The best thing about birding is that it requires no monetary investment. The only thing you need to invest is time. You might be asking yourself if birding requires no money, then why do I see birdwatchers wearing expensive binoculars and cameras? Yes, oftentimes birders do have a lot of equipment, but it isn’t necessary to the hobby. The best binoculars, camera, and scope might make some aspects of birding a little easier, but actual knowledge and experience makes a much greater difference when it comes to the ability to identify a bird.
Birding by sound requires no equipment and is a great way to get started. A common misconception is that the main component to birding is the visual aspect, but that is far from the truth. In reality, listening for birds is the way that I identify a majority of birds in the field. The main piece of technology that I use for birding by sound is my phone. Apps and websites like Merlin, all about birds, ABC birds, Audubon, eBird, and iBird PRO are very useful because they have a library of bird calls as well as helpful ways to remember calls (like “who-cooks-for-you” for a Barred Owl call).
Binoculars are, to me, the most useful equipment for the hobby. Binoculars can range greatly in price; some of the most expensive birding binoculars can be in the range of $5000. Swarovski is well-known for great (but pricey) birding equipment, and their binocular prices start in the thousands. Unless you think you are in the hobby for the long haul and really want the best equipment, I would not recommend that brand. Binoculars are very much “you pay for what you get”, so if you plan on purchasing binoculars, I would recommend a price range of 100 to 300 dollars.
Personally, I like to use 8×42 (which is 8 times magnification and 42mm lens diameter). There are some great stores where you are able to test out different magnification and lens diameters, such as the Cape May Bird Observatory. Other birdwatchers sometimes use 10×42 binoculars, but, because of the higher magnification, it amplifies any shakiness which makes me feel sick when I use them for long periods of time. The binoculars I use are the Vortex Crossfire 8×42, and they have been really great for me (plus the lifetime warranty helps me worry less about accidentally damaging them).
The next piece of equipment I’d recommend is a camera; I put camera before scope because, oftentimes, when you go birding with a group, other birders will let you look through their scope. Cameras can be extremely pricey, with some cameras being in the thousands and lens being even more expensive. I use a Nikon D3500 with a 70-300 mm lens. As a long term goal, I would love to purchase a lens with a longer focal length (ideally 600 mm), but those are normally several thousand dollars. My best recommendation is to try to save up for a nice, good quality camera since it does make a huge difference in picture quality. There are some great resources at Penn State, such as the ability to rent equipment. Renting cameras or borrowing cameras from friends or relatives will help you get experience with bird photography.
Finally, spotting scopes are the most expensive piece of equipment. For the most part, if you go with a group, you won’t need your own scope. But if you birdwatch often alone and enjoy ocean birds or ducks, then you might want to invest in a scope. Similar to binoculars, Swarovski sells the top of the line scopes (some costing up to $16,000), but unless you are planning to be involved in the hobby for a long period of time, I do not recommend them because of cost and weight. Even if you are trying to stay on the cheaper side, you need a budget of around $1,000 for a decent scope and a tripod. I do not own a scope because of cost, but if I were to own one, I would look at mid-range scopes like Vortex, Nikon, or Celestron.
Equipment can be really intimidating, but the best advice that I can give is to test out other peoples equipment and do your research. Also, none of this is needed for the hobby (although binoculars do help quite a bit).
I’ve never had any real interest in Birdwatching, so it was fascinating to read about an activity you seem so passionate and invested in that’s different than my own! You provide such a strong, informational basis on the possible equipment new birdwatchers could invest in, while also providing a range of prices so it can be more affordable for those without thousands to spend. Your images really broke the page up in a nice way — very strong visual placement! Overall, really good job!
That sounds like a great hobby to have! In high school one of my favorite teachers was very into birdwatching and he took us out on a hike once where we got to watch birds with him. It was really fun but you definitely have to be patient. I’m sure waiting for hours at a time would make finding an elusive bird even more rewarding though! I like the style of your blog and how it matches the color scheme of the bird in the header image and I thought you described the hobby very well!
Hi! I really enjoyed reading this blog mostly because I have no prior knowledge about birding or observational and photography equipment. I love to read blogs about something I have no exposure to, because it opens my eyes to all of the interesting areas my peers are interested in. I think it’s awesome that you have a passion for birding, and I can tell that you are very knowledgeable about the topic. I liked this entry in particular, because it was super informative and even someone like me could definitely understand what you were talking about. I also really appreciated how you made an effort to discuss the different options with regard to price range. Finally, I think your engaging tone is really easy to read, which I always love to see with these blog posts!
I don’t know much about birding, but one thing that I think is cool about it is that it’s easy for anyone to start. It’s nice that beginners can start free, simply using websites to help them recognize bird noises. I wrote about crochet in my passion blog 1 post, and birding and crochet are similar in that they are hobbies that are easily accessible and easy to teach yourself. Another thing I noticed is that through your love of birding, you have also picked up a lot of knowledge on cameras and lenses. Birding seems to also develop photography skills, which is awesome.