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Birding 101: Learning How to Strike Out
A bad day of birding can still teach you a lot!
© Dorothy Knie
When you go birding, sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time and there are more species than you can count. Other times, not so lucky. Striking out when looking for birds is frustrating. But a bad day of birding can teach you a lot. Try doing some research into the conditions that day and talking to people that know about birds in your area – they’ll probably commiserate with their own stories about striking out.
BirdNote®
Birding 101: Learning How to Strike Out
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
[Bird chorus]
When you go birding, sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time and there are more species than you can count.
[Birdsong fades, whistling wind sad harmonica plays]
Other times, not so lucky. Not a song, not a sight of a bird.
[Whistling wind]
Striking out when looking for birds is frustrating. But it’s an essential part of the journey. A bad day of birding can teach you just as much as a good day — if you ask the right questions. Like, was there something about the time of day, the weather, or nearby human activities that affected the birds? Am I in the right habitat for the species I’m looking for?
Doing some research after a slow day for birds can help reveal why you had the experience you did. Try talking with folks in your area that know about birds — they can provide some context for what you went through, and most likely, they’ll commiserate with their own stories about striking out.
[Harmonica plays]
As in other parts of life, a little failure in birding is inevitable, but it’s a great teacher.
For BirdNote, I’m Jonese Franklin.
[Harmonica plays]
Support for BirdNote is provided by the Bobolink Foundation and generous listeners around the world.
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Producer: Mark Bramhill
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. Environmental ML41129 recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2024 BirdNote March 2024
Narrator: Jonese Franklin
ID# birding-34-2024-03-12 birding-34
Conor Gearin
Writer