white rump sharma
Tropical Bird Watching Basics & Birding Tips
Sound, movement and shape
- these are the first three indicators that help me to cue in on birds. Early every morning, the air is filled the sound of bird calls. It's the first order of the day as birds all around are busy reclaiming their territory. Territory is vital for attracting mates and securing ample sources of food.
Reclaiming territory is a noisy affair so the bird calls give me a good idea of what birds are present in the area. A bird-rich area is just filled with calls belonging to a variety of different bird species. Some of the most bird-rich areas I have been to are the restricted off-shore islands used by the military. Perhaps the fact that these islands are strictly off limits to the public have help a whole host of birds to find safe haven and refuge.
As birds go about searching for food there is a frenzy of movement. Birds are flying across to trees, moving through vegetation looking for insects or making the most of a fruiting fig tree.
Catching these movements with the naked eyes allow me to quickly home in on who is in the neighborhood. Next is to use the binoculars with good field of vision to get a close up on the bird. The Swarovski 8.5x42 EL is one of the best top line binoculars and one of the important investments that I have made. I started with an inexpensive no-brand 7x42 binocular that gave me very good field of vision but alas the lens lack multi-coating and it failed in robustness.
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