Best products from r/birding
We found 50 comments on r/birding discussing the most recommended products. We ran sentiment analysis on each of these comments to determine how redditors feel about different products. We found 144 products and ranked them based on the amount of positive reactions they received. Here are the top 20.
1. Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America
- Houghton Mifflin Field Guide to Birds of N.A. by Kaufman Field Guides - 0-618-57423-9
Features:
2. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America
SIBLEY FIELD GUIDE: BIRDS EAST
3. The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd Edition (Sibley Guides)
- Sibley Guide To Birds, 2nd Ed
Features:
4. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Sixth Edition (National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America)
- Field Guide to the Birds of North America
- FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF NA
- National Geographic Maps
Features:
5. National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Features:
7. Woodlink Going Green Platform Bird Feeder Model GGPLAT
- Feeder is made of up to 90-percent post-consumer recycled plastic
- Powder coated metal screen bottom allows for drainage
- Sturdy, screwed together construction; will last for years to come
- Hanging cable included
- Made in the USA
Features:
8. Birds of Colorado Field Guide
- gift for nature lover
- gift for bird lover
- Colorado birds
Features:
9. Bushnell Falcon 133410 Binoculars with Case (Black, 7x35 mm)
- Fully coated optics for superior light transmission
- Instafocus System for fast focus on moving targets
- Non slip rubber grip pads for secure grip in all weather conditions
- 7X magnification, auto focusing porro prism
- 35 Millimeter lens diameter, 21 Ounce weight
- 20 Feet close focusing distance
- 12 Millimeter eye relief, five millimeter exit pupil
- 420 Feet field of view at 1000 yards
Features:
10. SVBONY SV45 10-30x50 Zoom Monocular with BaK4 Prism Fully Multi-Coated Waterproof High Power Mini Spotting Scope for Outdoor Activity (10-30x50mm with Phone Adapter)
SV45 Zoom magnification ;can adjust to any magnification between 10 and 30 time;50mm objective lens make your view wider;clearer and brighter ;it even can give you a wide field of view that measures 129 - 99ft/1000yds awayBAK-4 Prism inside and fully multi-coated lens coating; guarantee superior lig...
11. Celestron – Nature DX 8x42 Binoculars – Outdoor and Birding Binocular – Fully Multi-coated with BaK-4 Prisms – Rubber Armored – Fog & Waterproof Binoculars – Top Pick Optics
PERFECT BINOCULARS FOR EVERY ADVENTURE: A great match for everyone from beginners to mid-range outdoors and birding enthusiasts. The perfect combination of premium build, portability, and priceTOP-RATED GLASS OPTICS WITH IMPRESSIVE SPECS: Fully multi-coated lenses for brighter images, more contrast ...
12. The Sibley Birder's Life List and Field Diary (Sibley Birds)
- ALL-IN-ONE-KIT: Ultra organized and compact kit contains great quality watercolors, a water brush that can store water, dabbing sponge and mixing palette.
- CAPTURE THE MOMENT: Portable kit makes it easy to take on hikes for plein air painting outdoors or for painting while travelling.
- UNIQUE COLLAPSABLE WATERBRUSH: Sakura’s water brush separates into two parts: a brush tip and barrel handle with a plug to carry water allowing it to fit perfectly within the set.
- JAPANESE QUALITY: Each watercolor is individually color matrix tested against all the other colors to ensure colors blend well.
- CERTIFIED NON-TOXIC: Approved by ACMI toxicologists & bears trusted AP Seal.
Features:
13. Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guide Series)
- Peterson Field Guide Birds Na
Features:
14. OLYMPUS TROOPER 8 X 40 DPS I Binocular
- Durable, high-quality finish with sure-grip rubber coating
- UV protection to protect eyes against the suns harmful rays
- Wide-angle field of view for fast-moving subjects. Weight : 710 g. Length is 139 mm and Width (at maximum eye interval) is 182 mm
- Aspherical optics guarantee a plasticity and distortion-free view. Reco mmended for bird watching, camping/Hiking , sports and astronom
- Olympus DPS I 8 x 40 binoculars, case, neck strap, lens covers and manual
- Wide-angle field of view
- Anti-reflective lens coating for better image brightness
- Large center focus knob for fast, easy focusing
- New rugged, high-quality finish with sure-grip rubber coating
- UV Protection for worry-free viewing
Features:
15. Birds of Europe: Second Edition (Princeton Field Guides)
Used Book in Good Condition
17. National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition: Now Covering More Than 1,000 Species With the Most-Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume
18. Sibley's Birding Basics: How to Identify Birds, Using the Clues in Feathers, Habitats, Behaviors, and Sounds (Sibley Guides)
- From the renowned author of the New York Times best seller The Sibley Guide to Birds, a comprehensive, beautifully illustrated guide to identifying birds in the field--an essential companion for birders of all skill and experience levels.
Features:
Welcome! The answer is yes, there is a dictionary and some equipment, but it's not as much as you might think. A book and even a basic pair of binoculars will take you most of the way. Bird feeders are optional: some people do feeders as their entire effort, other people don't do feeders at all. It's up to you.
While you can go out with just your eyes and/or ears, most people prefer to take binoculars, a camera, or a spotting scope [miniature telescope]. Most people also either take some sort of ID aid.
A low-end but usable pair of binoculars will run $25-100 depending on the size, most "decent" to "good" binoculars will run $100+, with really high-end pairs up to $2500; it just depends on how much you're willing to spend.
With binoculars there are a couple things to look for:
Bird ID.
You can use a book, an app, or both. Any bookstore or bird-feeder store should have bird id books, usually called "field guides". They include pictures of the birds and short descriptions, along with a map showing areas of the country where they are usually found. You can also download a variety of apps that will do this. They organize birds by type, so all the ducks are together, all the sparrows are together, all the herons are together, all the hawks are together, etc. Some use photos, some use drawing or painting. Some are big, some are small. Some are national, some are local. The most recognized names to look for are:
If you prefer birds to be listed by color you need to look for the series by Stan Tekiela. The link is for his Colorado book, which is where I live, but he has books for every state.
I would also recommend setting up an account at ebird, you can keep a checklist there along with all kinds of pictures, maps, and other useful stuff. The same people who run ebird also run All About Birds, and produce an app called Merlin. Merlin is free, and might be a good app to start with even if you eventually add others later.
You might also google "birding + [home area]" as there are facebook groups in most areas, and there are often area specific websites. Here in Colorado, for example, we have both Colorado County Birding and the Colorado Birding Trail along with a variety of facebook groups, a google group, and a listserv. Your state/region likely has similar.
I would also look up the Audubon chapter in your area. Some are more active than others; it is worth looking up your local unit to see if they are active in doing trips. Some areas may even have multiple active chapters.
There may also be a bird or nature specific store in your area that does trips or other events. There are also a lot of birding festivals/events around the country at various times; many birders travel to them, but it is also ok to wait for one near you.
I just started feeding the birds in backyard in January. Great responses already. Yeah, you can spend quite a bit of money on different feeders that you may end up rotating around depending on how you see fit. As mentioned below, taking into consideration what your backyard/garden is like and how well manicured does it need to stay will make a difference.
Low maintenance could just be a hanging tray feeder like this https://www.amazon.com/Woodlink-Going-Platform-Feeder-GGPLAT/dp/B002W8PVWK/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_86_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GTC7GY5NPPDWR5TCY6RW . you can also invest in some of those hanging planter chains so you can extend the feeder lower depending on how high your branches or structure are.
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Low maintenance could also just be spreading some no-mess seed like sunflower kernels on the ground around or under the bushes to get them interested but also feeding in a relatively more protected area due to your hawk.
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You'll want to evaluate how you feel about the hawk in the grand scheme of things as attracting more birds may attract hawk attention and/or even disease.
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Getting one of those Shepherd's hooks with the multiple hanging attachment points is good as well esp if no good trees around or you need to keep it far away from a squirrel launching point. Those tube feeders are relatively low maintenance although you definitely will need to spend a little more time cleaning them every so often.
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Hummingbird feeders are pretty neat as well if you see or hear any in the area. The nectar recipe is super easy, but you do have to replace the nectar more often in hot/warmer weather or else it gets moldy, so that is also one more thing to do or focus on.
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One other point is the mention about the water features for drinking and bath. I underestimated this part, but depending on water availability around you from nature ponds/lakes/rivers/streams vs neighbors, water will be a huge thing to offer and isn't that hard to maintain. Even a terra cotta base would be a start.
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Good luck!
The new Sibley guide is my favorite, hands-down.
Some also like the Nat Geo guide (6th edition) - great range maps, broken down by subspecies where relevant! - but the artwork is less consistently good, in my opinion.
Sibley's illustrations are clean, easy to navigate, intelligently laid out for maximum ease of comparison, and (frankly) beautiful. The second edition (=new) also has added life history information for many species.
I own both, but whenever prompted to recommend only one, it will always be Sibley. The first edition played a huge role in me getting into birding. :)
Happy birding!
^(edit: fixed grammatical error)
I'd recommend getting Kenn Kaufman's guide, it isn't huge and is good for comparing birds. There are some good apps out there too, if you'd rather bring a phone or tablet. I usually just use the Sibley app on my phone.
Binoculars are pretty important. I started with a pair of $50 ones from a sports store and they were junk. and then I got a pair of big Nikons for around a $100, and they were better, but too big. I finally have a pair of Eagle Optics Rangers, they are $300 and I really like them. But I've looked through a pair of $1000+ Swarovskis and wow, those are great, but not much better than mine. I have 10x42s, which I would recommend. But get these Atlas binoculars for $100. They are really nice, I bought my dad a pair for Christmas and they felt as good as my other pair, for a third of the price. They would treat you really good for a long time. Plus they are water and fog proof, important for Florida.
Crap, I just saw that those Atlas binoculars are out of stock, sorry.
Here's my recommendations for a new birder starter kit:
If you have the extra dough, the Vortex are a great step up from there.
Hope that helps and happy birding!!
I just recently got into birding and wanted a cheap pair of binoculars for a trip I took to Panama. I ended up with these from amazon for just about 30 dollars. I am sure there are tons of issues with them that someone with more experience would notice, but they work great for me. Focusing is really easy and the clarity honestly seems nice. One problem I had in a humid climate was fogging, but once I was out in the field for about 15 minutes, the fogging actually went away.
I plan on upgrading soon, but I am glad I got this cheaper pair to make sure I would even enjoy the hobby.
I would always reccommend an actual field guide over an app, they are just more useful, but apps can be a good complement. For field guides, Sibley just came out with his new guide, which is probably the best one you can get.
You could also try National Geographic or Peterson's Guides, they are good. Kaufman has a really good guide that is geared more towards beginners, but has as much info as a full-sized guide.
As for Apps, there is Sibley, National Geographic, Peterson's, and iBird PRO, all of which are decent and have bird songs on them, which is probably the best feature. Its mostly personal preference between these.
Celestron Nature DX 8x42's
$139. Ok so $39 over, but I've been super impressed with these. Good value, easy to adjust, durable, portable, lightweight & compact.
Heavier, bigger bin's made me fidgety, ornery & exasperated to the point of not even using them. Stumbled on these & have been pretty happy with them. They were on backorder for entirely too long, but in hindsight, the wait was worth it.
http://www.amazon.com/Celestron-71332-Nature-Binocular-Green/dp/B00B73JONS
I have two recommendations. I got a monocular a couple of years ago and I use that all the time instead of binoculars. Much lighter and easier to hold than binocs. Don't get the cheapest ones, I got one about $70.
For binocs, I have 4 pairs but the one I swear by is a pair of Tasco 10x50 I got a dozen years ago. I don't know if the quality has decreased but it's only $36 on Amazon now. I keep waiting for this cheap pair to break or the lens to get loose or something but they're cheap and still work great.
I just checked. Mine is a no-name Chinese brand 12x50. It's no longer sold on Amazon but it's like this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015CORKYM
I think they're all made by the same factory but just with different names. I would highly recommend somethihg like that because I've used it a couple of years and it's great for backyard birding.
It's only 12x50 but I'm not sure I'd recommend a bigger one. I have a high powered one but I only use it for stargazing because it's too heavy and the field of vision is too tight for birds.
I'd recommend:
Also, the bigger the 'roof', the better for keeping the seed dry.
I've had this one for ~5–6 years; it's still in good shape and I'm still happy with it. But any that meet the above requirements should be good.
Stan Tekiela is an incredible write of bird books. I have the vermont one and it is the best, here is the Colorado Bird field guide he wrote, I imagine it’s pretty good. Good luck!
This was my first pair and honestly they are pretty great for the low price point. Magnification typically runs in 7x, 8x, 10x, and sometimes 12x, so these binoculars are on the lower end. However, I think this is a great thing for beginner birding because you can more easily get a bead on fast-moving birds. The paddle makes it easy to quickly focus, and for $30 you won't be devastated if something happened to them. I've actually taken these on bird walks and found that, with a little patience, you can keep up with the birders carrying $500+ binoculars just fine.
You really just need 2 pieces of equipment: a field guide (I like Sibley's) and a pair of binoculars (cheap is ok to start). Beyond that, I think it's mostly having the patience to develop the skills and knowledge base. Take the time to really look at birds. Get the common species under your belt - house sparrow, robin, cardinal (for the eastern US, at least). Once you know them well, you'll really notice when you see something new.
Birding with a buddy is a great help early on - a good birding pal will nudge you to notice the identifying features. Fat beak? Think finch. Small and yellow? Maybe a warbler. Speckled breast? Think thrush.
I've been really digging this life list diary by Sibley..
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0451497457/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511282540&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=sibley+life+list
I was using BirdJournal app to record sightings for a while but ended up liking a physical journal more. I'll take a small pocket notebook and my camera out with me then record new birds in my life list journal later. So much fun. Welcome to the hobby!
We recently bought
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition
and
National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition: Now Covering More Than 1,000 Species With the Most-Detailed Information Found in a Single Volume
Off Amazon and I LOVE them! We opted for a Non-Amazon seller and we paid less than $5 each WITH shipping. I am very impressed with the layout, I have found it a pretty fast flip to find a species while looking at it.
Most guides cover northern Asia generally. The Princeton guide, pretty good, too big to carry as a field guide IMHO. There's a photographic guide that's smaller. Surprised that a country that attracts many Western tourists lacks a good English solution. Hoping to find something there in Japanese but still useful.
I used This One when I went to Italy last year. It uses illustrations and not pictures, but it’s an excellent book. If you scroll to the bottom of the listing some people posted pictures of the inside of the book.
Here is another that looks great but I don’t own it personally
thanks for that recommendation, I'll look it up! I definitely like the idea of not carrying extra things around with me; the only drawback would be using battery on your phone and not being able to make notes in the book. But I'm definitely going to consider that, I like packing light when I travel.
The only suggestion I can give is a bird book for North America, I really like the [National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America] (https://smile.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Field-Guide-America/dp/1426218354/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526682335&sr=8-2&keywords=national+geographic+bird+book); this is the 7th edition, I have the sixth. A lot seems to be based on personal preference of bird organization and whether they use drawings or pictures, but I really like this one!
I would also recommend the sibley guide to birds of eastern North America. It's nicely laid out and it's a convenient size for carrying with you in the field.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/067945120X
As for binoculars, my first pair are these Nikon monarch 8x42:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0033PRQB0/ref=pd_aw_sbs_2?pi=SL500_SS115
I paid less than this, in the $230-240 range, on eBay I believe. You definitely don't want to discourage yourself with substandard optics, which can be unreliable or fatiguing. I've had this model for well over a year now and they continue to be a pleasure to use.
Hmm... If you're thinking globally, this is going to be hard. A simple checklist of all the bird species of the world is large enough to be a book, literally.
And, it's outdated at the time it's printed.
The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior might be what you're looking for, if North America is enough of the world. Embarrassingly, I own this and almost never look at it.
The Sibley Guide to the Birds of North America is a good desk reference field guide that has more information than most field guides (and is too big to carry around other than as an app on my cell phone, IMHO). I do own it both ways. The book is better, of course. But, I don't carry it as my field guide.
For more than that, you may want to pick a book narrowed down to a particular family of birds, if she has any favorites like raptors or woodpeckers.
Hope you find what you're looking for.
I meant to link this earlier. The The Sibley Birder's Life List and Field Diary is a really nice one and pretty popular.
https://www.amazon.com/Sibley-Birders-Life-Field-Diary/dp/0451497457/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495852068&sr=8-1&keywords=birding+diary
You can search for different ones though, with lots of cool colors and illustrations.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=birding+diary
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Go on some group walks (http://www.nvabc.org/trips.htm http://www.loudounwildlife.org/Programs_and_Field_Trips.htm) and meet some other birders - they'll have some thoughts on places to visit and can tell you about other local resources.
Woodend has some great classes for example.
Ditto what LigoRider says - As for guides to birds, having a good field guide is key (iBird pro is good for an app, but book can be handy too). Sibley is the generally recommended book.
For learning, I think specific guides can be helpful. For example:
For field guides the more generalized ones are usually easier to get a hold of. A few you could look at are from National Geographic, Peterson, and Sibley. There are also some books for getting started, such as Sibley's Birding Basics. Backyard Bird guides are also a good place to start.
For North Dakota specifically I found this great pdf that covers all the basics of bird watching, and this field guide. Hope this helps!
I recommend the Celestron Nature DX 8x42. They're only $140 (price has dropped a lot) but they're very high quality. They're multi-coated and waterproof / nitrogen-filled for anti-fog. It's the best bang for your buck, imo.
Also, this webpage has some good tips for the beginning birder near the end; especially check out the diopter tip for binoculars.
I have been using Olympus 8x40 since 5 years now for casual birding and I love them. I just checked Amazon, they sell them for $64. If they're in your budget, I highly recommend them.
https://www.amazon.com/Olympus-Trooper-8x40-DPS-Binoculars/dp/B0001M3612
I prefer Kaufman's field guide for carrying with me while I'm birding. It's well organized and has a lot of great info/illustrations:
http://www.amazon.com/Kaufman-Field-Guide-Birds-America/dp/0618574239/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382709486&sr=8-1&keywords=kaufman
At home, I like to use Sibley's book (which is far too large to carry with as a field guide). It has even more illustrations and is a bit more in depth than Kaufman's field guide due to its size:
http://www.amazon.com/Sibley-Guide-Birds-David-Allen/dp/0679451226/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382709539&sr=8-1&keywords=sibley+guide+to+birds
Hawks in Flight by David Sibley. It's not a bird identification guide, but it's fantastic at teaching you about how to identify hawks (without pictures!).
https://www.amazon.com/Hawks-Flight-Second-David-Sibley/dp/0395709598
There's Birds of Europe from Princeton, which is pretty good.
best investment you'll ever make http://www.amazon.com/Sibleys-Birding-Basics-David-Sibley/dp/0375709665
Is this the edition that includes both the Eastern and Western books?
The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/030795790X/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_OM1FwbF8J92QN
You're saying if it's too big they'll poop in the food? So this one would be a bad idea? https://www.amazon.com/Aspects-ASP155-Window-Feeder-Variety/dp/B000CSJ1VE/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1510712313&sr=1-1&keywords=Aspects+ASP155&dpID=518BuRKUMML&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch