How to Bird Watch for Beginners

When we put up our first bird feeder in our backyard, we knew nothing about birds. However, if you feed them, they will come! You will have so much entertainment while watching birds and the great thing about it is ANYONE can enjoy it! So, where do you begin when learning How to Bird Watch for Beginners?

 

Here’s what we will include in this How to Bird Watch for Beginners

• Setup

• Bird Feeding Supplies

• Your Bird Watching Supplies

• How to Bird Watch For Beginners

• Join the SOWLE RV Team for Bird Watching Facebook Group

 

Let’s begin with the first step which is Setting up YOUR Bird Watching Area!

 

SETUP FOR HOW TO BIRD WATCH

The setup for each of you Bird Watchers is obviously going to be a little different depending on where you live. Choosing the best location and view is ideal.

 

 

Location

The basic idea is to find a quiet location with an open view of your bird feeder depending on where you decide to put it. Keeping bird feeders approximately 6 feet from any tree limbs is ideal but not always the easiest especially if you live in a largely populated treed area as we do! If you decide to use a free-standing pole, it should be 5’ high and 10’ from the nearest tree.

 

View

Decide what window in your home will give you the best view of your bird feeder. Is it your front yard or backyard? Consider when the sun will be coming into those windows, if there are distracting noises by neighbors that might interfere with your chosen view, and disrupt birds from feeding in that location.

 

BIRD FEEDING SUPPLIES

Bird Feeders

When you are beginning the journey of figuring out How to Bird Watch, it may be a bit overwhelming seeing all of the supplies available. There are so many bird feeders out there in a large range of prices. How do you know what the best ones are? We have tried many different types of feeders for different kinds of birds in our area.

There are feeders for Woodpeckers, Hummingbirds, Small Birds, and Larger Birds. Additionally, there are the typical hanging Tube Seed Feeders, followed by Window, Hopper, Platform/Tray/Ground, Hummingbird, Nyjer, and Suet Feeders.

That being said, let’s break it down a bit more, shall we!

 

Tube Seed Feeder

What type of bird feeder is this?

The Tube Seed Feeder is a hanging type bird feeder that allows the birds to land upon a perch or port to feed.

 

What type of birds does this bird feeder attract?

Smaller birds such as Goldfinches, House Finches, Sparrows, Titmouse, Chickadees, Pine Siskins, and Redpolls.

 

What is the price range of this type of bird feeder?

$9-50

 

What kind of food does this Bird Feeder hold?

Seed bird food such as Sunflower, Safflower, and Mixed seed

 

What are the PROS and CONS of this type of bird feeder?

PROS: The Tube Feeder protects the bird food better from outdoor elements and is very popular among birds and bird watchers! Especially good for beginners!

CONS: The plastic Tube Feeders can break easily and be hard to keep clean. Also, they tend to attract more squirrels in our area.

 

How do you rate this type of bird feeder for ease of use?

5 out of 5

 

Hopper Feeder

What type of bird feeder is this?

The Hopper Feeder is a feeder that is enclosed and only allows food to fed from the bottom section. They are usually a larger feeder and hold more bird seed.

 

What type of birds does this bird feeder attract?

The Hopper Feeder attracts larger birds such as Blue Jays, Cardinals, Blackbirds, Grackles, and Starlings, but also attracts some smaller birds such as the Titmouse, Buntings, Chickadees, Sparrows, and Finches.

 

What is the price range of this type of bird feeder?

The Hopper Feeder is usually more expensive than traditional bird feeders. They range between $25-85

 

What kind of food does this Bird Feeder hold?

Seed bird food such as Sunflower, Safflower, and Mixed seed

 

What are the PROS and CONS of this type of bird feeder?

PROS: The Hopper Feeder attracts many different types and sizes of birds! They’re also good for keep squirrels out of the bird food as much.

CONS: The Hopper Feeder must be cleaned at least once a month and tend to be a bit harder to clean than the Tube Feeders.

 

How do you rate this type of bird feeder for ease of use?

4 out of 5

 

Window Feeder

What type of bird feeder is this?

The Window Feeder is exactly like it sounds. It is a bird feeder that attaches to a window typically by some type of suction cup or a hook that attaches to a suction cup.

 

What type of birds does this bird feeder attract?

Smaller birds such as Finches, Titmouse, Chickadees, and Sparrows

 

What is the price range of this type of bird feeder?

$10-20

 

What kind of food does this Bird Feeder hold?

Seed bird food such as Sunflower, Safflower, and Mixed seed

 

What are the PROS and CONS of this type of bird feeder?

PROS: The Window Feeders are great for close-up views of your birds which also makes them great for photographing them and helps anyone with visual problems see them better. It is especially helpful to the birds because it helps them identify windows better and prevents more collisions into reflecting windows.

CONS: They tend to need to be cleaned more often and so do your windows!

 

How do you rate this type of bird feeder for ease of use?

3 out of 5

 

Platform or Tray Feeder

What type of bird feeder is this?

The Platform or tray feeder is the simplest because it is exactly what its name represents, a tray.

 

What type of birds does this bird feeder attract?

As a Platform Feeder, it can attract the larger birds such as Blue Jays, Cardinals, Blackbirds, Grackles, Pigeons, and Starlings but also attracts some smaller birds such as the Titmouse, Sparrows, and Finches. As a Ground Feeder, it can attract Doves, Juncos, Sparrows, Blue Jays, Towhees, Finches and Cardinals.

 

What is the price range of this type of bird feeder?

$10-45

 

What kind of food does this Bird Feeder hold?

Seed bird food such as Sunflower, Safflower, and Mixed seed and really anything that is safe for bird consumption and can fit on the tray!

 

What are the PROS and CONS of this type of bird feeder?

PROS: Very easy to clean. Can be used as 2 different kinds of feeders: Ground or Hanging

CONS: Open access to squirrels and other hungry wildlife!

 

How do you rate this type of bird feeder for ease of use?

5 out of 5

 

Hummingbird Feeder

What type of bird feeder is this?

A feeder that holds liquid nectar that can either hang on a pole or can also be purchased as a window feeder

 

What type of birds does this bird feeder attract?

Hummingbirds only

 

What is the price range of this type of bird feeder?

$10-30

 

What kind of food does this Bird Feeder hold?

Liquid Nectar

 

What are the PROS and CONS of this type of bird feeder?

PROS: Attracts many different kinds of Hummingbirds.

CONS: Tends to attract bees and ants from the sugar. Must be cleaned often!

 

How do you rate this type of bird feeder for ease of use?

3 out of 5

 

Nyjer Feeder

What type of bird feeder is this?

The Nyjer Feeder is also called a Thistle Feeder because they hold thistle bird food. They are available in 2 different forms of bird feeders. First, the Tube Feeder but this is different than the Tube Feeders we discussed earlier because these Tube Feeders have much smaller feeding ports to hold the small pieces of thistle. Second, is the Sock Feeder. This is a fine mesh bag that holds the thistle bird food and the birds will cling to this type of feeder while eating instead of landing on a perch.

 

What type of birds does this bird feeder attract?

The Nyjer Feeder attracts American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, and Common Redpolls.

 

What is the price range of this type of bird feeder?

The Tube Nyjer Feeder ranges between $10-40

The Sock Feeder is much less expensive and ranges from $4-20 and usually comes in pairs

 

What kind of food does this Bird Feeder hold?

Thistle Bird Food

 

What are the PROS and CONS of this type of bird feeder?

The PROS: It attracts a wide variety of birds

The CONS: The Thistle is messy

 

How do you rate this type of bird feeder for ease of use?

2 out of 5

 

Suet Feeder

What type of bird feeder is this?

A Suet Feeder uses Suet Cakes, Balls, Plug, or Logs to feed birds through a wire mesh grid. You can even get them for windows!

 

What type of birds does this bird feeder attract?

All kinds of Woodpeckers, Bluebirds, Wrens, Warblers, Nuthatches, Chickadees, Titmouse, Blue Jays, Cardinals, and Starlings

 

What is the price range of this type of bird feeder?

$6.50-20

 

What kind of food does this Bird Feeder hold?

Suet Cakes, suet balls, or suet logs

 

What are the PROS and CONS of this type of bird feeder?

PROS: The Suet Feeder attracts beautiful Woodpeckers that you don’t get to see with traditional seed bird feeders.

CONS: Some Suet food tends to melt or spoil easily in warm weather or just by sunshine exposure

 

How do you rate this type of bird feeder for ease of use?

5 out of 5

 

Our Favorite Bird Feeders

OK, so now that you have read through all the type of bird feeders and the different kind of birds they attract, it’s entirely up to you to decide which one will work best for you. But we won’t leave you hanging completely! Here are the feeders that we have tried and continue to use in our own backyard feeding station!

 

#1 Tube Seed Feeders:

Perky-Pet Metal Tube Wild Bird Feeders and Kingsyard WIld Bird Feeder with Bird House available in 2 sizes and 3 different color choices

           

Red holds up to 1.5lb of seed

Blue holds up to 1lb of seed

Yellow with Garden Design holds up to 1lb of seed

Yellow with Garden Design holds up to 1lb of seed and comes with an adorable Bluebird Wild Bird House made of pine

 

#1 Hopper Feeder: So, we actually have 2 favorites here!

 

 

Perky-Pet Squirrel Be Gone II Country House Bird Feeder with Weathervane available in 2 colors (the links are for BTOH Hopper Feeders, Red and Green!)

Red holds up to 8lbs seed

Green holds up to 8lbs of seed

 

Audubon Snack Shack Squirrel-Resistant Feeder

Red holds up to 7lbs of seed

 

 

#1 Seed Window Feeder:

Stokes Select Window Bird Feeder

Red holds up to .7lbs of seed

 

 

 

#1 Suet Window Feeder:

Kettle Moraine Window Mount Single Suet Cake Woodpecker Bird Feeder

 

 

 

#1 Platform/Tray/Ground Feeder:

Sorry, we don’t use these because we attract way too many squirrels with them! However, the best one suggested to us is this one:

Woodlink Going Green Platform Bird Feeder

 

 

#1 Hummingbird Feeder:

Another suggestion as we are in between Hummingbird Feeders right now: More Birds Hummingbird Feeder, Glass Hummingbird Feeder with 7 feeding stations holds up to 40oz. Nectar

 

 

#1 Nyjer Feeder:

We don’t use the Nyjer Feeders very often but in the spring when we get more Goldfinches, we use the socks ones here:

Kaytee Finch Sock Feeder Twin Pack, 26oz.

 

 

#1 Suet Feeder (cake holder):

Audubon Double Suet Metal Feeder available in 3 colors (Red, Black or Yellow (shown below)) and each holds 2 cakes

 

 

#1 Suet Feeder (ball holder):

Songbird Essentials Suet Ball Feeder with a roof that holds 6 balls of suet available with a red roof only

 

 

 

Our Favorite Bird Food

Depending on the type of feeder you choose, you will need to get some bird food for that feeder. We will make this very easy for you, I promise! We purchase by the bulk because it’s cheaper that way!

 

#1 Bird Food if you DON’T see many squirrels around your area:

Wagner’s Black Oil Sunflower Wild Bird Food 25lb bag

 

 

#1 Bird Food if you DO see many squirrels around your area:

Safflower Seed (don’t get variety, get only Safflower seed)

Wagner’s Safflower Seed Wild Bird Food 5lb bag

 

 

YOUR BIRD WATCHING SUPPLIES

Make sure you have a pen or pencil with paper or a Birding Journal for Adults or a Bird Log for Kids for notes, questions and/or data taking OR you can use “Notes” on Your iPhone!

 

   

 

Additionally, they have great journals for kids on Amazon too! Some other items you may wish to consider are below:

1. Camera or iPhone Camera
2. Binoculars if your bird feeders are further away
3. Digital Binoculars with Camera, Telescopic Camera, Video Recorder and 2″ LCD Screen!
4. Project FeederWatch Kit materials if you plan to count the birds you see with the rest of us with the SOWLE RV Bird Watching Team!

 

 

If you plan to use your iPhone be sure to download these Apps:

• Merlin Bird ID (for your specific area)-this is the best Bird Watching App you can get for help in identification of birds! You can take photos of a bird you see, upload it to this app and it will tell you what bird you’re seeing!
• eBird to enter some data for what birds you see

 

 

HOW TO BIRD WATCH FOR BEGINNERS

This is the easy part guys! Just sit back in a comfy chair in the location you chose for Bird Watching your feeder and watch those birds come in! It may take a few days (up to a week) depending on your area but the birds will find your feeder and they will show up! We have a “Window Room” that we use to watch birds at our Feeder Station. We will share more details about that next, but the main things for you to begin with, is a bird feeder, a window, and a chair!

 

 

Observe the birds you see around you

The best way to begin the identification process is by using the materials from Project FeederWatch Kit or the Merlin Bird ID App so that you begin to recognize specific birds as they come to feed at your bird feeder.

 

Listening for Birds

Another way is to listen for the birds around. If outside, try to identify the birds by their call and or song. The Merlin Bird ID App is great for this also because they have a Sound ID Button that allows you too record the bird sounds you are hearing and it immediately tells you the name of the birds LIVE! We really love this tool!

 

Timing is Key

Pay attention to the time when birds start showing up, so you will know when to attend the view. Birds tend to come and go most of the day but you will find they’re much more likely to stay longer at certain times of the day.

 

Shape and Size

The shape and size of the bird, including whether it’s big, small, round or oval.

 

Color(s)

Take note of the color of the bird you are seeing. Pay close attention to any special markings like wing bars or the tail feathers.

 

Activity

What is the bird doing? Is it searching for insects, circling overhead or soaring, eating at a feeder, swimming or wading if you have a water source available, in trees or bushes, or on a fence?

 

Counting Birds

Project FeederWatch gets into much more detailed information on how to count birds, but we wanted to share a little advice that we have found helpful when counting birds at our location on our bird feeders. Know how many ports each of your feeders has, that way when full of birds you can add or subtract accordingly!

 

 

Eventually, you will become a pro at identifying the birds in your area! The next challenge is getting out of your house and bird watching from different locations and identifying the birds in different areas!

 

 

JOIN THE SOWLE RV Team for Bird Watchers!

Finally, join some bird watching groups on social media platforms! Bird watchers are always eager to lend a hand at identifying birds and answering questions you may have! Make sure you join our Facebook Group, The SOWLE RV Team for Birdwatching or message us below and we will get you added!

 

Conclusion of How to Bird Watch for Beginners

We really hope you enjoyed reading How to Bird Watch for Beginners! Let us know if you have any questions about Bird Watching, Bird Feeders, or Bird Food. Happy Birding!