Birding on foot is one of my favourite ways of spending time in nature.
Relative to driving around the bush it forces you to take it slow. This affords you the privilege of exercising your senses, and so you hear, feel and see life on a smaller scale.
Along with getting in a moderate form of exercise, birding also means you get to explore places you would never have considered before. The ranging team are currently taking part in a Birding Big Year, in which we start our lists again and record as many species as possible in 2021.
So with birding on all of our minds we invite you to take part in your own birding big year, and for those of you who don’t know where to start, here is a short guide on how to get into it.
1. Start off with a well-illustrated bird book. What I mean by this is choose a book with an illustrated glossary on the inside of the front or back page which gives you a clear image of prominent species from different family groups. This will go a long way in helping you narrow down which bird you are trying to identify.
As you can see the quick index makes a huge difference when trying to find a bird.
2. Take note of the bird’s general impression of size and shape. This is known as its “GISS”. How big is it in comparison to a common bird that you see all the time such as a dove or a sparrow? What colour is it? Does it have any prominent markings or features such as a ring around its eye or a crest on its head? If you are birding with other people it often helps to say these observations out loud so that everyone takes note of it and can work together as a team when identifying it a bit later.
3. Look for more detail than you think is needed. Often there are two birds which look alike and taking note of a small feature can make the difference in achieving a positive ID.
After hearing a Diederik cuckoo calling we showed some patience and waited for it to come out. Eventually we were rewarded with a great view of it.
The Klaas’s cuckoo (above) and Diederik cuckoo (right) look similar at a glance but on closer inspection, the Klaas’s lacks the red eye and white specks on the wing of the Diederik’s.
4. Make up rhymes to help you remember certain calls. It makes life so much easier when you are looking at a bird that you are not absolutely sure of and it gives a call that you know, allowing you to identify it.
The African Emerald Cuckoo has a distinct call that sounds like it is saying, “Pretty Georgie!”
5. Behaviour and their habitat. Take note of your surroundings when viewing a bird. The habitat you are in will rule out a whole bunch of candidates. Watch what the bird is doing. How does it fly? Where does it land – low to the ground or high up in the canopy? Although it sounds absurd these observations make the difference.
6. Start with the pretty ones. There is no doubt birding can be tedious. It’s not fun when it is boiling hot and you’ve been scrambling through thorny sickle bush trying to identify a backlit cisticola. So start off by showing interest in the flashy beautiful birds and this might spark your interest onto the more challenging ones.
The striking colours of a Southern Carmine Bee-eater almost always grab the attention of safari goers whether they are birders or not.
7. Exercise patience. Birding is not something to be rushed. Birds come and go as they please. It’s impossible to see them all so take it easy by sitting in a nice spot and let them come to you.
8. Work on strengthening your core and neck muscles! This is a joke, but seriously staring through your binoculars into a forest canopy and trying not to shake becomes tiring after a while.
So when you visit us on your next safari ask your guide how many birds he has ticked in 2021 and try help him or her add a few more to their list.
Great tips Josh. We love watching birds. In the garden, Kruger, Kgalagadi, Botswana. We are not very good at it and sometimes forget what is the name of the bird calling. The more you go out in nature the more you learn actually.
Josh, I saved the Souther Carmine Bee-eater, and Klaas Cuckoo🤗
Thanks for the great tips. I love birding though not all day long.
The African Emerald Cuckoo and Southern Carmine Bee-eater are spectacular!
I think the Southern Carmine Bee-eater would drive an artist to distraction. (-:
Thank you so much for all the advice. I am definitely going to start with my list. Do you maybe have a birding book to recommend?
Roberts or Sasol would be my first two choices Wian. Good luck and happy birding!
Very important points there!!
Thanks Josh you gave us some good pointers. We love watching the birds and have identified quiet a few already. In our surroundings here we have lots of different birds, we feed them fruits and others seeds. We saw a diederick chick been raised by finches. The lesser stripped swallows have made a new nest by my kitchen window. Previously they had a nest under the lappa roof for 9 years, but the wind swallows were harrasing the lesser stripped swallows so they came closer to our house. They are very talkative and even come and show us their little ones, once they can fly. We are so privileged to have so many different birds here right by us at home. The spotted eagle owl pair also had one chick and all grown up now. So beautiful and we keep looking for new birds.
You’ve presented great tips but I know it takes a lot of practice to become a good birder- to learn the sounds, habits, markings, etc. It’s a good idea to buy a book with photos and descriptions of the local birds. I see a couple in my yard that I’ve yet to identify. Hopefully on my upcoming trip to Sabi Sand, I’ll be able to identify a few more birds than just the rollers and martial eagle 🦅 with a bit of help.
👌
Excellent information and tips Josh! Happy birding!
Thanks for the tips Josh! I often get birds with similar markings muddled up when the lighting is too harsh. 😊
I have had birds show up a all of a sudden around me in 2021 and now these great tips. Thank you. Off to dig out my binoculars!
I love watching the colorful birds – and I have a slight obsession with Bee Eaters and Rollers (particularly the Lilac breasted one) – not sure why everyone is so down on the poor Rollers LOL – they are beautiful! So hard to take a great photo of them though