Walking to look for birds

We walk for various reasons. If you happened to be in a wooded area or  in a place with scattered trees and bushes, you could take a walk to look for birds.

One can locate them by listening to bird songs or look out for their movements between trees. Some birds like warblers and parakeets are often in groups. Some during the mating season will be in pairs. If you spot one bird, it is worthwhile to look for the pair in the vicinity. 

It is good to have a binocular to view the birds if they are in a distance. Most of us will not be able to identify the birds by their species as we are not habitual bird watchers. Once we get used to seeing the same birds, we would be able to look at the internet and identify them. That would help us to find their habitats, breeding pattern, etc. We can choose the extent to which we want to go in our knowledge acquisition of birds. If we set up a bird bath in the courtyard or in the garden, some birds and squirrel would visit regularly.

While walking to look for birds, some birds would fly away when a human presence is known to them. It  is good to walk slowly and quietly once we have observed the movements of the birds in a particular place. The native birds may have even nests in the locality. The migratory birds normally confine themselves to one area.

Most of us would like to take photographs of the birds. One needs a tele lens camera to capture them. This photograph was taken by a compact 35mm camera with its zoom, which has given a blurred picture. Still, it can add to your collection to share your story of the walk with family and friends. 

I have also tried to record the bird songs on a recorder to get used to identifying their species. This is a good exercise as we often hear more birds than we see them.

One of the special experiences in a walk is to have an occasion to explore the nature. One can find birds almost everywhere. They have an exquisite array of colours and watching them is a feast to the eyes.

I have often returned from a bird watching walk with a song of thanksgiving in my heart, for the Giver of all good gifts to humankind.

One suggestion- avoid mixing an exercise walk with bird watching. It is not good for the physiology of the body to pause several times during an exercise walk to watch birds. Take a walk just to watch birds and be surprised!  

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)