Beginner’s Guide to Local Birdwatching [Part 2]

This is Part 2 of our region’s Beginner’s Guide to Birdwatching.

For a quick refresher, in part one we got introduced to birdwatching and birding, two old-fashioned hobbies making a fresh comeback. We talked about the appeal of birdwatching: low effort meets high reward! Even without equipment, birding can be joyous, whether you’re enjoying nature’s bounty or finally spotting that darn Virginia Rail you’ve been dreaming of. We also talked about bird identification apps, like Merlin ID, and I promised to deliver some fun facts about our avian friends. So let’s get into it!

Let me start by saying that 2025 is STILL the year of the bird! And with a world rife with bad news, it’s a great time to stretch your limbs, put down the phone, and get outside. There’s so much to learn about the world and about our bird friends!

I’ll start you off with some basic bird facts that you can whip out at your next Birdwatching hang out. Birds are warm-blooded vertebrates, but not mammals. Unlike mammals they lay hard-shelled eggs, have beaks, and are actually more closely related to reptiles than mammals (they have dinosaur genes!). While nesting is a common hobby of birds, the cupped nest made of sticks that you’re likely picturing is only one of several types of nests. There are burrows, scrapes, even pendant nests that hang down from branches, and some birds don’t nest at all (or steal nests from better builders).

Male and female Mallard ducks

The Evergreen Echo

Birds are also sexually dimorphic, meaning that males and females usually look very different and can have a difference in size. For example, a male Mallard Duck rocks a blue-green head and neck, while a female is spotted brown. Birds also come in dozens of shapes and sizes, from the tiniest hummingbird (the Bee Hummingbird) to the largest bird of prey (Andean Condor).

Let’s move on to some other Birding tricks. Here’s some catchy Birdwatching lingo that’ll help you blend in with even the most experienced of Birdwatcher:

• Bins or Nocs: these are nicknames for binoculars!

• BOP: a Bird of Prey

• Junks: a nickname for Juncos; we get a lot of Dark Eyed Juncos here in the PNW so this is a good one to know

• Lifer: a bird species you haven’t seen in your life (but usually one you’d really like to!)

• Tick or Ticking: when you tick off a bird on your list

• Usual Suspects: birds very common in a specific area

Now I’ll quickly harp back to something I said in part one: Birds are weirdos! Whether it’s a bird that builds nests upside down (Weaver birds), a bird that can talk (African Gray Parrots), or a bird with a mustache (Inca Tern), birds are strange and interesting creatures. Even birds you see every day may harbor some strange secrets that you weren’t expecting. Here are some fun behaviors you might notice your backyard birds getting up to: 

• Hummingbirds don’t sing to attract a mate, they dive!

• Large flocks of birds might take on big, strange shapes, called a murmuration

• A raven can mimic human speech (sometimes better than parrots!)

Every species of bird has something unique to share. I recommend looking in your backyard to see what you can spot and taking note of what strange activities you might notice.

Some basic bird biology that will make your birding life easier when it comes to IDing species:

Bird diagram via Blue Jay illustration

The Evergreen Echo

Often ID apps might ask you the color of a bird’s crown for example, and knowing what part of the bird to look at can be helpful. You also might notice one bird has a hooked beak while another has more of flat bill and so on. These differences will help you get into the nitty-gritty of identifying your birds.

So, you’ve read the bird guides and learned some cool facts, but how do you get started? Well, that’s up to you. As I said in the last part, the level of involvement is truly up to you. Some people birdwatch from inside their homes, using backyard cameras or a bird feeder, others spot birds around their neighborhoods, and some travel for miles to find the perfect Birdwatching spot.

As for me, I always recommend finding a park or trail nearby and taking a lap—there’s a good chance you might run into another Birdwatcher on your way. Write down what you see or snap a picture, then look it up later or ID it in the moment with a bird app. Once you’ve done that, then congratulations, you’ve birdwatched! But be careful, the insatiable desire to see your next bird just might sneak up on you.

With that, I wish you a very happy Birding season! With the sun finally peeking out here in the PNW, it’s a great time to go searching for birds! Remember to keep an eye in the sky for our popular Bald Eagles as you explore the Puget Sound.