This is page 2 Workshop Light: 2 Bird watching Light

Bird watching and bird protection

In order to recognise birds timely in the field and never disturb or chase them you need to develop:

• Certain skills like using optimal camouflage, moving inconspiciously, listening, observing and using the right equipment and settings thereof.

• Good knowledge about general characteristics, various sounds, behaviour, migration, breeding biology and feeding of bird species.

Birding is by nature a lightweight activity because one has to move silently and often in difficult territory like swallow rivers, wadi’s, bushes, scrub, rocks, desert, etcetera. Birds can be extremely shy and you may easily disturb them, without realising that you are doing this, for example if you did not even notice them in the frst place!

By all means try to never disturb or chase birds. Recognise them timely, find out about their appearance, behaviour. If you want to timely recognise shy birds like Shrikes (Klauwieren), Bee-eaters (Bijeneters), Kingfishers (IJsvogels), Woodpeckers (Spechten) and the like, you need to develop knowledge about them. Best sources are other birders, birder groups, books, blogs, trip reports. As soon as you start recognizing birds and their sounds and specific behaviour like “displaying”, mating, feeding, fighting, hunting, bathing, etcetera, you start enjoying birding more and more.

Always use camouflage. A rare or shy bird may be close wherever you go, anytime! Use natural coverage like bush or trees. Move slowly, pause, listen, look around you. Be careful near ditches, bush, walls, solerary trees, water, etcetera. Very shy birds like Woodcock (Houtsnip) or Sandgrouse (Zandhoen) fly until you almost step on them.

Acquire detailed knowledge about bird areas. Join birding groups and projects, learn from birders to find out out where you can observe birds, where they breed, feed, drink, etcetera.

Learn about bird behaviour: Recognise their sounds, signals and activities so you can spot them timely in stead of chasing them.

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