The guide is particularly handy since it can help birders identify what they re seeing. The telescope, meanwhile, can give birders an even closer look. Some are so powerful you can read the identification numbers of the neck band on a Canada goose from 400 feet. These scopes come with a hefty price tag, though, entering the thousand-dollar range. The larger the field of view and the more detail they provide the better.
Apparel depends on the season.
For the spring, comfortable clothing is de rigueur. Wearing socks is a good idea if you re going to be walking in fields where ticks congregate while a hat can keep the sun out of your eyes. Mosquito repellent would be recommended for birders who go out at dusk. Now that you have the equipment and the garb, all you need to do is find the birds, and they could be as close as your back yard, notes Landre. The best time to go birding, she says, is at dawn.