How to Look at a Bird: Open Your Eyes to the Joy of Watching and Knowing Birds

Birds are everywhere, and birdwatching can be a fun, satisfying hobby for people of all ages. One doesn’t need special equipment to begin. One simply needs eyes and ears and natural curiosity, although if one can get a sketchbook, colored pencils, and a pair of binoculars it will enrich one’s experience. Author and illustrator Clare Walker Leslie shares her journey to becoming a birdwatcher. Identifying birds begins with questions — Where are you? What time of year and day is it? What is the bird doing? Then start looking for markers. How big is the bird? What colors show? What is the shape of the bird, the bird’s beak, the bird’s talons, the bird’s tail? Make a sketch that shows these markers. Don’t worry about making a perfect drawing. A general sketch will do. What sounds does the bird make? Watch the bird fly and see how it moves about. Make notes of all this. Ask questions of other birdwatchers. Check a guidebook or online to see if you can identify the bird. Leslie even includes some sketching lessons and a place to list the birds you see in this handy little book. This is a terrific beginner’s guide.