Bird Watching Guide: Detailed Guide to Birding Trails & Binoculars
Are you an avid birdwatcher? Then take a peek at our comprehensive bird watching guide, which includes the best birding trails & binoculars for bird watching
Most bird watchers got their start looking at flyers in their backyard or at the playground. The sight of such majestic creatures gliding through the air and landing with soft ease on the tree tops is intoxicating. And while staying close to home can offer thousands of hours of ornithology fun, there are other places you can go.
Have you ever thought about taking a birdwatching vacation, for instance?
There are places all over the world where you can experience spectacular sights in exotic locales.
The Amazon, the Alps, the Nile, the Outback—these are all places that offer some of the most extraordinary birdwatching imaginable.
Our Online, USA Bird Watching Guidebook
But don’t think you have to stray too far from home, either. There are places right here in the United States that can take your breath away, too. Texas and Florida exemplify the wonders of Gulf Coast birding, while New Hampshire offers a glimpse at some of the most amazing flyers in New England.
The point is simply this: staying home is great, but going abroad is a true adventure. If this piques your interest, read on to see what great worldwide hotspots await your arrival.
Birding in Texas
To the amateur birder, Texas may not sound like that great of a hotspot for catching flyers in action. After all, the stereotypical image of the Lonestar State is one of dusty dirt roads, desolate desert landscapes, and transient tumbleweeds.
But the reality of the state is far beyond the movie set of a spaghetti western.
Texas is, in fact, one of the premier bird watching destinations in the country. With forests, mountains, deserts, and an unbelievably expansive coastline along the Gulf of Mexico, there’s a vast variety of birding opportunities available to you.
So what does this big state have to offer in terms of birding species? More than you think, that’s for sure. They have everything from ducks and geese to Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls and Whooping Cranes.
If you’d rather make your Texas visit a traveling vacation instead of a destination stop, take a look at the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail in your bird watching manual. You’re bound to collect a great many varieties of flyers on their system of 43 trails, which combine for a total of 2,100 miles.
Other birding destinations you have to see in Texas include:
- Big Bend National Park
- Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
- Galveston Island
Florida Birding Trail
Taking their cue from the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail, the people from the Sunshine State crafted their own observer’s paradise in the Florida Birding Trail.
Officially named the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, or GFBWT, this destination encompasses more than 2,000 miles of trails from which you can observe a vast number of different bird species.
With more than 500 separate birding sites, you’ll be able to witness frequent flyers in a number of different climates and habitats.
Bear in mind that this is not a one-stop birding vacation. To really get the most out of the Florida Birding Trail, you’ll need to consult your bird watching guide and pick several hotspots to visit. Depending on your specific interests, you can find areas that offer rare glimpses of your favorite raptors, shorebirds, songbirds, or other soaring specimens.
The Florida Birding Trail, as outlined in local bird identification guides, is separated into four unique areas:
- East Florida Section
- West Florida Section
- Panhandle Florida Section
- South Florida Section
Birdwatching Holidays
Birding doesn’t have to be just a backyard activity. Sure, the cheapest, easiest way to collect birds is by looking through your porch window with a pair of binoculars. But if you’re a true ornithological enthusiast, you may want to consider taking a holiday. A birding holiday, that is.
Think of the excitement and wonder of taking a boat ride down the Amazon River, looking at strange and exotic wildlife. You can collect birds that even you’re most experienced birdwatching friends have never seen! Or head out to the Caribbean to view the amazing birds of the Caribbean.
Birds are everywhere. Just about any place in the entire world has a species of bird that calls that place home. If you don’t want to risk the dangers of floating down the Amazon, how about hiking in the Swiss Alps? Or how about scoping out a spot on an Australian beach?
Everyone needs a vacation from time to time, so why not make your next one a destination for birdwatching lovers?
Take a peek at some online binoculars guide or bird watching guide sites and see what they have to offer. Some sites list companies that take you on such birding adventures. With these tours, you can not only get the once-in-a-lifetime adventure of seeing these birds with your own two eyes—and lenses—but you can also get digital photos, books, and commemorative DVDs.
True bird lovers would never scoff at being content with watching flyers in their own backyard…but they sure wouldn’t turn their noses up at seeing new ones in exotic places!
New Hampshire Birding
Some of the best birding in the country can be done in New England. The landscape is beautiful, the weather is diverse, and the flyers that take up residence in that wild corner of the United States are some of the most beautiful in the region.
The great variety of terrain in New Hampshire allows you to see many different kinds of species in the state. There are mountains, valleys, grasslands, forests, and even seaside coastlines to provide homes for a vast array of birds.
A few of the best places to view birds in the state include:
- Mount Washington
- Odiorne Point State Park
- Seabrook Harbor
- Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Perhaps the most exciting birding hotspot in the state, though, is in the White Mountain National Forest. This 800,000 acre piece of northern New Hampshire is the home to hundreds of different bird species, including a few that are as yet unclassified.
You can take a tour of the scenic byways, climb mountains, or descend ravines to visit the homes of some truly glorious birds. The forest is obviously large, though, so make sure you have your Audubon guide or New Hampshire bird watching guide handy when you make the trip.
Return back to Binocular Reviews
