Di Labio Birding | Birding 101

Birding 101

In this section of the website Bruce will provide tips and tricks to help us all improve our birding skills. This may be tips on the Art of Owling (coming soon!), helpful tips on distinguishing between tough species or simply news about the latest guidebook that has hit the bookstore shelves. Much of the information will be focused on Eastern Ontario, but will also be applicable to a much wider audience.

Stayed tuned!

Birding Ethics

Being a birder means being respectful of birds, their habitat and others who wish to enjoy the wildlife and wild spaces along with you. It is important to respect a code of ethics when birding. Here are some examples of Codes of Ethics and Codes of Conduct for birders.

Where to Go Birding

There are a couple of good on-line resources of birding locations in the Ottawa and Eastern Ontario regions:

Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club
Birding Locations

Neily World
When and Where to See Guide
Birding Ottawa - Southwest
Birding Ottawa - Southeast
Birding Ottawa - Northwest
Birding Ottawa - Northeast
Favourite Outlying Sites
Alphabetical List of Sites
Best Sites Index

OntBIRDS
The postings on OntBIRDS regularly provide the locations that the reported birds were seen. Often, if you need more information than what was provided, you can contact the poster by email privately. To subscribe to an email version of OntBIRDS, visit the Ontario Field Ornithologists' website. You can also see OntBIRDS postings at BIRDMail.

Bruce's Blog
Any of my OntBIRDS postings are also posted on my Blog. I also post other information that may not be of interest to the OntBIRDS audience. This may sometimes include the site at which I observed more common birds or tips and tricks for bird identification.

Bird Identification

Tips and Tricks from Bruce:

Resources:
There are a lot of great field guides on the market. Here are a few that I would recommend:

Dunn, Jon L. and Jonathan Alderfer (Eds.). (2006). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Fifth Edition. 503 pp. National Geographic Society: Washington, DC. ISBN-10: 0-7922-5314-0.

NEW! Dunn, Jon L. and Jonathan Alderfer (Eds.). (2008). National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America. 432 pp. National Geographic Society: Washington, DC. ISBN-10: 1-4262-0330-6.

Sibley, David Allen. (2003). The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America. 433 pp. Alfred A. Knopf: New York. ISBN: 0-679-45120-X.

NEW! Weir, Ron. D. (2008). Birds of the Kingston Region. Second Edition. 611 pp. Kingston Field Naturalists.

The cost of the Birds of the Kingston Region is $30 plus shipping and handling. To order your copy, contact Owen Weir at 613-354-1877 or owin@sympatico.ca