Birding 101: Birding Without Leaving Home

BirdNote^®
Birding 101: Birding Without Leaving Home
Written by Jonese Franklin

Jonese Franklin: This is BirdNote.

    [Eastern Bluebird song, ML548822191]

If you are new to birding, you might assume that you need fancy binoculars or have to venture off to some exotic places to look for birds. Truth is, you don’t even have to leave your home to enjoy birds. In fact, many folks do it right from home. That’s usually how we first experience birds, by watching and learning the birds out the window every day.

    [Eastern Bluebird song, ML548822191]

And you don’t actually have to physically go anywhere to find birds. You can use a smartphone or computer to go birding. There are several websites where you can view live feeds of nests, like the Cornell Lab’s feed of a Red Tailed-Hawk nest in Ithaca, New York. Or the Hellgate Osprey nest at the University of Montana.

    [Juvenile Osprey begging for food, ML61504621]

You can even have your own bird feeder camera, thanks to at-home setups like Birdfy and Bird Buddy that allow people to watch the birds in their backyard. You can learn a lot about birds by observing their feeding habits and how they interact with other species.

    [White-breasted Nuthatch calls, ML306053, 0:21-0:24]

And then the next time someone complains that you’re on your phone too much, you’ll be able to tell them, hey, I’m enjoying nature. For BirdNote, I’m Jonese Franklin.

This episode is brought to you in loving memory of former BirdNote Board member Tom Darden, with thanks to his family for their support.

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Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Eastern Bluebird ML548822191 recorded by Jeff Ellerbush, Osprey ML61504621 recorded by Jeff Dyck, and White-breasted Nuthatch ML306053 recorded by Wil Hershberger. 
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2024 BirdNote September 2024
Narrator: Jonese Franklin

ID# birding-37-2024-09-23        birding-37