How to Start Birdwatching in 2025: A Complete Beginner's Guide

Optics & Binoculars

When it comes to optics, binoculars are the most common tool of the trade. Some more experienced birders use alternatives such as a monocular or spotting scopes (aka telescopes), but we recommend sticking with binoculars when starting out.

Binoculars come in different sizes with two key factors to consider, magnification and lens size, 8x42 and 10x42 are common dimensions.

Popular binocular brands include - Nikon, Zeiss, Leica, Swarovski and Vortex.

Joining a guided bird tour, local group or experienced friend with a pair of binoculars can be a good way to try a pair in person before purchasing. It is also best to go in-store where possible and get a sense of the weight and feel as you often will be carrying them with other gear, around your neck and/or shoulders sometimes for long periods of time. Like most tools for any hobby, buying binoculars is very much about finding the right compromise for you when considering quality, budget and personal preference. If in doubt, we suggest selecting the pair you find most comfortable.

Cameras and photography

While we'll cover bird photography in depth in a separate guide, here are the essentials:

Field Guides

Field guides are an important part of bird watching that provide significant expertise available at the flip of a page.

Digital Resources

Some digital resources can replace a field guide so you can ditch the bulky and heavy guide and just bring your phone.

Cornell University provides some of the biggest, widely recognised digital bird watching resources like eBird and Merlin which are very useful tools and provide the ability to log your sightings, find locations and identify birds. Likewise, birdlife Australia’s bird finder tool is a great information hub to learn about different species.

As experienced birdwatchers ourselves, we are joining the mix with our own resource, Wingmate, that provides calls, photographs, descriptions, locations and AI powered identification which will allow you everything you need to get started. Wingmate has been designed to be beginner friendly and reduce the barrier to entry many bird watchers feel when first starting and be more accessible to newcomers.

The ‘life list’

Once you start crossing paths with other bird watchers, you may hear the phrases ‘life list’or ‘lifer’ come into play. Bird watchers are notorious for keeping a ‘life list’ just like it sounds, this is a list of species that a bird watcher has successfully sighted or observed, intended to grow as you go deeper into the hobby hopefully over your lifetime.

It is common to note each species with the date it was sighted and location. Some people like to add extra detail such as behavioural observations, field notes like colour/pattern, sex of the bird which may influence behaviour eg. appealing to a mate for males and plumage, eg. breeding plumage in breeding seasons.

Once again, this is largely up to personal preference, you can log these details digitally, with pen and paper in a journal, or not at all. Some people who enjoy birds simply like to enjoy their presence as they are seen and others enjoy more detailed tracking.

Outdoor gear

More generally, making sure you have standard outdoor gear will help during your outdoors exploration and discovery. Nothing crazy here but a reminder to carry a water bottle with sufficient water supply, a backpack, a good pair of walking shoes and some snacks can go a long way in maintaining your comfort and increase the likelihood you will stay outdoors getting your next lifer!

Extras

While binoculars and an identification tool are the most useful, some bird watchers also enjoy carrying a camera or journal for documentation purposes. Again, this really comes down to personal preference regarding how much gear you are willing to carry and what you enjoy. If you are only just starting we recommend sticking to binoculars and a field guide for now and revisiting this later once more confident.

From personal experience, a basic journal and pen is great for quickly noting your observations including colours, behaviour, habitat etc and can be useful in retaining knowledge about different species; many amateur birdwatchers and naturalists opt for nature journaling. The book 'A guide to creatures in your neighbourhood' by the Urban Field naturalist project is a great introduction to this if it piques your interest.

What time of day should I go bird watching?

While many birders focus on morning sessions, you can enjoy birdwatching at different times of the day, each offering unique opportunities.

For beginners, we recommend starting your birding between 7-11 AM or in the evening hours. While late morning to afternoon tends to have less bird activity, evening provides excellent opportunities for observation as birds actively forage for food before roosting.

Weather conditions also play a role - birds are typically more active in calm, clear weather. For the especially dedicated, arriving 30 minutes before sunrise can reward you with unique bird activity, but evening observations often provide equally rewarding experiences.

Identifying bird species

To many people, a bird is a bird and there’s not much else to it, but once you are sucked into the world of bird watching the diversity of birdlife and their differences from each other quickly become apparent. Colour, patterns, size, behaviour and habitat are all factors that will help you narrow down what a certain species is.

In particular, size and shape is highly effective to start your estimate. While it may seem impractical at first, tuning out of the finer details of a bird you are looking at is a great place to start, instead, try to observe its silhouette only. For example, the silhouette of a duck, compared to say a bird of prey is very different and this difference in size or shape can quickly help you discern what family a bird may belong to.

Similarly, the shape and size of certain parts of the body will also provide you with a lot of useful information. For example, excessively long toes and feet seen in a bird like a dusky moorhen near a lake will indicate it is likely some kind of water bird that needs to navigate reeds and dense plant matter. While a bird like a swallow has a small, agile profile fit for quick acrobatic style flying to catch insects mid air, and, a bird with sharp talons used for hunting is characteristic of birds of prey.

When dealing with birds that are much more similar to each other in shape, size or colour and share more overlapping habitat, this can be more difficult. This is where you can start to observe finer details like patterns or colours on the wings or body and refer back to a field guide or digital resource to cross check your observations.

Bird calls

While stunning to the ear, bird song and calls also vary between species and each species has multiple different calls it uses. When just starting out, identifying and learning bird calls can be very difficult so it may be best to leave this for later in your birding journey. However, over time certain calls will become memorable and regular culprits you will often hear from common birds. While you don’t need to go out of your way to memorise bird calls early on, you can use it as an indicator of when to stop and look for a bird in the near distance.

A few notes about ethical bird watching

While bird watching can be an addictive, thrilling adventure that leaves you wanting to see every species possible it is paramount to prioritise the wellbeing and welfare of wild animals and respect for their environment and other people. A few basics to help you be a considerate bird watcher:

Now, time to get outdoors.

As we have mentioned throughout this article, if you are finding yourself getting overwhelmed with choice or options, the best thing to do is to get outside any and leave these choices for later, just start experiencing the wonder of these wonderful creatures with your eyes and ears and over time you will find your knowledge slowly building and it will be easier to know what preferences or needs you have. Bird watching is a fantastic hobby, but there is no right way to do it and only the right way for you. Ultimately, pursue it in the way that is most enjoyable and comfortable for yourself and your abilities.