When you first start bird watching, you'll quickly gain an appreciation for the various species you sight.
After a few sessions, however, you'll want to raise your birding game to new levels.
Here are some tips on how to get the most out of your birding.
The time of day you go birding is pretty critical.
There are a lot of factors such as the time of year and temperature that go into picking the best time.
In general, the superior time to make the most sightings is the old crack of dawn.
The vast majority of species are out and feeding at this time, so you need to be as well.
Yes, the early bird really does get the worm.
The worst time to sight birds is typically mid-afternoon.
Birds don't do lunch.
When it is warm outside, they tend to do what most animals do.
They sleep or at least lay low.
While there are certainly going to be species out and about, there will not be a lot.
When you first start sighting, there is a tendency to break your neck while you flip the binoculars back and forth trying to see everything.
One of the biggest tips I can give you is to stop doing this.
Instead, focus on areas where there is a natural break in the geography.
If you are on a plateau where there is a grassy area running up to a line of trees, focus on the edge of those trees.
Birds will congregate in this area, which makes it a great place to find unexpected species.
You can expand on this approach if you pay attention to the conditions on the day in question.
If it is really windy, focus on sheltered areas.
While bird species fly on the wind, they don't like standing in it much more than we do.
The same goes for temperatures and such.
If it is blazing hot, focus on shaded areas.
If the temperature is cold, focus on hot areas and so on.
As a final bit of advice, I strongly suggest you know the species in the area and their migratory patterns.
If the birds are gone for the season, it doesn't matter what time you get up or what you focus on.
You aren't going to see much.