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Resources

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Birding Resources
PDF Trail map
PDF birding checklists and links to helpful resources:
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Tips for your Birding Adventure

LISTEN - Locate birds by sound. Travel quietly and avoid loud talking to listen for calls and songs from birds.  Many birds can even be identified based on song alone.

TRAVEL - Explore different habitat types and areas to discover more birds.  Hiking short distances and stopping to listen is a good way to detect birds.  You will notice more birds if you travel slowly either on foot, or by car.

LOOK - Keep your eyes wide and scan all areas.  Watch for sudden movements or flits of activity.

OBSERVE - Watch birds thoroughly & remain focused.  Gauging activity levels and specific behavior cues can help with identification.

RECORD - Take field notes on bird presence, appearance, and vocalizations to assist in identification and to build your own personal birding records.

EQUIPMENT - Use binoculars and spotting scopes for close views of birds, and cameras allow for you to snap a quick picture to identify the bird later.  Try to wear clothing that will blend in with the natural colors around you and be sure to wear good hiking footwear.

PREPARE - Know your birds.  Birding is fun but identification of different species can be challenging without any guidance.  Use a field guide or a bird identification app, such as Merlin  https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ to help.  Be sure to prepare for visiting different areas and plan your trip ahead of time.

RESPECT - Enjoy natural spaces while out birding.  Do not leave trash and be sure to respect other visitors.  To minimize agitating birds, avoid using playback and do not approach birds too closely.  Avoid using binoculars in residential areas and be sure to stay off private property if you do not have permission.

 

Birding ethics
American Birding Association Code of Ethics

Everyone who enjoys birds and birding must always respect wildlife, its environment, and the rights of others. In any conflict of interest between birds and birders, the welfare of the birds and their environment comes first.

Please follow this code and distribute and teach it to others!
The American Birding Association's Code of Birding Ethics may be freely reproduced for distribution/dissemination. Please acknowledge the role of ABA in developing and promoting this code with a link to the ABA website using the url http://www.aba.org. Thank you.

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Help Protect Birds!
Support bird conservation and research by submitting your observations to eBird!

Contribute sightings and learn more by visiting www.eBird.org or by downloading the eBird mobile app. 

eBird documents bird distribution, abundance, habitat use, and trends through checklist data collected within a simple, scientific framework. Birders enter when, where, and how they went birding, and then fill out a checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing. eBird’s free mobile app allows offline data collection anywhere in the world, and the website provides many ways to explore and summarize your data and other observations from the global eBird community. Learn how to get started.

 

Michigan Birding Trails
Plan Your Trip

 

Other helpful links
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