Beginner's Guide to Birding

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Beginner's Guide to Birding

Birding is a recreational activity for observing birds in a particular area, be it in one's backyard, park, or lake in a wildlife area where birds inhabit. This hobby doesn't require any specific skill such as dancing, painting or drawing, etc. to pursue. All you need is some leisure to pursue this activity.

During the covid -19 breakout, people were confined to their houses for months together in most countries. This was when people got in touch with nature and birding. As busy life came to still, wild creatures, have left their inhabitants to stretch their legs and go beyond into some of the human habitats.

Henceforth, most citizens discovered some new and unfamiliar birds in their localities. It was a delight to watch the birds and other creatures relocate into human areas for a short time, during the frustrated and despaired periods of staying indoors. 

This recreational activity has become very popular amongst kids, youth as well as elderly people. 

Benefits of Outdoor Birding

  1. Stay connected with Nature.
  2. Reduces Stress and Depression.
  3. Develops Self-awareness.
  4. Develops knowledge about birds and their behaviors.
  5. Increases mental peace & calmness.
  6. Alternative to having pets.
  7. Keeps one physically active.
  8. A break from busy work life.
  9. Provides Entertainment.
  10. Reduces addition from mobiles & other gadgets.

Pre-requisite and Tips for Birding




1. Location: You can do birding anywhere wherever it is comfortable for you. For Beginners, Backyard is the best choice. If not possible, a balcony or nearby park or lake will also do.

2. Sunrise and Sunset:  This is the best time for bird watching as birds will be very active around these timings. 6am-9am, 4:30 pm-6:30 pm. IST

3. Bird Field/Pocket Guide: You need to familiarize yourself with the bird species around your neighborhood and also watch out for any new species visiting your area. Additionally, you can also buy Bird
books to learn about their identity.


Buy Bird book/field book from Amazon India





4. Binocular or Spotting scope:  Binocular is a must for birding. For viewing distant objects, Binoculars come with magnification ranges between 4x to 25x. For more clear vision, the Spotting scope comes with a low magnification range between 11x & 15x and a higher range of 60x, 80x and 100x.

Shop for Binoculars/ Spotting Scope from Amazon India


5. Bird feeder, Bird food, and Water (bird water bath) You can buy a bird feeder of choice. Hanging feeders are good for small birds like sparrows and tray feeders are good for medium & bigger birds like pigeons, chickens, and peafowls. Bird food and water need to be placed daily,  especially in the summer as water and food are constantly in demand.

Also, make sure you have some fruits, flowers, and nuts growing plants and trees in your backyards. Some birds like sunbirds, flowerpeckers, etc feed on nectar available in flowers and few others relish fruits, nuts, and grains. 

The Birdbath will come useful in the summer season. Water needs to be refilled each time it gets empty.

To attract birds to your backyard, make sure you are consistently putting out food and water in feeders for birds on a daily basis.



Shop for Bird feeders from Amazon India





Shop for Birds food & Birdbath  from Amazon India






Avoid these foods while feeding birds (toxic for birds)

  • Chocolate
  • Onion & Garlic
  • Salt
  • Fats & Oils
  • Caffeine
  • Dairy Products
  • Honey
  • Permitted colored food
  • Alcohol




6. Be observant & Patient:   Wear some light clothes and cautiously be slightly hidden from the sight of birds (from a window or hiding behind a bush) so that they don't get scared by your sight. Moreover, you need to be silent & patiently observe them from a distance. Patience is a must here.  Do not make any jerking moments as they are sensitive to both sounds & sudden moments.



7.  D SLR Camera & notepad/ Journal:  if you love taking pictures, you can secretly take pictures/videos of them through your mobile camera or DSLR  camera with a zoom lens of more than 300mm is good for backyard birding. If not, you can go just for a zoom lens with less than 100mm as a beginner, also depending on the distance and location of the bird sighting.

Another alternative is to note down what you sighted in a notepad or a journal.


Shop for  D SLR Camera & zoom lens from Amazon India




Shop for Notepads /Journals from Amazon India








8. Join  Birdwatching/ Wildlife Groups on Social Media:  Getting connected with other people on social media with the same interests is a great thing. This is where you can share your photographs & ideas in social media groups like Facebook groups and get enlightened about bird species in detail from multiple places.




9.  Respect Birds and their Habitat:  Please do not chase after birds nor invade their habitat. Avoid using mobile for calls and audio recording from the audio device. Respect nature and wildlife and follow the rules of Birding.







Meenakshi Thopse is a Blogger/writer, working presently in the field of Digital marketing. She started the "Best Courses In Digital World" FB page & Blog to promote Data Science & Digital Marketing online courses to budding job seekers to build the required skills for their careers. Also, she launched Sri Raksha Online shopping Blog to Guide people to buy appropriate products (Daily Essentials) She had worked as an Accountant and as a Manager for more than 10 years.

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