Tips and Tricks for Birding Beginners Video | Birding 101 with Sheridan Alford

Birds can be difficult to study considering the same ones aren't in the same spot every day. Learn tips and tricks to help you to bird like a pro with Sheridan Alford, co-founder of Black Birders Week.

Video Script:: 

- I'm Sheridan Alford
and this is Birding 101. (nature sounds) (gentle music) So, you found your best ways
to obtain the information, but every good mastery requires practice. Birds can be difficult to study considering the same ones
aren't there every day, or are they? To answer the question. No, but there are ways you
can use bird tendencies to get your basics down. (gentle music) Tip number one, listen to two or three
different bird songs before you go out in your
area and master those. Use the apps that you've
found work best for you and pick the birds that
frequent your home location. Most apps include spatial data
so that you can find birds that are found in your
region and what time of year. You can also see what other people in the neighborhood have reported seeing. It's like your own treasure hunt. (gentle music) Tip number two, as a beginner, you want to start out slow and a good season to start
slow is in the winter. During winter, all of your home
team birds are still around. These are the birds that do not migrate, and you can focus on
them in the off season. When spring and fall come back around, there are thousands of
migrants and although pretty, they can be overwhelming. Start with your manageable
backyard birds and go from there. (bird chirping) (gentle music) Tip number three, take out that field guide
and take some notes. Find the birds that belong to those two to three calls you listen to. Do they look how they sound? Take notes on some of the key
characteristics you can use to identify them. Like, color patterns, key shape features, relative size, habitat preference, like were they on the ground or high in trees, and other telltale characteristics that will help you narrow down the species while in the field. (gentle music) Tip number four, if you have binoculars and
plan on birding with those, it's a good idea to
practice your spotting. Find objects around your
house and see if you can go from naked eye to binocular spotting in the shortest amount of time possible. If safety permits, try the same exercise
either from your window or outside your house. Practice makes perfect. So the more you get
used to siting targets, the better it will get, especially when the
target is a moving bird. Pro tip, spot it with your eyes and then bring your
monopolies to your face. Do not search for the bird
through the binoculars. It is a process so do not rush yourself. Until next time, I'm Sheridan Alford, and thank you for watching, Birding 101. (gentle music)