in any part of the world. Children can begin with an adult mentor, whether a teacher, parent, or grandparent. All you need is a pair of binoculars, a bird identification book, and a booklet to record the birds you have seen. What is amazing is that learning four or five birds is often done during preschool years. Looking out a window of the car or house and identifying a cardinal has happened for most toddlers.
Here are a few resources about birdwatching. Visit the internet (
www.birdwatching.com). Join a local bird club or participate in the Sunday park birdwatching hikes. "Bird Watcher's Digest" is a good magazine devoted to birdwatching. There are books and video available: Stokes Guide to Eastern Birds, Peterson Field Guide East, or software such as "Thayer's Bird Identification." Birding is the fastest-growing outdoor activity in America. According to a survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 51.3 million Americans report that they watch birds, and more are taking it up all the time. Start now. The next time you are outside, stop, listen and look for a bird.
brandt@broadripplegazette.com