Birdwatching

Whether you’re a longtime birder or just getting started, there’s always more to learn. Here are a few articles you might find interesting:

• Birding by ear -- Learn how to identify birds by their songs and calls
• Where to go birdwatching near you
• Where to go birding while traveling
• Understand the principles of birding ethics, from the American Birding Association
• What color(s) to wear while birding? Here's the answer

These BirdNote stories and blogs can give you more ideas:

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How to Get Started

• Birdwatching 101 – Habitat, Where to Look
• Birdwatching 102 - Watching Birds’ Behavior
• Birdwatching 103 - Tracking the Seasons
• Birdwatching 104 – A Summary
• Advice to Beginning Birders from David Sibley

What to Listen For

• Bird Sound Types and Qualities, Part 1
• Bird Sound Types and Qualities, Part 3
• Bird Song ID

How to Identify Birds

• Crow or Raven - Who’s Who?
• How to Tell a Crow from a Raven
• Little Brown Birds
• Gull Identification, Part 1
• Gull Identification, Part 2
• Identifying Birds in Flight
• Using the Merlin Bird ID app

Online Audio Resources

• The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds, at Cornell University
• Xeno-Canto, a worldwide community database of shared bird sounds
• Western Soundscape Archive, a repository of ambient, bird, and animal sounds from the western U.S.
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology offers lots of resources
• Start Identifying Birds by Their Songs and Calls- from Audubon

Articles/Stories about Bird Song

• Understanding Birdsong Donald Kroodsma and Terry Gross, From *Fresh Air*
• The Music of Wild Birds (NPR)
• The Bird Singer and His Travel Log (NPR)
• Birding by Ear Basics, How to Identify Birds by Sound, by Melissa Mayntz