Birds
My "career" as a birder started when I was around 10 years old. I had just gotten my first binoculars and was obsessed with the birds in my garden. No way that there were such rare and spectacular birds like Dunnocks and Blackcaps living in our garden! Little did I know that these two bird species are actually pretty common-anyway, I was hooked. Soon I connected with the local scene and self-taught myself bird songs . At 16, I became a member of North Rhine-Westphalia Ornithological Society(NWO). Trips to regional and national birding-hotspots like Helgoland and Borkum completed my obsession. My dream is to inspire people to learn more about birds and their nature. Join me on guided tours or participate in one of the many monitoring programs of the local and national birding scene!
Want to get started?
book recommendations
Have fun!
Understand.
Get out!
This book by the legend himself, David Lindo, captures vividly the charme of birdwatching in urban areas all across the globe. Several European cities are featured, including Berlin, Reycjavik and Paris. It really makes you want to go out and experience it all by yourself! The perfect book to find out why birding can be a fun and unpredictable passion. 100% Recommend.
A detailed and extensive work to introduce the reader to the topic of ornithology. Evolutionary sciences, the right optics, behaviour. You won´t miss a single important topic! The perfect match for everyone who wants to dive deeper.
An absolute gold-standard in bird-identification in Europe. Drawings of over 900 different species you can come across. Clean design and flawless, compact information about distribution, behaviour and successful identification.
app recommendations
Want to learn bird songs? With this apllication, you can easily pick the species you want to learn and listen to them alltogether. You can create your own soundboard and statistics make your progress visible. Ideal for rainy days.
Algorithms are getting better and better! You can use this app to record and identify bird songs and calls. Keep feeding information and soon the app will become a must have among birders. Very useful for beginners.
You don´t have to carry around books anymore to identify the birds in your backyard or elsewhere. Download the Kosmos Bird Guide and get access to all the information in the book. Nice little extra: Bird calls and songs you can play
useful weblinks
Ornitho.de is most popular website in Germany to report your bird sighting. Recommendable for beginners and advanced. Enables you to observe a wider range of species based on other observations in you area.
Fun quiz to test out your identification skills on a screen. Includes ranking and different difficulties. Playable in 13 languages. For free.
Great Youtube-channel for beginners and people interested in ornithology. Kalle is really good at explaining things in a humorous and simple way, without missing the important facts. Great guy and definitely a recommend!
recommended optics
How much money should I spend?
Do I really need binoculars?
What brand do you recommend?
Do I need a spotting scope?
When I started, I had nothing but simple binoculars. There is no need as a beginner to invest more than 100$ to 200$ in good binoculars. Starting with less than that is possible too, but do not invest in low-quality equipment, since pricy optics usually pay off in the long run anyway. As you get better, you can gradually upgrade your optics.
No, you do not. It is possible to watch birds from a distance. Big problem here: Most species are shy and do not like to get very close to humans. Good optics will make you appreciate the beautiful colours and behaviour of birds even more. So yes, it is highly recommended!
I do not get paid for it, but I recommend Minox and Leica out of personal experience for beginners. They are not as expensive as pro-glasses and lightweighted. Zeiss optics are the standard binoculars for experts and scientists.
A spotting scope can be useful under following circumstances:
1. You regularly watch birds at a distance bigger than 80 Meters.
2. You are willing to invest in a good tripod.
3. Carrying or driving around a bulky tripod and a scope on top is no problem for you.
There are even some activities that almost make such gear mandatory. Seewatching for example.
What should one pay attention to?
Make sure you have tried the optics before you buy them. Support your local optician. They might offer you the right service and make picking easier. Be careful with cheap binoculars. They may not be waterproof! Last but not least: Make sure you use the shoulder straps to prevent fall-damage! It is also possible to cover very expensive optics.