Birding Supplies!
You're probably here because you're interested in birding! If not... why did you click the link?
Either way, you're welcome to read through!
You're probably here because you're interested in birding! If not... why did you click the link?
Either way, you're welcome to read through!
It's fun--I enjoy it because there's so much to look for! I never really noticed how many birds were in SoCal until I started!
For others, it might be relaxing or a way to take their mind off the stresses of life
This is actually my favorite part! I love field guides and other materials (I'm a huge fan of giving my eyes some sort of stimulation)
It might be helpful to get to know some of your local birds! Finding a guide for your area usually isn't that hard--and even if there isn't one for your location, there most likely is a guide for your country (U.S.A, Canada) or even your continent (North America) that has maps in it. If you're in North America, most field guides have maps on the pages with each bird, or at the end of the book (I'm not sure about other countries and continents, I do apologize!).
A lot of them also come with the topography (visual guide of features) of a bird, so that could be helpful too.
Guides and Apps for North American Birds (Note: They have these at a lot of libraries, check your local one!)
Guides ALSO for North American Birds (They also have a lot of these at libraries :])
The National Geographic field guides, from experience, are bulkier, and are better suited for in home use rather than being out with them (I guess if you like them just THAT much, fine by me, go out with 'em!)
These field guides are world wide-ish ones, so their is quite a selection to choose from! (Note: if you are actually buying one, I would highly NOT reccomend that just from the price alone. Again, if you decide to do that, fine by me!)
Ah, field sketching! One of my favorite AND optional hobbies. Field sketching consists of making simple drawings of what you see when you're outdoors--lets say you see a hawk perched upon a transmission tower from afar--sketch it! Sketch what you can see, don't add in details you think are there. If it's just a sillhouette, just sketch that!
John Muir Laws has some great tips and tutorials on field sketching/nature journaling. Go check it out!
Any ol sketchbook will do, but making sure it's the right size is important! If you're sitting down and actually taking the time to add certain details, a medium to large-sized book would be ideal. If you're gonna be moving more than resting, a pocket-sized book will be a better option than lugging around the latter!
I'm pretty sure a general store around your location would have notebooks. If you're interested in higher quality paper, a craft/art store would be a better solution. Personally for me, if it works, I'm using it.
Personally, I like using inky pens and mechanical pencils (which are pretty cheap but work well depending on where you get them). A local store would probably have a ton of em.
Mechanical pencils are more convinent than classic pencils, just because having a sharpener on hand takes more space from you when you're out in nature.
A good pen to start with would be Bic Round Stics, mostly because of their lifespan (they're called xtra life for crying out loud). They're also easy to sketch with + using a pen can help you learn from mistakes!