Bird Watching Journals - Preserve Your Bird Watching Experiences
Bird Watching is a great way to escape the rat race and be one with nature. Alas, your bird watching experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a bird watching journal for your sightings and trips.
Bird Watching Journals
Take a minute to give some consideration to your most recent bird watching experience. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about the first time you ever went bird watching. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about the geography, people you went with, every bird sighted and so on. The experiences you've forgotten are lost to time. If you had kept a bird watching journal, this wouldn't be the case.
There are famous instances of people keeping journals throughout time. Of course, Anne Frank's Diary is the best example. In her diary, Anne kept a running commentary of the two years her family spent hiding from the Nazis. While your bird watching experiences better be more lighthearted, keeping a journal will let you remember them as the years pass.
A good bird watching journal combines a number of characteristics. First, it should be compact so you don't have to take up unnecessary space for other things. Second, it should have a case to protect it from rain, spills and so on. Third, the journal should contain blank areas to write your notes. Fourth, the journal should contain cue spaces to remind you to keep notes on specific things. Cues should include:
1. Who you went birding with,
2. Where you stayed and if you enjoyed it,
3. Who you met and contact information for them,
4. The geographic and weather conditions, and
5. The birds you sighted and added to your life list.
At the end of the trip, you should be able to get the following from your journal:
1. Contact information for other bird watchers and people you met,
2. Enough detail to provide you or a friend with a guide if you travel to the location a second time.
3. Memories to reflect upon years later, and
4. Something to pass on to your children and grandchildren.
To get the most out of your bird watching journal, you should write in it during and immediately after birding. Every sighting brings new experiences even if you're just sitting in your backyard.
Bird watching is a great way to commune with nature. Make sure to preserve the experience.
Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of writing journals for outdoor activities and traveling. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to read articles and stories on travel and outdoor activities.
MORE RESOURCES:
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Shark Attacks! How Common are They? Where do They Occur?
Last week in Australia, one man's day at beach could have turned into a disaster: He was attacked by a seven-foot bronze whaler shark while surfing about 100 yards out from Sydney's Bronte Beach.Fortunately, the man, Simon Letch, stayed calm and "shoved the board at [the shark] like a barge pole.
Boston Vacations: Four Ways To Experience Beantown
Boston is a great destination city for a vacation. There's plenty on tap to see and do, and it's an easy city to get around on foot.
Disneyland for Hikers: A Walk to Mt. Whitney
Base camp sits at 12,000 feet - stark, windy, unshaded from the blazing August sun, but an otherwise great place to stop for a snack. Voices echo across cold granite as the breeze wraps around dozens of tents, backpacks, cooking stoves, and bear-proof food canisters.
Join the American Hiking Society
Have you taken up hiking as a new form of family recreation?
Are you a serious hiker that spends hours on challenging trails?
Do you want to find a way to become more involved in hiking
across the nation? Hikers of any background will want to check
out the "American Hiking Society". This society is an alliance
of local hiking clubs and provides a wealth of resources and
activities for hikers of any background.
Going it Alone: The Waterfall at Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska
I stood at the observation point on the balcony at the Visitor Center overlooking the great Mendenhall Glacier at Juneau, Alaska. Before me was a beautiful scene.
Maples for Autumn Colour
As the weather cools in late summer and the days shorten noticeably so the deciduous trees and shrubs begin to withdraw chlorophyll from their leaves in preparation for the winter shutdown. With less of that vital green pigment to mask them, the other colours within the leaves begin to show through.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Trekking Poles
How to get the most out of your trekking poles is one of the biggest concerns while considering buying a new pair or using your existing trekking poles. To get most out of your trekking poles, you need to consider two things: First, various "types of trekking poles" to suit your preference, style, ease of use and of course budget! Second, to know about various features of your trekking poles and how to use them effectively to get most out of them!Before discussing the above mentioned points, let's see what exactly these trekking poles are.
Whitewater Rafting Trip
For the dedicated water sport enthusiast there can be no greater challenge than embarking on a whitewater rafting trip. The abundance of whitewater rafting trip courses available worldwide offer enjoyment and challenges for both the novice and the more experienced adventurer.
Driving in Greece - How Bad is it?
Generally speaking, Greek drivers are not the best in Europe, but they are not the worst - those people know who they are!I have been in driving in Greece for a while now and have witnessed many examples of bad habits on the road, which have shocked my rapidly departing British sensibilities. It is not uncommon for drivers to hoot their horns at traffic lights, even when they are still on red and to fly through red lights.
African Safari Gear Packing List - What To Take Along
The last thing you want on an African safari is to realise that you have left any important safari gear behind.Because of the nature of safari there are some things that are essential to take with and others that you can do without because they are only going to add to your luggage weight.
Japanese Garden of Monaco
Have you ever seen an authentic Japanese garden? Well, I had the chance of seeing the one in Monaco and was really impressed too. Wanna taste a little Japanese culture? Stepping on this ground is escaping from the real world into a fantasy land.
All the Way to Timbuctu
Yes, it's real. There is a place called Timbuktu and it is not just an imaginary figment at the end of an exclamatory statement.
Gambling Isnt the Only Thing to do in Las Vegas
Do you think the only thing to do in Las Vegas is gamble? Would
you believe that there are a multitude of great hiking trails in
a place where all-you-can-eat casino buffets are par for the
course? Southern Nevada is chock full of great hiking trails
ready to be discovered. Hiking areas near Las Vegas include:
Red Rock, Mt.
How Are Minerals Formed?
HOW ARE MINERALS FORMED?MINERALS are naturally occuring, inorganic solids, with a characteristic chemical composition, having a regular atomic structure throughout. Man-made industrial diamonds are not considered true minerals.
Planning Your Own Gorilla Safari Will Save You Money - Heres How
Going on a gorilla safari must rank as one of the best wildlife experiences left in the natural world. Many people describe it as an overwhelming and awe-inspiring experience and worth every penny they spent on making it happen.
River Rafting on the Salmon River
The beautiful Salmon River stretches through over 400 miles of Idaho. The legendary explorers Lewis and Clark traveled part of the Salmon River but thought it was too rough to navigate.
Yachats, OR: An Outdoor Lovers Paradise on the Oregon Coast
There is something about a town tucked between the
mountains and the sea. Often, it feels like one has reached
the far end of the world when he or she arrives in a place
like this.
Why Should You Use Hiking Poles?
Why should you use hiking poles is perhaps the first question that may strike in your mind especially when you are a beginner. To get the right answer for this question you need to consider two things i.
Costa Rica White Water Rafting Trip
Costa Rica's mountainous topography and copious rainfall are both responsible for one of the best white water rafting river choices in the world. Experienced rafting outfitters regularly run about half a dozen of rambunctious rivers, and those river trips not only provide plenty of excitement, but also allow enjoying gorgeous scenery.
A Fishy Road Trip in Cairns
The Cairns Fishing Adventure
A Great Australia Road TripYou love holidays? You love to fish? Then you'll need to come to Cairns, Australia where the fishing is, quite simply, bloody fantastic.You've got options coming out of your ears when you fish in Cairns on your next Great Australian Road Trip.
|