Talk Birdy to Me

I’ve mentioned before that my husband and I visit a park nearby on a pretty regular basis. It’s a botanical garden-meets-military museum kind of place. I know it sounds odd, but it’s actually very unique, and the scenery changes weekly. The park is closed in January, but outside of that, we do try to visit year round. The foliage is obviously better looking in certain months than others, but I can tell you for sure, every season holds something new for us to see.

When we visit, we generally wander the trails with no particular agenda other than to see what the gardens look like this week and stay out of the way of engagement, wedding, Quincinera, and family photos. My husband is a wonderful amateur (should be pro) photographer and he takes pictures of flowers, bees, frogs, and birds. The park actually runs regular events throughout the warmer months for it’s members and visitors where they can sign up for a guided tours of the grounds. We frequently run into a group who is particularly focused on the different kinds of birds found in their tree tops.

I can imagine the bird-watching here is engaging as there is quite a variety at this park. Some species of birds we encounter almost every week, no matter what. Let me tell you about my friends, the red-winged black birds. If you’ve never had the pleasure, for several months in the late-spring, early-summer in Illinois, these overprotective birds dive-bomb visitors who come within a half-mile of their nests. Not that you could ever reach their nests, but they want to make sure you don’t. The park people can’t do anything about them other than to post signs about “aggressive birds ahead”. And this, only after several complaints of those of us walking around the pond having our hair grabbed by these insensitive avians.

I digress. As I was saying, the park holds “bird-watching events” throughout the warmer months where they take small groups of people and their binoculars to different areas of the grounds to see what types of winged beauties they can see or hear, and determine what type of flying wonder it is. Even though these events are on a small scale I imagine they are just as fun as the intense, serious ones.

As I sat in the summer sun recently, I looked up what goes into planning a bird-watching event (also called “birding”). There is a lot more infrastructure in place in many areas around the country than I anticipated. Several places have established bird-watching trails, many states have bird guides which offer guests a detailed list of which species of birds are in what part of their state at any given time of year, and some even offer bird-watching tours.

However, when planning your own birding event, you will want to consider these things¹:

• Choose the right destination. Do your research to ensure there will be birds to see and strategize your routes and locations ahead of time so when you’re there, you’re time is spent bird-watching.
• Watch the weather and dress appropriately. Make sure you have good shoes, the right clothing and gear for the weather, and pack lightly.
• Be prepared. When hiking off the beaten path, it’s wise to carry a small first-aid kit, water, snacks, emergency blanket, medications, bee sting pen, etc.. just in case anything were to happen. If you are prepared, the likelihood of you needing these things is slim. Guaranteed if you don’t have them you wish will wish you did.
• Take advantage of the resources available. Do connect with the local bird-watching authorities where you are planning to go and see what type of services and supplies they offer. You might find a birding trail guide, a list of the bird species and best times of year to go, and other helpful tips to make your trip a success.

Taking a little time to prepare for your birding event, as with any event, will help to ensure its eventual success. If planning this outing for a larger group or for a corporate client, be sure to get out your handy-dandy event planning checklist and do some risk assessments, travel and hospitality planning, and the rest.

Have you planned a birding event? Share your story with us here or send me an email!

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1.Holbrook Travel Blog. The Holbrook Explorer. Ten Tips for Planning Your Birding Trip. April 20, 2017. Holbrooktravel.com. https://www.holbrooktravel.com/blog/birding/ten-tips-planning-your-birding-trip

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