Cheep Chirp Whistle Warble Trill
Once you begin bird-watching, no street, sky, or forest ever looks the same: Birds are everywhere, and their comings and goings tell stories most humans aren’t attuned to. Hiring a guide or joining a birding group is worthwhile, whether to open your eyes to nature around a city or to lead you across pristine bird habitats on a once-in-a-lifetime expedition. Want to go it alone? Thanks to a slew of avian identification apps, self-guided birding has never been easier.
The birder helping others get started
SUSAN MYERS
Senior tour leader, Wings Birding Tours Worldwide
It’s very hard for me to define the joy I feel when I see a bird; it’s a bit like trying to define why you feel joy when you see a beautiful sunset or taste a fabulous . I’ve been leading birding tours for more than 20 years, mostly in Southeast Asia, Japan, and India. ¶ The tropical rain forest is easily my favorite habitat, even though it’s hot and sweaty. The biodiversity is amazing. Never a dull moment. I can go back to the same place in Borneo dozens of times, and every time, I’ll see something new. It’s an assault on the senses: the sights and smells and sounds. Early in the morning—you start even before it gets light—you
