Defining Bird Watching Terms

Are you a birder, an ornithologist or maybe a twitcher? Do you have the slightest idea what these terms mean? These are just three of the many terms that describe those watch, study and enjoy birds.

OK, most of us know that ornithologists are professional scientists who study birds. If we are amateurs, we probably know we don't qualify as ornithologists. But even as amateurs, how intense are we in our watching or studying birds?

The majority of us qualify as bird watchers. We just enjoy seeing our backyard friends. We provide houses for them to nest in and put up bird feeders to give them food, especially during the winter months. We may even buy special equipment just to watch them.

But, you probably also know there are others who much more passionate about their hobby of watching and studying birds. Those are where most of the descriptive terms come in. The level to which people will go to learn more about birds is how the terms fit them. Take a look at Birding, Bird Watching and Ornithology to see more about what the various terms are and what they mean.

In the meantime, enjoy your own bird watching experiences no matter how intense or time-invested that is for you. Our backyard birds are still worth any effort we give them.

Bird Watching in Our Own Backyard

Our own backyard is an ideal place to do some fun bird watching. The bird behavior we can see right out our own windows can be quite entertaining. In the spring time especially, the birds are busy finding mates, building nests, then raising young.

Besides watching behavior you can also listen to the birds. You can hear the melodic calls of male song birds as they attract mates and announce that they have control over a certain territory. Listen for the Robin's song. He will sing from pre-dawn to after dusk. I often think he sings just because he can. He must like the sound of his little melodies as much as I do.

Make sure you have a good pair ofbinoculars so that you can see the tiny birds as they go about their daily activities. And watch for those small movements that signal alarm or the pleasure in finding the a fat juicy worm to feed their ever-hungry young.

You can usually see both parents working tirelessly to search out food and bring it back to feed those little ones. Those little ones grow quickly and must be able to survive on their own before the cooler weather sets in and they must travel south with their parents.

So arm yourself with a little knowledge from Backyard Bird World and enjoy some time watching the birds that share your backyard.

Ideas to Celebrate Bird Day

With Bird Day only a short time away, we need to be thinking about ideas to celebrate such a special day. It is a day set aside just to appreciate our feathered friends. So what kinds of things can we do? I have a list here just to have a little fun for Bird Day, May 4^th.

• Read a book about birds. Any kind of book will do, a novel that includes birds, a biology book that helps you understand more about the behavior and history of birds, even a memoir of a famous bird watcher.
• Learn new and interesting facts about birds. Backyard Bird World offers you some good options to learn more.
• Listen to recordings of bird songs and calls. See if you can identify bird sounds in your own yard.
• Do some bird watching. See how many birds you can identify. Use the list Common Backyard Birds if you like, or make a list for yourself.
• Add a new bird house or bird feeder to your backyard. Or, clean and refill a bird feeder you already have. Make sure you take care of those birds who share your world.
• Watch a video or movie about the activities of birds.

If you have children, you can adjust these kinds of activities to match their ages. Even make drawings of birds and color them in with your children.

Bird Day is all about celebrating the feathered creatures that share our world. So setting aside some special time just to appreciate them is a great activity for May 4^th. But, it's also a time to enjoy ourselves. Pick a fun activity and celebrate Bird Day this year.

What is Bird Day?

There seems to be some confusion are the day known as Bird Day. Because there is another day called National Bird Day. Are they the same? What are we supposed to be celebrating for these days? Well, let me take some of the confusion away.

First, on May 4th, Bird Day is celebrated. It was chosen by a school principal for his students to go outside and appreciate the wild birds. Sounds like a good idea to me. I love just watching and listening to the birds in my backyard.

Then there is a day, January 5th, that's called National Bird Day. Well, first of all you can't use the term National unless an Act of Congress has deemed the day that officially. Problem is there is no evidence of such a day. But, the name persists, so it works out as a good way to differentiate the two days. But, this day in January is pretty different itself.

January's bird day is meant to make us aware of the plight of captive birds in the pet industry. The same thing as puppy mills and kitten farms, birds are horribly treated by those people only interested in the profit of raising and selling pet birds.

The next time you want to enjoy the world of your backyard birds, you will certainly want to celebrate in the spring, not in January.