Extreme Newbie- Any suggestions?

17 years ago

I live in North Texas and my family and I have started spending a lot more time outdoors- hiking, canoeing, and dabling in the camping scene. I have always had a bird interest since I was a small child (my Grandfather fed birds and watched them in his backyard)but have not pursued that interest until now. Now, I would like to get more involved in watching for birds and in bird photography. Problem is, I have no idea where in the world to start. I have one book, Smithsonian Handbooks, Birds of Texas. Any ideas?

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Comments (4)

chickadeemelrose
17 years ago
hi laura,

I am an extreme newbie also - I live just outside Boston.
One book that we now keep right by our dining room window is Peterson's "Feeder Birds" guide for the northeastern U.S. It is simple, with good illustrations for sightings, and gives very basic food preferences. This is if you're interested in doing any birdwatching/bird feeding at home. I'm sure there is a southwestern U.S. version, which might be helpful.

I have no idea about bird photography, but there are some incredible bird photographers in this forum - you can see from some of the recent photos posted. I wish I were so talented!!

Good luck (to you and me) in this new fascinating pursuit.
And good for you for having a family that enjoys the outdoors.

Donna Miner
cjc45
17 years ago
I "grew up" with Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Texas. It's good because it has both the eastern and the western birds that you're likely to see. Look for classes at a nature center or Audubon Society, there's nothing like going out with a a group led by an experienced birder.
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rachel_frome_ky
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Hi, welcome to what can become a fascinating hobby.

You can be involved in birding as little or as much as you like with any kind of digital camera with at least a 10 X zoom. Binoculars and point and shoot cameras start in the hundreds and run into the thousands if you switch to DSLR cameras, and the lenses can cost as much or more. But you don't have to take photos to enjoy birds, and I bot an excellent light-weight 24X pair of bins for $100

If you just want to feed birds instead of going out into their habitat, there are inexpensive feeder bird booklets in WalMart in the birdseed section.
You can feed black oil sunflower seed in tube feeders, maybe have a hanging suet feeder and an inexpensive bird bath, but some people on this forum put in sunken pools or buy solar powered bird bath fountains, so you can pay anything there also.

Left alone, Nature stays in balance, but when humans start putting out food things can quickly get out of hand.

If you use tray feeders or feed scraps, dog food, cracked corn, peanuts, or cheap bird seed, you might quickly flood the neighborhood with aggressive non-native species such as Starlings and House Sparrows, as well as Grackles, Blue Jays, squirrels, chipmunks, and if you spread food on the ground, probably raccoons and rats..all quickly breeding and multiplying on your coin, and preying on the native song-bird population you want to watch.

I only keep a couple of feeders under my eaves because I prefer to do my birding where birds are not artificially fed. Most feeder birds eat seeds or suet and I prefer to observe/photograph warblers and vireos, if I can do it.

If you bird in a wildlife sanctuary, or near a wetland or ocean you might be able to bird from your car; I took many wonderful photos from the car when we visited FL over New Year. In fact, that's my preferred method now that it's tick season!
That can work if you have a large bird that lets you approach, or a camera with strong zoom, preferably all three..

Here's a photo taken yesterday coming back from swimming on Poppy Mnt. We turned off the car engine and rolled forward to observe these wild turkeys crossing the road ahead
From 3-21-09, Poppy
litholad
17 years ago
There are several people on this board from North Texas, including myself.
The Smithsonion guide is a good one, but I would suggest you get both Peterson's and Kaufman's guide to Birds of Texas. I've picked up both at Half Price Books in the DFW area.
The great thing about our area is we are on the edge of many birds range of both Western and Eastern species. It's not unusual to see both at the feeder, especially in winter.
Rachel has given you some excellant advice. This board is a wealth of knowlege, so read as much as you can and you will find it's an exciting and rewarding hobby.

Extreme Newbie- Any suggestions?

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chickadeemelrose

cjc45

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