Entryway to Birding

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A Beginner's Guide to "Big Day" Birding

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2021 starts a new year. And with it, a new year list. If you haven’t picked up on it by now, birders love keeping lists. A life list, year lists, county lists, patch lists, yard lists, and more. But on January 1 … many of those checklists roll back to zero and the bird sightings begin anew.

In birding culture, there’s something of a tradition of doing a “Big Day” in early January to see how many species you can find in one day. It's a fun and rewarding challenge—it tests your birding skills and knowledge of local habitat and gets you outside for a fun winter adventure. If you've ever been curious about challenging yourself to a Big Day, this week's Entryway to Birding blog is for you. Read on for tips to make your outing a successful one.

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A Birder's Resolutions

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As 2020 creeps to a close, it’s a good time to think about your relationship to birding and how it may evolve in the new year. How will you challenge yourself? What will you strive to learn? How will birding continue to expand your world? This week’s Entryway to Birding blog is here to help you brainstorm ideas for New Year’s resolutions you might make as you bird your way into 2021.

Photo by Caitlyn Schuchhardt

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Be a Snow Birder

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We covered the many benefits of “slow birding” several months back, in the warm heat of September. As the months get colder and colder, you might feel less and less inclined to, y’know, stand in one place outside while the cold ground sucks heat from your toes and your fingertips start to lose feeling.

There’s a reason that birding by car gets popular in the winter, but you should know that you don’t need to give up your outdoor birding adventures just because there is snow on the ground. This week’s Entryway to Birding blog brings you tips for how you can adapt your “slow birding” to a more seasonal “snow birding” and enjoy all the benefits that come with spending quality time in the woods this winter—cold weather and all.

Photo by Caitlyn Schuchhardt

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A Beginner's Guide to Birding by Car

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Winter has finally caught up to us. The snow, the wind, the cold weather—it all arrived this weekend. If you’re feeling like that’s put an end to your birding for the season, I hope you think again! Winter brings a whole new set of bird species our way—and finding some of these species involves expanding your idea of how you can go birding. There are endless ways to bird, but this week we’re going to delve into one of the most popular winter forms of birding—that is, birding by car!

Before you hit the road looking for your snowy owl or a rough-legged hawk this winter, read up on the basics so you can increase your chances of success. This week’s Entryway to Birding blog has advice for your first time road birding, including how to decide where to go, how to stay safe on the road, and best practices to make your birding adventure a fun one!

Photo by Michael Janke

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Winter Raptors 101

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It’s that time of year! We’ve reached the season where you can’t just assume that the bulky buteo flying above you is gonna be a red-tailed hawk. Rough-legged hawks are beginning to arrive, giving us birders a good reminder to bird every bird. I know I wouldn’t want to overlook a sighting of one of these arctic visitors!

You can find most of our raptors here year-round (rough-legged hawk aside), so perhaps the “winter” in the title here is a little misleading. But winter is a great time to turn your attention to raptors and even plan your birding outings around them. Songbird activity certainly slows down this time of year when many species migrate south, meaning you’re likely seeing fewer species if you’re out on a bird walk at a local conservation park or natural area. This gives you a good excuse to mix it up a bit, especially on those colder days—make some cocoa, hop in the car, and head to the countryside!

Photo by USFWS-Mountain Prairie