Where do you find birds?

Where do you find birds? 

When it comes to birdwatching, most people think of bird sanctuaries. While you can find more birds on the average at bird sanctuaries and perhaps birds are less weary of humans in bird sanctuaries than elsewhere, one need not undertake a journey to a far off sanctuary. Birds are everywhere. You can find them in your courtyard or garden, in your neighbourhood and several places not very far from the place you live. If you are living in the suburb or rural areas, chances are even brighter. So what are the places to look for birds? 

Different birds prefer, different habitats. There are birds that prefer, gardens, open woodland, deep jungles, mountains, dry and wet grasslands, deserts, architectural ruins, open lakes, shallow lakes, marshes, open seas, and all manner of places. In any given place, birds are more likely to be found closer to water and where different kinds of habitats meet. If you dont know anything about the place, simply head down the slope and look for water. Within a geographic area, birds are generally not distributed at random. They are found according to the living requirements of each individual species. Knowing what each species wants, you are more likely to find the species you are looking for. In a given city like Lucknow, you will find more varieties of birds in parks, campuses of institutions, botanical gardens, banks of rivers and canals, farmlands and generally where you find a diversity of landscapes. More than the geographical location timing is much more important. While birds are generally more active at dawn and to a lesser extant at dusk, each bird has its own schedule of activity. Large predators like kites and eagles that soar on thermals are more active at noon (when other birds are quite) as the warm thermal currents give them free lift. While some birds are active at early dawn, others need to warm up in the early morning sun before they can move about. 

How can I find places near my home for bird watching? 

One very useful resource for finding suitable birdwatching spots is ebird.org. Hotspots are places where many people converge for watching birds. By exploring eBird, one can even find the varieties of species at any hotspots and even the seasonal variations. eBird is a collective voluntary effort of large number of birders who submit their data through internet. Membership of eBird is free and it will give you an opportunity to contribute to conservation while helping you keep track of your sightings.