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Old 12-10-2012, 04:49 PM   #11
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Re: Birders?

Thanks for the links. There is a lot more to this birding thing than I thought. I'm at the grab the binocs and go for a walk beginner stage. I didn't even realize there was software available to help complicate things.

A spotting scope? And here I was fat dumb and happy with my new Zen Ray Prime HD 8 X42's. I guess there are always upgrades available in what ever hobby you choose.

The white fish point place looks like a killer place to check out the raptors. I'm going to have to get serious about checking out the prime locations out here on the Left coast.

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Old 12-10-2012, 05:28 PM   #12
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Re: Birders?

Just Google bird watching left coast....errrr west coast and I'm sure you will find lots of good places to visit.
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Old 12-10-2012, 06:42 PM   #13
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Re: Birders?

Your SMB will get you to the bird spots in style.

Birding is great fun. It helps if you can hook up with other people = to help you get started on how to find birds and once you find them how to ID them.
1) Get a good bird book so you can ID the birds you spot.
2) The annual Christmas Bird Counts are coming up soon – December 15-Jan 12 (?)
Find your closest local Audubon chapter - call then soon and you can help with the Christmas count. This is an all day bird count to see what species and how many are in your area. It is great fun and has been going on for over 100 years in the USA. It is a great way to learn about birds.

The Audubon Society – has different chapters and may have bird walks to get you started
http://wa.audubon.org/ Search for your closest chapter

Lists of some good birding spots around the state (some links may be out of date)
http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/uswashington.htm

Birding festivals in US, Washington & Canada – some may be out of date but check out the links.
http://aba.org/festivals/index.php/search/results

Birding and Kayaking in Washington State
http://www.sea-quest-kayak.com/bird-wat ... on-birding

Have fun and let us know what birds you find.
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Old 12-10-2012, 07:53 PM   #14
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Re: Birders?

the book my mom got me is the national audubon society's feild guide to birds western region edition. definitly a good resource. we take it with us on every trip into the sticks.

last summer we were doing a mt bike ride down a trail ive been riding for 10+ years. the first 8 or so years i was young and bulletproof, and rode the trail as fast as possible and never saw any wildlife. the last 4-5 years ive slown waaaaay down and have seen animals galore. fox, bear, turkeys, coyotes, even found a rubber boa which is a super rare snake in north america. anyway, i was tearing down the easy section and a blue headed bird was following the trail right in front of me for a couple hundred feet. it was really cool, and id never seen any birds in the area like that. i ended up at a local petstore later that day and happen to ask just the right person if they knew what it was. the chick looked at me all weird and went and grabbed a book to show me a pic. it ended up being a lazuli blunting. i guess they only reside in this area for a week or so on there way to mexico. the girl was all jealous and asking me where. said she has been trying to spot one for several years.

another cool thing about that trail is a family (gaggle, herd, flock??) of hawks resides somewhere closeby and they follow us for 3-4 miles quite often. only reason i can imagine is that we spook food, but ive never seen any of them dive down on anything.

if your into raptors, you might consider here: http://www.visitidaho.org/attraction/wi ... tion-area/

ive been out there a handfull of times random times of the year and always see some kind of large birds. was never there to bird, but i love wildlife and am always on the lookout. lots of my friends fish in that area and i usually tagged along to look for snakes, lizards, and scorpions.

ive rambled long enough, but if you start getting some pix, post them up. id like to check'em out.
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Old 12-10-2012, 11:22 PM   #15
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Re: Birders?

John,

You should get a copy of "A Birder's Guide to Washington", which can be found at:
http://www.aba.org/siteguides/wa.html
I'm more a photographer than a birder, but I do enjoy the birds more and more every year. Several places stand out around the Puget Sound area - the Nisqually delta, Fir Island, and Samish Flats (west of Edison). But there are many places. I have also enjoyed the Moses Lake area in central Washington. Good luck and enjoy!

Keith W.
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Old 12-11-2012, 03:50 AM   #16
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Re: Birders?

Kieth

I've done a lot of the legwork to becoming a birder. I have 3 books and am a member of the Portland Oregon Audubon society. I picked up a quality pair of binoculars also. I've done a few hikes on my own trying to identify different types of birds. I'm getting a little better at it but it's still a chore for me to put a positive ID on a bird. Having a bunch of feeders around my house has really helped me with ID's

Right now I'm jones'n for a road trip specifically aimed at birding. I may be heading up to the Hoh rainforest up on the Olympic peninsula soon. There should be some good birding up there.

http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/v ... he-hoh.htm
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Old 12-11-2012, 08:26 AM   #17
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Re: Birders?

The Hoh is a beautiful place. Enjoy
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Old 12-11-2012, 09:34 AM   #18
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Birders?


We were there last July for a week. My wife and I love that place.
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Old 12-11-2012, 11:42 AM   #19
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Re: Birders?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnarvan
Don

I don't really have any areas in mind yet. I'm just enjoying the hiking and seeing stuff that I somehow missed in the first 57 years of my life. I live in the Columbia River Gorge and have been enjoying checking out the locals. I'm thinking it's time to get a little more serious about the birding thing. I saw 15 different types of birds around my house today with at least 2-3 more that I couldn't identify. I'll probably head to the coast to check out the coastal residents first.

I need to rig a pelican case to carry my binocs on the river when I'm out cat-boating. I saw a huge Pileated Woodpecker when I was running the Washougal river last weekend. I sure wish I had my binocs with me since that's the first one of those I've seen.
Looks like you've got some good advice for the PNW. My $.02 on field guides: You'll end up buying all of them. However, I prefer Sibley for its size, drawing quality and intro sections for each group of birds and their thumbnails of birds. Another book that is fun: Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural Histroy of North American Birds. It describes nesting, mating, courtship and feeding habits of each species along with interesting articles on evolutionary differences.

Otherwise, it's all about listening. Enjoy.

Don
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Old 12-12-2012, 06:39 PM   #20
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Re: Birders?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gnarvan
Larrie

Have you spent any time at the Ankeny Wildlife preserve? Years ago I was on a Century ride and we rode out that way. I've been wanting to check the place out on foot with some binocs. I pull off on that offramp on my way from Portland to Corvallis a couple of times a week and stare at the sign thinking taking a big rig that way would probably be a mistake.
Not yet but it is on my list. Been way to busy on the weekends to do anything fun. May take some time off work between the holidays and head up there. This shot was taken in 2010 at Finley.
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