How To Become A Bird Expert With Bird Watching

When we built our cabin, we put in a large window seat for gazing out into the woods.  Later we added a few bird feeders in key visual areas.  I am amazed at all of the different and beautiful species of birds there are in Michigan.  I am happy to say that I am now quite good at identifying all the varieties.  To become an expert there are a few easy tips to follow.

The first thing you need to do is to buy a bird book or guide for your area.  We have one that is for the whole U.S which takes a little longer to page through to find the birds in just our area.  A guide for an individual state will cut out the birds that you will never see.

Once you see a new bird, look it up in your guide and then record it in a journal with the date.  You will start to learn not only the bird species but also the time of year they come to visit.

If you don't have a natural habitat that birds will gravitate to, you can create a bird haven with flowers and of course a variety of feed, like sunflower seeds, that birds like.

Sometimes the birds don't quite get close enough to your viewing point.  This is where a good pair of binoculars comes in handy.  You are then able to pick up all of the details to properly identify the bird.

All of these tips will get you on your way to becoming a bird expert.  Hopefully, you will find it as enjoyable as I do!  Here is a picture of our newest species to come into our area.  It is a male Rose Breasted Grosbeak.  The males seem to always be the colorful ones while the females are a lot plainer.

My next plan is to get a better camera for capturing their photos up close!