Birdseed & Binoculars: Yet Another Blog About Birds . . .

Blue Jay Eating a Peanut

I’ve casually watched birds just about forever. But several years ago I got the bird watching bug in a big way. This quickly became an obsession that has expanded to some light birding as well. Good for me right? But why blog about it?

Sharing What I’ve Learned

I think the best things to write about are the things that you are passionate about. And over the past few years, I’ve had a lot of successes in setting up my yard for birds. And my fair share of missteps. I’ve learned a lot and am still learning. I tweak things all the time and try to figure things out when something isn’t working. Every day brings new ideas and new discoveries. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, a new bird arrives in the yard that changes everything.

This blog is meant to be a true log of what is going on in my yard. It’s about choosing feeders and figuring out where to put them. It’s about different types of seed and other foods that backyard birds in my area (central Maryland) like. It’s about choosing or improvising birdbaths and outwitting clever squirrels. It’s about providing cover so birds have a fighting chance against neighborhood cats and raptors.

I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’ve put a LOT of hours into this. My hope is that sharing my mistakes will help save you time (and sometimes money) in your backyard. My solutions may work for you. You may like the feeders I use, so links to where you can find them are included. And there are other feeders, food and products I talk about that you may be glad to avoid.

Tips on Watching Birds

I’ll also share what I’ve learned about being around backyard birds. This includes how to watch them without spooking them too much and choosing binoculars. And I’ll even touch on a little bird photography.

My husband Jim and I also go on birding field trips you may enjoy, particularly if you live in the area or will be visiting. And I’ll touch on birding apps, field guides and online bird resources. There is so much to talk about!

But mostly this blog is about birds. Spend enough time watching birds and you learn their habits and patterns. You start to see when they are active daily or seasonally, how they prefer to eat and how they interact within their own species and with others. You begin to pick up on who is dominant at the feeders, which are the first to spook and which will be the first back. You watch how they react to predators and how they react to you. There is always something new to learn which is a big part of why so many of us love watching birds in the first place.

While this blog is partly a record for myself, I hope you’ll join me in my journey and will add your thoughts and questions and ideas in the comments so we can all learn together. Welcome!

Nancie

Updates: This blog was started in December 2015. In 2019, I made some Changes to the Bird Blog. And in 2020, I made some more Recent Birdseed & Binoculars Blog Changes.


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