Never struggled with this, the key is that you must have a fire that burns inside you for this hobby, that pretty much goes for everything else as well. It’s not difficult, just stay focused and observant. If you lack attention span or cannot stay focused it’s going to be hard. Also, don’t feel pressured to learn this as fast as possible, I just slowly progressed throughout my life. It’s not that hard, so don’t make it.
Enjoyed this post! I'm a birder (among other things) from the Netherlands, and joined Substack in April. Recognizing birdsong is the weakest of my 'birding skills' ,so maybe I'll give that app a try. I wrote a post about one particular bird and its song (the common chiffchaff, likely not a familiar bird for you as we live in different parts of the world), but there was no interaction whatsoever. My conclusion was there are very few people on Substack wo like birds, let alone birders, but slowly I start discovering some people who are into birds. I just found you because of a comment on a post by Gem you liked and followed you. Substack's ways are 😊
I really appreciate you following me on Substack! It's always cool to find and interact with other birders whether it's online or in person. That bird you were talking about sounds interesting. Hope you continue to dive into the birding world 💪.
Thanks, Caleb! I’ve been ‘swimming’ in the birding world the greater part of my life (I’m 64y), so don’t worry, I’ll keep at it. Check the bird in my posts (‘the not-so common chiffchaff’) if you’re interested.
I so enjoyed your post thank you. Your Eastern Towhee call in words makes me think of our Rufous-naped Lark which says “Coffee Tea or meee”. Our Black Cuckoo says “I’m so saaaaad”. He goes on and on until you start feeling sad yourself!!
I'm not an avid birder, but more of the backyard type. I've been using Merlin to help id birds. I heard one the other bird, and Merlin identified it as a Great Crested Flycatcher. First of all, I didn't know we even had them in Minnesota. I was finally able to find it in a neighbors tree and get a semi decent picture. The beautiful thing is now I recognize it's call, and have been able to spot it a number of times.
That is such a cool story! I love the Great-Crested Flycatcher, it makes really cool vocalizations. I am glad you recognize it's call now. It is such a rewarding experience to recognize a bird by ear.
Thank you! We are blessed that we live across the street from a lake, and the Mississippi River and one other river are not too far away. I think that helps with the variety of birds we get. My neighbor is an avid birder, she lives on the lake and always has some great pictures. Also a great birding resource for me.
Yeah, having a nearby large water source like a lake or river is definitely great for birds! During migration you can sometimes find large fallouts of waterfowl on nearby lakes or rivers. Hope you continue to find new birds!
The Merlin app has been beneficial! Highly recommended.
Love it, Caleb. We’re so lucky to have these digital tools now. It wasn’t long ago my dad was learning bird songs with a vinyl record.
Thanks Nathaniel! I bet it was kind of cool learning from vinyl records.
Never struggled with this, the key is that you must have a fire that burns inside you for this hobby, that pretty much goes for everything else as well. It’s not difficult, just stay focused and observant. If you lack attention span or cannot stay focused it’s going to be hard. Also, don’t feel pressured to learn this as fast as possible, I just slowly progressed throughout my life. It’s not that hard, so don’t make it.
Great advise! Thank you for reading.
Sure, thank you for reading. ^^
Enjoyed this post! I'm a birder (among other things) from the Netherlands, and joined Substack in April. Recognizing birdsong is the weakest of my 'birding skills' ,so maybe I'll give that app a try. I wrote a post about one particular bird and its song (the common chiffchaff, likely not a familiar bird for you as we live in different parts of the world), but there was no interaction whatsoever. My conclusion was there are very few people on Substack wo like birds, let alone birders, but slowly I start discovering some people who are into birds. I just found you because of a comment on a post by Gem you liked and followed you. Substack's ways are 😊
I really appreciate you following me on Substack! It's always cool to find and interact with other birders whether it's online or in person. That bird you were talking about sounds interesting. Hope you continue to dive into the birding world 💪.
Thanks, Caleb! I’ve been ‘swimming’ in the birding world the greater part of my life (I’m 64y), so don’t worry, I’ll keep at it. Check the bird in my posts (‘the not-so common chiffchaff’) if you’re interested.
I sure will check it out! Happy birding!
Best Course I ever took. Bird Listening.
Is that course on Bird Academy by the Cornell Lab?
I so enjoyed your post thank you. Your Eastern Towhee call in words makes me think of our Rufous-naped Lark which says “Coffee Tea or meee”. Our Black Cuckoo says “I’m so saaaaad”. He goes on and on until you start feeling sad yourself!!
I am so glad you enjoyed this post! I'd love to hear both of those bird species in person. They seem super neat!
I'm not an avid birder, but more of the backyard type. I've been using Merlin to help id birds. I heard one the other bird, and Merlin identified it as a Great Crested Flycatcher. First of all, I didn't know we even had them in Minnesota. I was finally able to find it in a neighbors tree and get a semi decent picture. The beautiful thing is now I recognize it's call, and have been able to spot it a number of times.
That is such a cool story! I love the Great-Crested Flycatcher, it makes really cool vocalizations. I am glad you recognize it's call now. It is such a rewarding experience to recognize a bird by ear.
Thank you! We are blessed that we live across the street from a lake, and the Mississippi River and one other river are not too far away. I think that helps with the variety of birds we get. My neighbor is an avid birder, she lives on the lake and always has some great pictures. Also a great birding resource for me.
Yeah, having a nearby large water source like a lake or river is definitely great for birds! During migration you can sometimes find large fallouts of waterfowl on nearby lakes or rivers. Hope you continue to find new birds!