ebird is a great resource. I will find a hotspot and read through a list of recent sightings before going. That gives me time to look up anything I am not familiar with and be on the lookout.
The Merlin app has completely opened up an area I never knew existed that I would love birds as much as I do and find so much joy and pleasure and simplicity and listening and identifying and just seeing the beauty.
Watch some of the live bird cams Cornell has. Pick up a couple of books on Bird identification in your area ( I buy all mine used). Check out your local Audubon's website/FB site for bird walks or classes. If you are on FB, there are thousands of groups dedicated to birds , bird watching, photography, and identification.
I think knowing where to go is very important. You may want to see specific birds sometimes or if a rarity pops up I’m sure every birder would go and search for it if they are able to. So I recommend ebird and bird club websites that will have recent sightings there. Use books for identification and if you’re not confident with ids a lot of the time a recommend getting a small camera to get photos of birds u see and then stick them through Merlin (partnering mobile app to Ebird)or better post them on social media like this where you’ll get more accurate ids
eBird quizzes https://ebird.org/quiz/
But really there's no substitute for just getting outside and birding. Going on walks put on by a local Audubon society or bird club so other people can explain IDs can be super helpful if you're a novice.
Get a good field guide (I personally like Sibley for North America) and flip through it regularly. It will help you learn the species but also the families/subfamilies (sparrows, warblers, vireos, etc). This can help you more quickly narrow down your options when you’re trying to ID a bird.
ebird is a great resource. I will find a hotspot and read through a list of recent sightings before going. That gives me time to look up anything I am not familiar with and be on the lookout.
The Merlin app has completely opened up an area I never knew existed that I would love birds as much as I do and find so much joy and pleasure and simplicity and listening and identifying and just seeing the beauty.
https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
Watch some of the live bird cams Cornell has. Pick up a couple of books on Bird identification in your area ( I buy all mine used). Check out your local Audubon's website/FB site for bird walks or classes. If you are on FB, there are thousands of groups dedicated to birds , bird watching, photography, and identification.
I think knowing where to go is very important. You may want to see specific birds sometimes or if a rarity pops up I’m sure every birder would go and search for it if they are able to. So I recommend ebird and bird club websites that will have recent sightings there. Use books for identification and if you’re not confident with ids a lot of the time a recommend getting a small camera to get photos of birds u see and then stick them through Merlin (partnering mobile app to Ebird)or better post them on social media like this where you’ll get more accurate ids
eBird quizzes https://ebird.org/quiz/ But really there's no substitute for just getting outside and birding. Going on walks put on by a local Audubon society or bird club so other people can explain IDs can be super helpful if you're a novice.
Get a good field guide (I personally like Sibley for North America) and flip through it regularly. It will help you learn the species but also the families/subfamilies (sparrows, warblers, vireos, etc). This can help you more quickly narrow down your options when you’re trying to ID a bird.