Start small. Birdwatching doesn't have to mean all-day expeditions to wildlife refuges and parks. You can start by paying more attention to the birds in your backyard and neighborhood. How many different species can you count while out on a walk?
Observe closely. Are the birds you see different sizes and shapes? Are different kinds in different habitats? Are they doing different things? Do you see different kinds of birds, and different behaviors, at different times of year?
Use your ears as well as your eyes. Many bird species can be identified by their distinctive songs and calls. If you learn to recognize the sounds of the most common birds in your neighborhood, you'll have a much richer experience.
Embrace technology. Traditional guidebooks are great, but smartphone apps let you carry a wealth of bird identification resources in your pocket. Merlin Bird ID, a free app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, can even use your phone's microphone to identify the birds singing around you in real time.
Make your yard more bird-friendly. Bird baths and feeders can both attract more species to your yard, although they must be cleaned regularly. Also consider planting more native plants (check out audubon.org/native-plans for bird-friendly species native to your area), reducing your use of pesticides, and bird-proofing your windows (see abcbirds.org/solutions/prevent-home-collisions).
Look into local birding groups. Your city or town may be home to a local Audubon Society chapter or other bird club that hosts regular bird outings that anyone can join.
Try keeping lists. Many birders keep lists of all the bird species they've seen in their life, or smaller lists of the birds they've seen this year or in each state or county. Adding new species to your lists can keep birding fresh and fun over time.
Contribute to conservation. By uploading your sightings to eBird (ebird.org) or participating in a Christmas Bird Count or other organized bird census effort, you can contribute to datasets used by scientists to inform bird conservation efforts.
