Bird watching is a hobby which involves watching and tracking birds for pleasure or fun it is also enjoyable in tropical locations. The official term for this hobby is ornithology, although it is more commonly known as bird watching, or birding, depending on your location. However, I am lead to believe that there is more to this distinction than just geography.

 The term  birding was most commonly used originally in America, whereas in the Britain it referred to as bird watching.  In Britain a third term is also widely recognized twitching is also a birding term.  However, there are now three different definitions widely accepted for the three different terms, those being that birding refers to someone who watches wild birds for pleasure at home or on holiday, bird watching is for those amateurs who study birds but who do so for their own purposes and who are not professionals in the field, and their bird watch is undertaken to compile a long list of all the wild birds which have ever been seen in a particular geographic location.  For those among you who participate in this hobby, which specific type of bird watcher are you?

Typically speaking, the hobby of bird watching has not had a very good press. Often seen to be the hobby of the geek, it is little known that there are actually some celebrity fans who don their binoculars to look at birds of the feathered variety. Former US president Jimmy Carter enjoyed relaxing with nature while bird watching, as did former UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

  Beginner bird watching people have also been responsible for some impressive finds over the years. The spotting of a rare species has been known to cause many professionals to descend on an area and conservational work has been undertaken as a result of the discoveries.

Bird watching is incredibly popular and it is a great way for people to get out and explore nature first hand. The best time of day for bird watching is thought to be for the first few hours after the sun rises as it is when the birds are at their most hungry and so are more visible and slightly less wary. Bird watchers often situate themselves in a hide, which is usually an enclosed hut with small spaces to view outside, so they have a good view of the surrounding area but they are largely hidden from the birds, preventing them from scaring them off.  If you are  beginner at bird watching, it would be prudent to take along a bird watching book to help identify the little avians.

By: Scott Miller -Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com The author is a regular contributor to The Birding Center where more birding tips and birding tours information can be found.

Pictured: Twitcher waits two hours for rare bird.
Paul Freestone, below, had spent two hours lying in the undergrowth to get a glimpse of the rare bird. Paul Freestone. Experts say the moment is ‘unprecedented’ as buzzards -

Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding…

All About Bird Watching
Birdwatching can be traed back as early as the Victorian Era in Britain when the study of birds and natural history became fashionable. Collectors would collect eggs, skins and feathers.

Watching the World Wake Up: Bird Feeder
When I worked for the Nature Conservancy we used to do hawk migratory watching too- sit in a bird watch and just count how many flew overhead during certain times of the year. 

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