Thursday 30 September 2010

eeBoo Counting Birds Wall Cards

eeBoo Counting Birds Wall Cards

Counting Birds Wall Card Art by eeBoo. - Wall cards have been on the wall of almost every Nursery School for a hundred years. eeBoo has re-visted this format and designed Counting Birds Numbered Wall Cards to be a beautiful upscale version for a child's bedroom or playroom decor. Counting Birds Numbered Wall Cards can be displayed loose on a moulding or shelf or framed. 10 cards come tied with a ribbon, in a perfectly designed gift box. Cards are each 8" x 10" and are printed on quality, heavy card stock.
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Wednesday 29 September 2010

Bird Watching During Spring Migration

Bird watching during spring migration is an incredible treat for all birdwatchers, newbies and veterans alike. The month of May ushers in spring along with largest influx of migratory birds that provides an unparalleled experience for expectant spectators.



Hundreds of migratory birds fly in from different parts of the world which is why this season is much awaited in the bird watching scene. Many different bird species can be spotted and enjoyed during this time which makes it easy even for first time bird watchers to sight even the often rare and difficult to sight birds.

Different birds of different feathers flock together during this momentous time which is why many serious bird watching enthusiasts travel great lengths, often crossing continents to track and sight migratory birds during spring. Fortunately, one need not travel too far to enjoy this natural phenomenon. All one has to do to take part of this wonderful event is to track the migratory patterns of these birds through simple research and find out good places for sighting.


To do this, one may start by finding out the different local bird watching activities that usually culminate during International Migratory Bird Day. Take advantage of the interstate bird watching activities both for the bird sightings and also for the networking. These festivals often offer various bird related activities that are not necessarily actual bird watching so there is something for everyone and you can bring you family along if needed.

Meeting and talking with other bird watching enthusiasts will help equip you with the necessary tips and tools to further progress in this worthwhile hobby of birding.

If you’re willing to travel a bit farther up north during spring, you will be welcomed by a wonderful bird watching experience staged at the Canadian side of Lake Ontario at Prince Edward Point.


The annual Prince Edward County Birding Festival is flocked by migratory birds and bird watching enthusiasts alike. In fact, if you are new at bird watching, you may want to put off visiting this area during spring migration for the reason that it will be very difficult to top the experience of birding here. After visiting Prince Edward County regular bird watching locations may begin to fall short of your expectations and if you aren’t a serious bird watching enthusiast yet, you may soon become one after this experience.

To partake of this wonderful natural experience, you can opt to join established bird watching trips to this area. With an experienced guide and a group of other enthusiasts, you will be able to better appreciate the trip to one of the best staging areas of migratory birds.

Be sure to book your trip and finalize your plans before hand because you may be hard pressed to do otherwise. All the advanced preparations will be worth it anyway from the sheer amount of wonderful bird species you will be sure to see along with the invaluable camaraderie and networking you can do with other new and old bird watching enthusiasts alike.


Whether you consider bird watching as a casual hobby or your life’s passion, remember that bird watching during spring migration is something that you must try, even if you only try out local haunts to begin with.

Be forewarned though that experiencing this kind of event may convert you into a serious birder whether you intend to be one or not.

Finding A Good Pair of Bird Watching Binoculars


A good pair of bird watching binoculars is definitely a must if you are into bird watching. This is because this will help you view and observe birds better. For beginners, a good pair of binoculars is really one of the basic tools they need in order to get the hang of the activity. Aside from helping them see birds closely and clearly, a pair of bird watching binoculars will also help them to adjust in viewing moving birds.

Buying a good pair of binoculars

Bird watching is one of those activities that entail patience and keen observation. This is because you don’t need to do anything but to watch avian creatures in the horizon and do the thing they love the most—flying.


If you are new into bird watching, the first thing that you need to pay attention to is having a good pair of binoculars. In buying binoculars for bird watching, the major consideration should be the quality of the lens installed in it. The lens should provide you the best quality of image possible, no any distortions in the viewfinder, and should present the best color of the object being observed.

The average cost of a good pair of bird watching binoculars is around $500 to $1000 depending on the brand, size, and quality of lens installed in it. For starters, you really need not buy so expensive binoculars. To help you get the best binocular for your bird watching, here are some helpful tips for you:


1. Consider its magnification. This is very important because it will enable you to see the birds clearly. When looking for a pair of binoculars, choose those that have minimum magnification of 7x35. But if you can afford to buy binoculars with larger magnification such as those with multiples of 8x, 9x, up to 10x, it is better because these can definitely give you a larger image of the bird being watched.


Always keep in mind that a larger lens gets more amount of light, thus, can provide you an image that is sharper and clearer. (TIP: Binoculars with higher magnification tend to be heavier. It is best to look for a pair of binocular with high magnification but made of light materials so you can carry it.)

2. Check its flexibility. The flexibility of the binoculars can be tested if you move its barrels. This is very important so you won't have difficulties in holding it the way you want to. Make sure that the barrels are not tight so you don’t have to worry that it will break easily.

3. Test its focus. Most binoculars will not focus clearly when you test it inside the store because the environment tends to be dim. If you want to make sure that the binocular can focus clearly, try focusing it on a bright side of the room. If it has good focus, it will easily focus on the subject in sight. While checking the focus, you should also check if there are distortions in the image. If there is, don’t buy it because it is of poor quality.


4. Pay attention to its exit pupil. This should also be a major consideration because this will determine if you will see things clearly. The exit pupil refers to the diameter seen on the image once it leaves the lens' eyepiece. The exit pupil should always be bigger that the eyes of your pupil because the image will appear dark. The basic exit pupil should at least be 4 mm or higher to get the brightest image possible.

Watching Waders

Watching Waders

Nature and Flute CD. Follow the graceful melodies of the flute as its haunting whispers lure you into nature's spell.
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Bird watching for children


Bird watching for children is one of the activities that can help instill the value and love for animals on their young minds. Aside from teaching them the importance of taking good care of animals, bird watching for children can also be a great of spending quality time with them. This activity is also great for children because it can teach them to become nature-wise and van teach them teach them good manners such as respect for animals.

What you need

Before you go bird watching with children, make sure that you yourself have had a first-hand experience on the activity. What you can do is search on the Internet what are the best places to bird watching with children. Once you found the best one or the nearest one in your area, take a time off to visit it before bring your children there.

Check if the entire area is safe for children. If you are having doubts about children safety, it is best to talk to the administrator of the park or the preserve to make sure that they have enough facilities to take care of kids. Also, ask what are the things that you need to bring when going there.



Also check how much are the fees, how many kids are allowed to bird watch, and what are the ideal ages for bird watching. When everything is done and you are confident that your child will be safe while bird watching, book a tour date while you're there. On the date of the bird watching activity, make sure that you bring the following:

1. A good pair of binoculars for kids. This is very important because the center might not have enough binoculars for the visitors. To ensure that the kids can use something, grab a good yet cheap pair of binoculars when you are in the department store.

2. A bird book or field guide. Although most of the bird parks offer booklet that contain information on the birds that can be seen there, it is best to bring a book guide on your own just in case they don’t have one. The book guide can help your kids identify the common birds in the area and can help them in describing the birds based on their appearance, color, size, and shape.



3. Bottled water and snacks. Since kids tend to get hungry often, it is best if you bring lots of bottled water and handy snack packs just in case no convenient store is near the area.

4. First aid kit. This should always be a must whenever you go out with your kids because they can be so accident-prone. Make sure that you include a first aid kit in your child's backpack to make sure that you can tend to the wound or scratch immediately.

5. A camera. This is also a "must" when going out with kids because it can preserve the memories with your kids. Having a handy camera can enable you take as many pictures of your kids during the tour. You can also ask your kids to take as many photos as they can of the birds that they see.




6. A notebook or sketchpad with pens or pencils. One of the benefits of bird watching for children is that it encourages them to jot down their observations. These can also be helpful to artistically-inclined children because it can encourage them to draw the birds that they see.

Tuesday 28 September 2010

Top Tips For Successful Bird Watching and Birding

Bird Watching is Fun
Birds are fun and bird watching can be a great way to get out into the countryside to enjoy the great outdoors with the benefit of seeing what the local birds are up to. Seeing birds flying and going about their daily routine, even at your bird feeders and bird houses, can be fascinating and already provides great enjoyment to many.
Bird watching has become a very popular past time and this is set to increase. More of us find that we have more leisure time available and are keen to participate. We also appreciate that taking an interest in nature is one of the best ways to get started on a path to help protect the environment and the habitat that birds require to succeed.



If you are new to bird watching or birding then it will help you if you have some idea of the best way to approach your new hobby to ensure that when you go out looking for birds you will be successful in seeing some. Putting up a bird feeder in your yard is a good way to start but once your interest increases you will want to go further afield to see more and different birds.

Get out Early
If you are really keen and want the best chance of seeing the largest number of birds then you need to get out their early. Wherever you are going to watch birds, whether in your yard, on the coast, in local woodland or a park or other open space, you will definitely see a lot more birds if you are there early in the morning.
Obviously get a good nights rest during the previous night and get up as early as you can so that you are in position at your bird watching locality before the sun comes up. Yes that early! The reason for starting birding at this time is that the highest numbers of birds are active in the couple of hours right after sunrise. After this time, especially as the sun gets higher in the sky, the number of birds for a birder to see will be less.



No Bright Clothing
When out bird watching make sure that you do not wear bright colored clothes as this will make it much easy for the birds to see you and any movement you make could scare them away even before you see them.
As a birder you should try and wear clothing that has a more natural and darker color that fits in with the area and foliage where you will be bird watching.

You need to blend into the scenery so that the birds are less aware of your presence and will not notice you when you move quite so easily. Full combat camouflage gear is not necessary but if you are really serious and want to get closer to some elusive bird then this might be what you have to do.

Be Quiet
While you are bird watching always move slowly and above all quietly. If you are with a friend and continuously talking you will never see many birds as the noise you make will scare them off and the fact that you are talking will drown out any noise the birds might make so you will never hear them either.
So if you have to communicate with other birders with you just whisper quietly and when close to birds you are trying to see use hand signals or gestures to indicate where the birds are, but do not move you arms around to point out locations as if the birds see this then they will be gone!
A good plan is to always stay behind objects such as a bush or a tree and look around or through them to hide your silhouette from the birds as once they see you they will become more nervous.



Stay On the Trail
Always stick to the trail to avoid disturbing the bird habitat and never go crashing through the undergrowth in pursuit of a bird. In fact never chase or try to flush out a bird as this will disturb the birds and could stress them unnecessarily.
The best approach is to get yourself into a good position and let the birds come to you. This requires more patience but it is an approach that definitely works and you will see many more birds this way. Having said that if you do not have bird feeders or bird houses in your yard you should definitely put some up in appropriate locations and start feeding the birds as this will get many more birds into your back yard and make them much easier for you to see.

Never approach too close to a bird and never go near a birds nest during the breeding season but just leave them in peace to get on with their nesting. The birds welfare should always be paramount and you should do whatever you can to ensure that the birds you are watching are not disturbed by your actions.



Get Some Binoculars or a Scope
It is easy and safer to see birds from a distance and this is why you should invest in a good pair of binoculars and as you get more serious about watching birds you might also want to buy a spotting scope to get the closest views of birds possible.

Bird watching is an enjoyable pastime for any nature lover. Birding can be inexpensive and at some times
challenging but above all it is always enjoyable and fun.
Even if you just start by watching the birds at your bird feeders or bird houses during the nesting season you will get great enjoyment from bird watching.

Enjoy!
Go birding. You will not regret it!

Before you go birding get some good advice and if you want to watch birds at home look at discount bird feeders for your yard and also consider discount bird houses for extra bird watching enjoyment during the bird nesting season.

The Importance of Keeping a Bird Watching Life List




The bird watching life list is a record kept by the birders. This also serves as a tracker device for the people involved in the activity and for those who are conducting related studies. And this is a very important tool for those who love the action and actually has the passion for such.





Bird Watchers



The people that are being categorized as bird watchers are those who are only starting out. Everybody who is into this activity first become a bird watcher or just a mere observer. Their curiosity actually lead them to look and then look more until they've developed a habit of looking farther to see what the birds are doing and how they do it.





For such type, a journal would be fine. This is where they jot down their observations for the purpose of not forgetting. These notes would actually be helpful if they take their hobby to a different level, by being a birder. But for now, let the simple note taking do it for them. Theirs is more simple task because what they see is far from scientific because they still don't have the equipment and the ability to see beyond what their naked eyes seem to tell them.





Birders



These are the more passionate people about the craft. They are not merely hobbyists, they do this to study and relate their observation with scientific research. This group would invest on materials to strengthen their claims. They are always on the lookout for the newest technology that could help them navigate more thoroughly. Birders go where the birds are.





Through research, they go the extra mile to travel where the birds that they haven't seen or haven't been seen by many are situated. The keep track of what happened on their journey. They take notes along the way.





Life List



This is what the electronic or written records contain. Such things can be done by the birders. As they search for the species, the venues in which they could find more types, and looking out for yet to be discovered kinds of birds, they contain it all in a life list.





The information in a life list should include where a certain type of bird was seen, classifying the bird and the date when it was seen. Noting what the bird's usual activities are and how they went on about such is also part of this.





The birders have variety and long list of this kind. It shows their history as an enthusiast of how far they have gone in terms of the activity and how much they have already seen and learned in the process.





They can always go back to this data to change or modify some information depending on their further observation. This is the reason why as days or years go by and as the number of life lists being made by a birder piles up the data gear more towards being scientific because more proofs are available when anyone tries to contest what was recorded.





Keeping a bird watching life list would also benefit people in the future. As the study about the different types of birds become more and more varied, people can always refer on the information provided by the birders on this list for further researches to become more and more accurate.


How to Start Bird Watching

Bird watching is a wonderful hobby which anybody of any age can take up as an enjoyable past time. I'm sure you have awakened many mornings to the beautiful melody of birds chirping and singing. Wouldn't you love to see the bird actually making the sounds? Many people think you need to be an expert before you can become a 'birder', short for 'bird watcher'. However this is not the case.In order to start Birdwatching try the following steps;




1. Start with bird listening
Go outside into your back garden, close your eyes and listen attentively to the magical sounds of nature. When you focus your attention on birds chirping, your mind will filter out all other sounds and you will become aware of an incredible melody that up to now you were oblivious to.
Open your eyes, try and identify where the sounds are coming from and move towards these sounds. See if you can spot the bird doing all the singing. See how close you can get before the bird gets startled and flies away. I'll bet you are now curious as to the actual name of the birds you spotted.

2. Purchase some bird watching equipment
There are measures you can take to attract birds to dedicated areas of your garden so that you can see them more clearly. You can erect bird houses, bird baths or bird feeders in an area of your garden. This will attract birds that are looking for food or water.


You will need a field guide in order to identify the local species in your area. Effectively a field guide is a book with illustrations of birds and tips for identifying them. The 'Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds' or the 'Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds' are the best books for new birders in the United States.
Wild birds are not very tame and thus they will easily scare. Hence you will need to observe these birds from a distance. In order to view these birds clearly you will need a pair of binoculars. The best birders tend to have the best binoculars which enable them to identify birds 100 yards away by their silhouette.
Wearing camouflage clothes can also help you to blend into your background and ensure you get even closer to the birds without startling them.

You will need a diary to record your bird sightings. It's useful to note the different locations where you saw a particular species whether it is in your locality, town, country or on vacation. Some birders track sightings based on frequency and season. A useful software program to track your sightings is 'Birder's Diary'.

3. Watch Birds at Feeding Time
Put seeds into your bird feeder, sit back and observe the different type of birds that visit. Note their size, color, beak shape, wing span and flight patterns.


A good trick is to vary the food to attract different types of birds. Peanut butter attracts many different birds such as woodpeckers and cardinals. Songbirds and cockatiels like seeds. Use a variety of seeds, berries, fruit, nuts and sunflower seeds and note the different birds each attracts. Even planting the right flowers will attract species such as the humming bird. A bird bath is another effective method for attracting birds. They tend to go to these for a drink or to bath in the steamy summer days.

4. Join a Bird Watching Club
Perhaps the best way to learn about bird watching is to join a bird watching club and go bird watching with experienced birders.
These individual will impart wisdom that will greatly expedite the learning process involved in getting acquainted with this hobby. They will recommend the best website, magazines and other publications to increase you knowledge.


It is advisable to build up your knowledge on birds by subscribing to a bird watching magazine. For UK birds subscribe to 'Birdwatch' for US birds subscribe to 'Birder's World' or 'Birding'.

The best way to meet experienced birders is to contact your local Audubon chapter or birding club. It is most likely that a local club in your area organizes birding excursions for non members. Run a Google search and book yourself on one of these trips. You will discover interesting habitats in your areas, exciting species, and gain incredible insights into how experienced birders go about their business. Don't be afraid to ask questions, take notes and learn by doing.

Bird watching does have a relatively steep learning curve, but don't let this detract from the enjoyment it brings. Tagging along with experienced birders will help you in terms of bird finding, bird identification, and recording of information. Observe what experienced birders do and try to replicate it.

5. Timing
You need to realize that you can only spot certain birds at certain longitudes and latitudes at different times of the year. Birds are masters of migration and certain species are found in different countries at different times of the year. It is advisable to consult your local bird watching club for advice on bird species present in your locality through-out the year.

Hobeze.com - The Bird Watching Social Network
Martin O' Flynn is director of the Hobby Social Network Hobeze.com. Set up a FREE Birdwatching Profile on http://www.hobeze.com and connect with fellow birders world wide.
The site contains free instructional bird watching videos, enables you to post your bird watching videos and images and is a fun way to express your birding passion.

Monday 27 September 2010

Listening Device for Bird Watching

Listening Device for Bird Watching
Orbitor Electronic Listening Device can capture distant sounds (and voices) that would otherwise not be heard with the help of our sophisticated Orbitor Electronic Listening Device. Imagine standing in the end zone of a football field and being able to hear what someone is saying at the other end!

Bird watchers and nature lovers will be thrilled at the sound quality of this ingenious listening device. Hear bird calls and animal sounds clearly, and let your ears open up to the real music of the field or forest.

Eavesdrop on what your boss is saying in the parking lot--or find out what's really going on with your kids and their friends. Get a tip at the racetrack, hear what the police are telling someone at a takedown, listen to what two suspicious-looking men are planning down at the corner.

To enhance your use of the Orbiter Electronic Listening Device, we've added a playback system that records up to 12 seconds on the digital chip--so you not only hear from afar, you have an electronic record of it. The viewfinder has a 10x prism optical system to view your subject even closer, so if you're checking out a person, you're able to read their lips as well. A pair of comfortable, padded full-size headphones is included.

You can also hook it up to an external audio recorder to record audio as long as you need!

Ear phones
Records up to 12 seconds on digital chip play back
10x prism optical monocular
Parabolic sound collecting switch
Frequency Controller
Record Button
Playback button
Headphones
Instruction manual included
Price: $89.95

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