No one knows the sights and sounds of nature quite like a bird watcher. By taking a half-second look at a small darting assemblage of brown,
yellow, and white feathers and adding a call note that sounds something like
"chip," a "birder" can tell you, not only was that one of 42 different types of
warblers, but it specifically was a yellow-rumped warbler.
This is not a boast. It's a simple fact. To distinguish among the
780 species of birds found in North America, birders must quickly process a
great deal of information on color patterns, call notes, and even the
shapes of bills. They have to know what to key in on when they see a strange
bird and note its overall size, how it moves through a bush or tree, and the
shape of the wings. Such sensory work outs help to develop great
visual and hearing acuity among birders. In fact, birders are generally much
more observant than the average person.
To the beginning bird-watcher, however, trying to identify even
common species can be extremely frustrating, and many people give up before
they ever actually begin. A small gray bird flashes up to the top of a
bush.
Quick, grab your binoculars! Start flipping through your field guide.
Take another look at the bird. Flip back a page or two..suddenly the
bird is gone, but there is a different one lower in the bush. All that page
riffling and binocular lifting begins anew.
This pamphlet is intended to help you get beyond this frustrating
early state. It's a crash course in the basics of bird-watching. Study this
pamphlet carefully and you'll be well on your way to greater enjoyment
of the world around you because birding focuses on some of the most
spectacular creatures on earth. Birds are highly visual creatures - just like
people - and some species don breath-taking combinations of yellows,
blues, reds, blacks, and greens to make themselves more obvious. They also
come in a wide variety of shapes and forms, which adds considerably to the pleasures of bird-watching.
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