How to go birding in an unfamiliar country
I have only had a limited experience at birding in an unfamiliar country. In late 2005 and early 2006 I spent four days in Thailand and three weeks in Nepal. A handful of species were easily identified; I recognized them from birds I’d seen here in Australia. Most species were a struggle to identify, despite doing over six months of study in the relevant field guides before leaving home.
Many birders would recommend hiring local birding guides. These guides have local knowledge about where to find the best birds and most will be able to show you the best ways to identify what you are seeing. I only had the benefit of a local guide on two occasions. He was made available as part of the package deal from the travel agent I used. He was actually a general guide but his specialty happened to be birds; this was a bonus for me.
For birders travelling on a restricted budget, hiring a guide may be out of the question. The next best thing is to access someone through Birding Pals. This is a worldwide service provided to travellers who are birders. I understand that this is largely a volunteer service to birders everywhere.
Disclaimer: I haven’t used the service provided in this way, so I cannot say whether or not it is a worthwhile way to go. It just sounds like a great way of contacting and meeting fellow birders in another country. If any of my readers has any experience of Birding Pals, good, bad or indifferent, please leave a comment for the benefit of others.
Happy Birday Duncan
Someone who is a regular visitor and commenter here on my birding blog is Duncan from Ben Cruachan Blog. I must admit that I frequently check out his blog too. Duncan displays a very broad knowledge base and intense interest in all things of the natural world and his posts are always fascinating reading. His photographic skills are superb.
I really enjoyed his recent post called A birday and an Annibirdary. He has a superb shot of an Eastern Yellow Robin on this post.
Congratulations Duncan.
May you see many more “birdays” and many, many more birds.
Bird word: Lifer
- Lifer: the first ever time that a birder sees a species of bird it is called a “lifer”or a “tick”.
Birders are like everyone else; they love to see new things – in their case it’s new birds.
Many birders keep a life list of all the birds they have ever seen. Some of these can number in the thousands because there are potentially 9,730 birds to put on your life list (give or take a few dozen/hundred depending on which list you consult). Very few birders have reached the dizzy heights of having seen over 8000 different kinds of birds in their lifetime. And it takes a lifetime of dedication, determination, planning and quite a deal of spare time and cash. Oh – and a healthy dollop of good luck at being in the right place at the right time.
My life list is very modest; it’s in the mid 300s. I’ve not travelled extensively around the world for the purpose of birding. As a result, the chances of me seeing a “lifer” is still very high. With over 9000 species yet to see worldwide I’ll need another several lifetimes to get even near to that magical 8000 mark. Even in Australia I’ve yet to see more than half the species possible.
A “lifer” is sometimes called a “tick.” This comes from the habit of birders who make lists of species seen “ticking” off each species seen on a list.
For more articles about words associated with birds, go to my Glossary of Bird Words here.
Good Articles you may have missed
Readers who have come to this birding blog in recent days or weeks (welcome to you all) may have missed some of my earlier articles. Of course, dedicated readers will always go to the archives, or the categories or the contents section on the sidebar. This blog now has well over 1600 articles about birds, and I am adding new posts nearly every day – sometimes several times in the one day. If you do not want to miss anything, remember to subscribe to the RSS feeds (also on the sidebar).
Here are some early articles you may have missed. Click on the title to read the article:
- About me, birding and other stuff – how it all started.
- Short stay in Victor Harbor – birding on the south coast of South Australia.
- Stunning photos – about my camera and a link to a great photography site.
- Birds of the Adelaide Zoo – walk through aviaries give the photographer a great opportunity to hone those skills.
- Birds of the Monarto Zoological Park, Murray Bridge – this zoo is a ten minute drive from our home.
- Spotted Pardalotes – these delightful little birds are a breeding species in our garden.
- Mallee Ringnecks – these beautiful parrots are regular visitors to our garden.
This article was updated in July 2015.
Musk Lorikeet
Armchair Bird Twitching
Twitching is alive a well in Australia.
Over recent years there have been a number of well documented rare bird sightings in our country. Each of these has resulted in birders – twitchers – heading by car or plane to cross vast expanses of countryside just to “tick” a rare bird off their list of birds seen.
Then a few years ago we had Sean Dooley’s celebrated “The Big Twitch”. Sean spent a whole year – without any income – travelling the country trying to break the unofficial record for the most species seen in Australia in one calendar year. This adventure resulted in a very popular and entertaining book of the same name.
Every year various state bird organisations run twitchathons, 12 or 24 hour events where car loads of birders race around trying to see as many different species as possible in the given time. Some are having second thoughts about this concept. Sure – it raises lots of money for bird conservation. But at what cost? First there is the expense of fuel, then there are the extra carbon emissions racing around the country.
Someone has suggested that these events should be confined to birding on foot or bicycle. I like another suggestion; it appeals to the lazy birder in me.
The Armchair Bird Twitch
At least one birding organisation is organising a twitch where you stay in one place throughout the duration of the twitch. The Armchair Twitch details can be found here. I find this idea a great one – just get a few birding friends together with plenty of food, drinks, comfortable chairs and a place with a good view of birds.
What more could you want – ah, yes, a toilet nearby would be essential I guess.
Related articles:
- Twitching in Australia
- What is a Twitcher?
- The lazy birder – a 12 part series of articles on how to be a lazy birder.
- Twitcher: someone who is prepared to travel great distances or go to great effort or expense in order to see birds, often just a single bird, that they have never seen before so that it can be marked on their list of birds seen (called a “tick†or “liferâ€Â). The word ‘twitcher’ might have originated from their propensity to develop a nervous twitch until the rare or desired bird has been ticked off their list.
- Twitching: the habit or behaviour of some very keen or compulsive birders, ‘twitchers,’ who must travel great distances or go to great effort in order to see a rare or unusual bird, or a species they have never seen before.
Golden Headed Cisticola