How to be a Birder part 12

Hint # 12 Look at Birding websites

I have learned so much since first having access to the internet. The wealth of information can be overwhelming at times, so I have needed to become very selective and discerning in how much time I spend in research – and especially on just browsing. It is so easy to click from one interesting site to another.

Like most subjects, birds and birding sites are very common on the net. There are literally thousands of them, from hundreds of information pages on museum sites through to ramblings about birds and birding on personal blogs – and everything in between. Most birding organisations and bird clubs have their own web site. Birding guides and tour operators have sites. Birding equipment suppliers have sites. Then there are hundreds of accommodation offers specifically aimed at birders.

The types of sites I particularly appreciate and enjoy are those that feature bird photos. By now there must be tens of millions of photos available on the internet. I guess many hundreds of thousands of those are fabulous photos of birds – all kinds of birds from all over the world. With the advances in digital photography in the last five years and the ease of establishing a photo gallery on the internet, it has never been easier to let thousands of people view your bird shots. At the time of writing this article my photo gallery has only been going about few weeks. In that short time there have been over 27,000 views. Amazing.

Bird forums like Birding-Aus (Australia) and Birdchat (America) are a way for birders separated by thousands of kilometres to share their birding experiences. Birding-Aus and Birdchat are but two amongst dozens of such forums. Then there are newsgroups, groups that send out regular birding newsletters and all kinds of subscription services.

To look at some of the sites I really like click here.

To view my photo gallery click here.

To read more hints on being a birder, click here.

New Holland Honeyeater