B ird-watching -- or birding -- is the fastest growing outdoor activity in America.
The number of birders more than doubled between 1983 and 1995. Today, about 65 million Americans watch and feed birds.
Every year, more than 25 million Americans make at least one trip from home just to see birds.
They spend more than $29 billion a year to watch, feed and photograph birds.
THEY’VE ALL GOT TO EAT
Feeding the birds in your own backyard is a great way to see them up close...
The best food for attracting birds is black oil sunflower seeds. Backyard birds attracted by these seeds include cardinals, jays, finches, sparrows, chickadees.
To stretch your birdseed budget -- and also attract ground-feeding birds such as doves and juncos -- mix one part of inexpensive cracked corn to two parts black oil sunflower seeds.
Skip those bags of cheap mixed seeds at the supermarket -- the birds just pick through the mix to get the sunflower seeds. They toss away the rest.
Insect-eating birds, such as woodpeckers, titmice and nut-hatches, love to eat beef suet. You can buy suet cakes in pet stores or put out plain suet obtained from the butcher. Put the suet into a suet basket made from plastic-coated metal wire. Hang the basket from a tree branch or a nail driven into a tree trunk.
Bird feeders. Choose a good, sturdy feeder for the seeds. Look for a large-capacity (at least half a gallon) feeder that’s made of metal or heavy-duty plastic with metal fittings and perches.
Avoid wooden feeders -- they’re hard to keep clean and squirrels demolish them.
My favorite feeder: The all-steel Absolute II from Heritage Farms in Cherry Valley, Illinois (www.centurytoolmfg.com/heritagefarms or 800-845-2473).
The Absolute is a two-sided hopper-style feeder that holds about eight pounds of seed. It uses an adjustable counterweight system to block out squirrels. Smaller birds can feed easily, but the weight of a squirrel or crow on the perch brings down a shield that blocks off the seed supply.
Cost: At about $80, this is a pricey feeder, but it’s worth the money. The Absolute is indestructible -- mine is more than 12 years old and still in great shape.
Best mail-order source for bird-feeding supplies: Duncraft. www.duncraft.com or 800-593-5656.
1-800-GO BIRDING!
To get started in bird-watching, all you need are a pair of binoculars and a field guide...
Binoculars. Buy the best you can afford, but skip the “no-name” and department store brands.
Look for binoculars with 7x or 8x magnification. Anything more powerful will be hard to hold steady. Anything less won’t let you see the birds.
Excellent mail-order sources for binoculars...
Christophers, Ltd., 800-356-6603.
Eagle Optics, 800-289-1132.
Redlich Optical, 800-414-6019.
Field guides. These are compact, fully illustrated guides to the birds of North America, along with identification clues and range maps.
Today there are about half a dozen standard field guides available at any bookstore.
My personal pick for beginners is Field Guide to the Birds of North America: Revised and Updated (National Geographic Society).
To find a birding group, check the community events listing in your local paper or ask your county extension agent.
With more than 500 local chapters, the National Audubon Society is another good source. Contact 212-979-3000 or www.audubon.org to find the chapter nearest you.
Inexpensive beginner courses are offered by local bird clubs, conservation groups and adult-ed programs, at popular birding sites and by Elderhostel (800-895-0727 or www.elderhostel.org).
