My story for starting my birdwatching

     I remember back around 1996 when I first started birdwatching was because of the house and yard that we moved into at that time. (Of course, I was unaware at the time that one bird was able to make so many sounds.) The yard had these lovely sounds, I never heard so many.
     I started becoming very curious about them, (I was always wondering about things).  I could hear the sounds coming from various areas up in the trees, only I could not see what made them. I kept searching for them though. Eventually I had started gardening and when I was sitting, or kneeling, on the ground for a while in the same spot, these sounds came out of hiding.
     I finally saw what a few of these sounds were. They were birds.That drew me towards watching them. I would stop what I was doing and just sit as if I was entranced by them. I do not recall the order this was in but I began searching on my computer and buying bird books, magazines, feeders/birdbaths, binoculars, etc. Stretched out over some time, of course.

     Some of the sounds were squirrels. At the time, squirrels were cute to watch. I did not know until some time later that squirrels would be trouble at the bird feeders. I eventually found ways to handle them though.

     I also opened my large garage door and went inside to work on bicycles. Again, while I was doing that I would see the birds come land nearby, (feeders, birdbath, so on), and I would stop the work to just stare at the birds and study them. So it was the sounds that got my attention first.
     It is many years later and they still do because one of the main things that I used to practice was hearing sounds & placing the correct bird with the sound(s) until I learned it/them.  Since one bird can make one sound, or many sounds, depending on the bird.
   
http://birding.about.com/

Are You a Bird-watcher, Do You Like Birding, or are You Just a Birder?

If you are a

•  bird-watcher you are a rather ambiguous person who watches birds for any reason at all. You probably have a bird blind and watch the birds whether it is sun or rain, (or is that rain or shine). You even watch the eggs hatch.
• Birding is the sport/hobby where someone can enjoy the challenge of watching, studying, keeping a list, and more of the birds lives.
• A birder can be an amateur or professional but they are simply someone who seriously pursues sport/hobby of birding.

    Then there is twitching which is a British term used to mean "the pursuit of a previously-located rare bird." In North America it is usually simply called "chasing".
     Twitchers have their own vocabulary. For example, a twitcher who fails to see a bird has dipped out; if other twitchers see the bird, he may feel gripped off. Suppression is the act of concealing a rare bird from other twitchers.
     Of course there is feeding, feeders, birdbaths and much more which will all be discussed in future posts.

     Whichever you are - leave a comment and let us know. Do not leave us in suspense.