Huh?

Yeah, it’s easy to do, a cinch to learn the different birds in your region and will make your day welcoming old friends and new to your yard!

So, how do you become a “birdwatcher”?  How do you get to know all the different species of birds out there, whether they are male or female, what their songs are, etc?  Will it take a huge investment of time, energy and money?

Here’s a list of the items you’ll need in order to become proficient in bird recognition:

• Your eyes
• Your ears
• A birdfeeder (you can’t go wrong with whatever one you choose that you like and that is within your budget, but it doesn’t hurt to do a little research before you buy, so check out this site…)
• Birdseed (here’s a quick guide to the different kinds available)
• And this fantastic book…which you can find here

The book is so easy to use.  It will make you an expert on every book in your yard, quickly.

The book is color-coded with a little bird icon on the left-side indicating the color of birds you’ll find in that particular section.  It then shows full-color photographs of the birds of that color and gives information on their song, their behaviors, their habitat, nesting, etc.

Every time we see a new bird come to our feeder we grab the book, which is right near the kitchen window, and look it up by its color and thumb through all the photographs to find what we’re looking for.  It’s fun, educational and will excite you!

There is also another fun resource out there for learning about bird types and their songs.  It’s called the Identiflyer and it’s a portable birdsong identifier.  It comes with different audio cards which picture birds of a region which you insert into the player.  Then you press the button near the bird whose song you want to hear and Presto!

You are on your way to becoming an expert Birdwatcher!

And goodness that cup of morning Joe will taste even better now that you can admire all the beautiful birds, and their songs, as they fly in and grab their breakfast at the birdfeeder by your kitchen window…