“You don’t need bird experience, you just need to experience”

— Kimberly Bradley, Connections Across the Spectrum

What is Birding, and Is It for Me?

Birding is the observation of birds, their presence in our communities, behavior, and patterns, as a recreational activity and/or as part of a participatory science project. Birds are found just about everywhere on Earth where people are, and birding can be done by any one of any ability. We can bird by listening to dawn songs as we wake up, going on bird walks with our neighbors, and even by watching bird feeder cams online. If you pay attention to the birds, you are a birder!!!!!

For those that have not intentionally observed birds before, that is okay. We are very excited that you are interested in starting, so we arranged this page which will give you some tips on how to get started. Just remember that birding is about observing and connecting with birds, so there is no “wrong” way to go birding. Let’s have some fun!

How to Get Started in Birding

Step 1: Look & Listen for Birds When Walking Outside

The first step to enjoying birding is to begin noticing the birds in your daily activities. As you go around your neighborhood or sit outside, are you seeing or hearing any birds? I find it easiest to observe birds when I am sitting somewhere quietly for 10 minutes whether that’s by some trees, grass, a pond, or urban structures.

After a few days of beginning to notice the birds, start to think about what kind of birds you see the most often. For example, are there loud, black birds you see every day? What does their call sound like, and where do they like to sit and gather?

Step 2: Gather Observations and Develop Questions

As you pay attention to the birds, what questions and curiosities are arising in your mind? What do you want to learn more about? Maybe you are seeing the same few types of birds every day and want to know their species, or maybe there was a bird you never saw before that you want to know more about.

When, in your daily routine, do you see the most birds? Is it just as you wake up, or is it when you watch the sunset? How many birds can you count of each type around you? What else makes you curious about the birds you see?

Step 3: Write Things Down

As you make new questions and observations about the birds you see or hear, record them so you can look back at and even add to them later.

I find it useful to write in a notebook or on my phone what I am seeing and the date, approximate time, weather, and location. For example, I would write:

Today, June 24, at around 2pm, I saw a black bird making a “Caw!” sound on the telephone wire. It was bigger than most birds I see from the bus stop. It is pretty cloudy today, so I wonder if it’s going to rain. Will this bird still be here when it’s raining, or will he take shelter?

But you can record as much or little as you want! You can even just note observations in your head if you have a good memory. Whatever works best for you.

That’s it! This is all it takes to go birding. Go out and try this step-by-step without putting too much pressure on yourself. You can go birding alone or with your family or friends, and remember: there is no “wrong” way to go birding.

Once you tried these three steps, CONGRATULATIONS!! You are now a birder 🙂

Later: Learning to Identify Birds and More

If you want to answer some of your questions that you wrote down, you can venture to our Birding Where You Are! page where you can find information on the focal birds near you, identification tips, and more information on birds including how we can attract more birds to our neighborhoods!

Here is a powerpoint that can help you master identifying 16 focal birds: Learn 16 Common Bird Species!.

Helpful Tools

Another fun activity is to record bird calls with the free Merlin Bird ID app while you are observing birds. Merlin can identify birds from their bird calls, which can help you connect the bird you see in front of you or the bird call you hear every day to a specific species, which you can then learn more about by searching for the species on All About Birds. All About Birds also can show you birds common to your area and help you identify a bird from their shape if you don’t know the species!

Once you are able to identify the bird species around you, you can take your field notes that you took in Step 3 to eBird, an app and website that lets you publish your bird observations online for millions of birders to learn from! If you want to learn how to use eBird, there is a free course you can access here.

Here at Celebrate Urban Birds, we promote birding in your own backyard and getting to know our feathered friends in our own communities. Therefore, we don’t see binoculars as necessary in birding. However, if you’re interested in learning how to use binoculars, you can check out this page here!

Remember, there is no “wrong” way to go birding, and the important thing is observing and connecting with birds. Just have fun! And invite your neighbors and friends to go birding with you–while sitting in front of your window, or going on a bird walk!

You can reach us at urbanbirds@cornell.edu for any questions or feedback on how you enjoyed birding!