Nancy Collins

You can be called a bird-watcher if you’ve ever watched a nameless bird flit from branch to branch outside your window. All of us started with something like that, and the “accessories” followed naturally.

Even if you’ve been on bird-watching safaris to Madagascar and Panama, you need at least one good, up-to-date field guide. The guide is made to be carried around with you (hence the word “field”). It ought to tell you identifying markings, behavior, food and habitat. It should also have a map of the birds’ natural range. Obviously, you want one that covers North Texas birds.

Buy the best binoculars you can afford. Excellent optics and lightness of weight are crucial to good bird-watching. It can make the difference between seeing “something red in that shadow” and seeing a male cardinal cracking open a seed in a shadow. If you can’t pick up the binoculars, look through them and try them out in real-world conditions (outside in the sunlight), my advice is to shop elsewhere.

You’ll also need a scruffy hat. Bird-watchers, especially in the Texas sun, need a comfortable hat that doesn’t interfere with the use of binoculars and can withstand getting dirty. Some even protect the wearer from the sun’s harmful rays. Also, it’s nice if it can be stuffed into a pocket or glove compartment. (Other clothing items, like a multi-pocketed vest, are also important.)

Get to know the most common birds in the area. In North Texas, for instance, that includes the Bewick’s wren, not the house wren (which I’ve never seen around here). These are the vast majority of what you’ll spot. Again, quick references are available.

Bring the birds to you — to your backyard, if that’s where you’ll be. Put up several feeding stations and water sources, and plant the appropriate habitat plants. The key is variety. If you have a wide range of food, feeders and habitat, a wide range of bird species are bound to find something that appeals to them.

Join a group. Maybe it’s just a few neighbors, or maybe it’s a local chapter of the Audubon Society. You can’t help but benefit immensely from the discoveries and insights of others and see that we were all beginners once.

Take a local bird-watching tour. Some groups host short, nearby bird-watching events. There are many places in the North Texas area that are “birdy” and close by. Try Denton’s parks, for instance, or public land near one of our lakes.

Have fun. That’s the most important thing, and with bird-watching it’s easy.

Nancy Collinsis a Denton resident, a Master Naturalist and co-owner of Denton’s Wild Bird Center. She is an avid watcher and feeder of wild birds (and a few squirrels), a member of the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, National Wildlife Federation, the National Wildlife Rehabilitators’ Associ­ation and Native Plant Society of Texas. She can be reached by calling 940-484-BIRD (2473) or by e-mailing denton@wildbird.com .