How to be a Birder BLOG 2 March 2025 – Equipment: what you need
In the second blog on ‘How to be a Birder’, a new series written exclusively for Netvue, our Global Consultant STEPHEN MOSS gives his hints and tips on what equipment you need to get started.
One of the best things about birding is that unlike many other hobbies – photography, collecting fine art, road cycling or sailing, to take some random examples – it is not a complicated or expensive hobby. It can also be done anywhere – including close to home.
All you really need to get started is a decent pair of binoculars, a notebook, a field guide to the region where you live, and the right clothing for the prevailing climate.
Like all hobbies, the sky is the limit – you can invest in the most expensive top-of-the-range binoculars, telescopes and cameras, buy a whole library of bird books, and a wardrobe of luxury clothing. But at least at the beginning of your interest in birds, you really don’t need to!
Binoculars
No birder could imagine doing without a pair of binoculars. Looking through the lenses of a decent pair of ‘bins’ or ‘binos’, as they are often called, opens up a whole new world. It means you can see details of the bird’s shape, colour, plumage and behaviour in a way that can be tricky if you are only using your naked eyes.
If you don’t believe me, try walking round your garden or backyard, local park or nature reserve without binoculars, then take the same walk with them. You’ll soon wonder how you ever managed without them.
It’s not just about identifying the species you’re looking at – although that is important. It’s also because you can’t really begin to appreciate a bird until you see it close up: discovering for yourself how it looks and behaves. Binoculars really help you get into the bird’s world.
If you’re just starting to watch birds, maybe because you’ve been encouraged by using your Birdfy, binoculars are likely to be the first piece of equipment you buy – so spend some time researching the market. I find that by talking to other birders, and going to a specialist optical dealer, you will get the best advice.
Decide what you want to pay – you can get a reasonable pair for around £150 / $200, especially if you choose second-hand; but like most things, paying a little more will open up a whole new world of quality. I would normally suggest that you spend around £300-500 / $400-600 to get a pair that has very good optics and will last a long time; you can pay far more, and you will get better quality – but you may feel that this small difference is not worth the considerable extra expense!
Beginners often make the mistake of choosing the heaviest pair with the highest magnification. But high magnification alone does not guarantee quality of image, and the higher the power, the harder it is to keep a steady hold.
Binoculars are labelled with what sounds like a multiplication sum, such as 8 x 40, or 10 x 50. The first figure is the magnification, or power, and the second is the diameter in millimetres of the objective lens (the big one at the front). Like for like, lower magnification means better light-gathering power, and a wider field of view, making it easier to locate small, fast-moving birds in dense foliage.
For birding, your best bet is 8x, especially if you also use a telescope, though if you spend time on marshes or the coast, where the birds can be distant, 10x might be more suitable.
Once you've decided what you can afford, try out several pairs in that price-range. Concentrate on how they feel for you: especially the weight, and how easy you find them to hold and focus. Different binocular designs suit different people, so don't just go by what a friend or the salesperson says. Most important of all, compare them by looking through the lenses. Is the image sharp and clear, right to the edge? Are the colours true to life?
Finally, check the close-focusing, especially if you enjoy watching dragonflies and butterflies as well as birds. Some models focus down to just two or three metres, while others perform far less well – this can be frustrating if you’re trying to look at something very close and need to step backwards!
Out in the field, practise quick focusing, and the technique of finding a bird through the lens as quickly as possible. Adjust the eyepieces to fit your particular sight, and learn to hold the binoculars with the minimum of shake. And if you wear spectacles while birding, make sure you get a pair with fold down eyecups. Soon you'll find they have become an extension of your own eyesight, and you can really begin to enjoy your birding.
Notebooks and Digital Voice Recorders
Apart from your binoculars, a notebook is your most essential piece of equipment. If you want to make progress in being able to identify birds it’s vital to learn how to make field notes – it’s one of the most fundamental skills of birding.
Field notes can do much more than simply help you identify an unfamiliar species. They may enable you to work out a bird’s age and sex, and understand any unusual or distinctive behaviour. They serve not just as an immediate account of the bird, but as a permanent record of your experiences in the field.
Later in this series of blogs I’ll discuss how to keep a bird diary of what you see on your home patch and perhaps beyond. But in the meantime, here’s some advice on the equipment you’ll need to do so.
The simplest – and for many people the most effective – method of keeping notes is to use a small portable notebook and a pen or pencil. The advantages are that this is cheap, simple and easy – no technology involved! The downside is that the notes can get wet if it rains, or like me you can’t read your own handwriting!
That’s why I use a more high-tech method: a digital voice recorder. These are small, cheap and easy to use – I can dictate faster than I can write, which makes them for me more useful. They help me keep detailed notes of the birds I’m seeing, and as long as you remember to keep the batteries charged they work well.
Field Guides
Apart from binoculars and a field notebook, a field guide is your other most essential piece of equipment.
The first choice is which field guide is right for you. In the UK, many guides also include birds only found on the whole continent of Europe, while North American guides include birds found throughout the continent. In both cases that means there will be many species you will never see where you live. Ideally, UK birders should choose a ‘Britain and Ireland’ guide, while Americans might prefer an ‘Eastern birds or ‘Western birds’ guide.
The easiest guides to use have the text and illustrations on the same page or double-page spread, along with maps showing the species’ distribution. And while some birders use photographic guides, most – especially more experienced ones – prefer those using illustrations, which tend to be more consistent and are easier to use.
Without question, the biggest drawback of field guides is their suggestibility. Just as every UFO sighting produces a string of copycat reports, so seeing a picture of a bird can lead to errors. Every birder has said the words: “it looked just like the one in the book, so it must be a…” Sometimes it’s not. So be warned!
One obvious alternative to field guides is apps on our smartphones. Some of these are the digital version of a book-based guide; others, such as Merlin from Cornell University, have been developed from scratch. All are excellent, though many people – including me – still like the reassuringly ‘real’ feel of a book, and the fact that once you know your way around the order of the families and groups, it can be a lot quicker to look up a page than finding it on your phone.
Outdoor Clothing
Many new birders are already experienced walkers, cyclists, or climbers. So you will already know the principle of wearing several thin(nish) layers of clothing rather than a single heavy garment. This enables you to keep the right body temperature – warm or cool – and stay dry, whatever the weather.
Two points to make: one is that birders often spend a lot of time standing or sitting in one place, so can get colder quicker, especially in winter. The other issue is colour and sound – some outdoor clothing, especially products designed for climbers, mountaineers or cyclists, is brightly coloured – so that you can be seen, or if the worst happens, rescued. This kind of clothing may also be quite noisy, as it is made from materials that make a sound when you move.
Birders want the exact opposite: to pass through the world unseen and unheard, so they don’t disturb the wild creatures they hope to see and hear. So before you buy, go to a specialist retailers and explain what you want.
Birding in warm or hot climates brings other problems: not least the risk of being bitten or sunburnt. Again, make sure that you go to a specialist shop and get lightweight, hard-wearing items made out of a breathable material that will wick away moisture and leave you feeling cool and comfortable.
You’re hopefully already well aware of Birdfy products, and are using them to enjoy the birds in your backyard or garden. Just because you now want to watch birds elsewhere doesn’t mean you should neglect what you can see from the comfort of your own home – or indeed anywhere in the world, using the amazing Birdfy app.
Watch out for new products and updates on current ones – we have some really exciting plans for the next few months. And wherever you are, and however you enjoy watching birds, have fun!
For more information, do check out my book How to Birdwatch, still available second-hand via the Abe Books websites.
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