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Bird-Watching for Beginners Start with a Bird Feeder and Binoculars by Sandra Murphy
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or those that love animals but can’t provide a home to a domestic pet, wild birds are just outside the window. Between 50 and 60 million Americans list birdwatching as a hobby. To start, all we need is a bird feeder. For safety and comfort, position feeders near a tree or bush at least 15 feet from windows. Scott Logan, an Audubon Society board member in Sherman Oaks, California, cautions, “Birds stay alert for predators. An unmarked window looks like an escape route. They won’t see the glass.â€? Products like Window Alert, a KLJHS [OH[ YLĂ…LJ[Z \S[YH]PVSL[ YH`Z IPYKZ see but humans don’t, can prevent a crash. A book on local birds will describe the best food to attract them, whether residents or just passing through. Bluebirds love mealworms. /\TTPUNIPYKZ SPRL Ă…VYHS ULJ[HYZ HUK VYPVSLZ WYLMLY JP[Y\Z Ă…H]VYZ *HYKPUHSZ HUK QH`Z KPUL VU Z\UĂ…V^LY ZLLKZ Always provide unseasoned, unsalted seeds. In cold weather, also remember to hang homemade suet combining one part organic regular fat peanut I\[[LY ^P[O Ă„]L WHY[Z VYNHUPJ UVU .46 NLUL[PJHSS` TVKPĂ„LK JVYU meal. Pour fresh water in the birdbath daily, change hummingbird nectar every three days and discard moldy seeds and old suet. Feeding year-round doesn’t interfere with migration, according 40
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to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in Ithaca, New York. Migration, nest building, feeding a new family and staying warm in colder weather require substantial calories. “American NVSKĂ„UJOLZ HYL ZVJPHS HUK ^PSS Z[H` to eat,â€? adds Logan. “Blue jays and titmouses are ‘grab-and-go’ birds.â€?
Join in the Fun In Arlington, Texas, Cathy Stein, owner of EclecticDesignChoices.com, will participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count this year from February 12 to 15 (Audubon.org/content/aboutgreat-backyard-bird-count). “One easy resource for identifying birds is Merlin, the free app from Cornell Lab,� says Stein. “Take the bird’s picture, which is helpful in identifying details that can be overlooked or forgotten otherwise.� Merlin works like facial recognition for birds, comparing eyes, beaks and tails to species in its database by location (Merlin.AllAboutBirds.org). Audubon’s free app includes birdcalls (Tinyurl. com/AudubonFreeBirdApp). Jon Weber-Hahnsberg, a 12-yearold volunteer at the Dallas Zoo, and his seven-member team won last year’s statewide birding competition hosted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department by identifying 72 species in 12 hours. “Now I’m hooked,� he says. “Outside the city, there are snowy egrets, waterfowl, hawks and owls to see.� National wildlife refuges managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are suitable birding sites for both
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novices and pros. Here are some tips for beginners. Focus on big, easy-to-see birds. Sandhill crane tours are a hit in Mississippi and other Gulf Coast states (fws.gov/refuge/Mississippi_ Sandhill_Crane). Concentrate on birds that travel PU ÅVJRZ *VTTVU YLKOLHK K\JRZ migrate in great numbers to the Texas coast each winter (Tinyurl.com/ LagunaAtascosaBirdlife). Look for standouts, birds with characteristics that capture the imagination, like the speed of a peregrine falcon, large wingspan of a California condor or unusual color of Florida’s roseate spoonbills. (Visit fws. gov/refuge/Cape_Meares and fws.gov/ refuge/JN_Ding_Darling.) 0U 4HPUL ZLL W\MÄUZ H[ [OL VUS` colony that allows visitors to go ashore for a close-up look (MaineBirdingTrail. com/MachiasSealIsland.htm). Not a
I think the most important quality in a birdwatcher is a willingness to stand quietly and see what comes. Some people are very competitive in their ELUGLQJ 0D\EH WKH\¡OO die happy, having seen a thousand species‌ but ,¡OO GLH KDSS\ NQRZLQJ ,¡YH spent all that quiet time being present. ~Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Memoir