Birding 101: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Birding

Birding for me is something I kind of unintentionally keep separate from the rest of my life. I do have a few hobbies that involve collecting but when it comes to birding, I have a journal where I record everything and don't share it at all and I really don't want to. Unless I saw something that might be important for conservation, I don't see why I would. I just love looking at birds

Haha, that video did it. I am now all caught up. Good video. I like the basic opening statement: you don't need anything to start out. You can walk up to your kitchen window and - hey look a Cardinal - and you're in. Just enjoy. And the rabbit hole goes so deep that the fun never stops.

Great video overall, but I really disagree with your suggestion of starting with bridge cameras. I started with a Nikon P950 and was extremely dissatisfied with the autofocus and morning/evening light performance for bird photography. I found myself fighting against the camera to get decent pictures. I think it's a much better idea to start with one of Canon's more inexpensive APS-C mirrorless cameras and their RF 100-400 lens. Both can be picked up through Canon's refurbished program for not much more money than the bridge cameras you suggested, especially when there is a sale going on. The autofocus and low light performance is lightyears ahead of your suggested cameras, because those superzoom bridge cameras accomplish their high zoom range by having a positively tiny sensor. Another benefit of this approach is that it leaves a lot of room for future lens or camera body upgrades if the bird photography bug really bites you, whereas if you buy a bridge camera you're stuck with it until you sell it.

Bird photographer here. I’ve been learning birding for about 3 years now. I absolutely love Merlin. I wish it were available on my Apple Watch to just record while I hike. I’m just amazed that the more you look, the more you see! I live in OH, and we have a great spring migration. Many of my friends think I’ve been on some faraway vacation when they see the bird photos that I’m getting very close to home. In general birders are just really nice friendly people, excited to share their knowledge. I’ve found the community to be very welcoming. So glad that you mentioned ethics! Nature first! I love your channel and always learn something new!

I don't know who originally wrote this, but I like it so much I've had it posted on my refrigerator
for many years - probably before the term "birding" became widely used ?
It says; "By some, bird-watching is regarded as mild paralysis of the central nervous system,
which can only be cured by rising before the dawn and sitting in a bog."

Great summary and practical tips!

So nice to start at the beginning.making things clear and understandable

As a newbie birder one of my mentors told me 'Birding is a progressive disease' It's so true.

I just now decided to start birding because of your video 😊

Good morning to you from Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR. Even though I am a beginner bird enthusiast and have been taking photos of birds for the past 3 years, I find that if / when I use a pair of binoculars to identify a bird, then take photos, the bird would be gone. So I prefer to shoot first than search first. Thanks for the tips.

Thanks for the great ideas and suggestions.
🪶 🪽 🐦‍⬛ 🦉 🦜 🪿

I really enjoyed this content. I have more than 200 species of birds on my life list.

Just got back into birding a few days ago and this video just came out Thanks