Birdwatching, or birding, is a form of wildlife observation in which the observation of birds is a recreational activity or citizen science. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, by listening for bird sounds, or by watching public webcams.
Tree warblers are medium-sized warblers in the marsh- and tree-warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are found in Europe, Africa and western Asia. Until recently, they were all classified in the single genus Hippolais.
The barred warbler is a typical warbler which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. This passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern Africa.
The pine grosbeak is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is the only species in the genus Pinicola. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Canada, and in subarctic Fennoscandia and across the Palearctic to Siberia. The species is a frugivore, especially in winter, favoring small fruits, such as rowans. With fruit-crop abundance varying from year to year, pine grosbeak is one of many subarctic-resident bird species that exhibit irruptive behavior. In irruption years, individuals can move long distances in search of suitable food supplies, bringing them farther south and/or downslope than is typical of years with large fruit crops.
The American Birding Association (ABA) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, dedicated to recreational birding in Canada and the United States. It has been called "the standard-bearer for serious birding in North America." Originally concentrated on finding, listing, and identifying rare birds, the ABA now seeks to serve all birders with a wide range of services and publications.
The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions, making it Australia's oldest national birding association. In 1996, the organisation adopted the trading name of Birds Australia for most public purposes, while retaining its original name for legal purposes and as the publisher of its journal, the Emu. In 2012, the RAOU merged with Bird Observation & Conservation Australia to form BirdLife Australia.
Alula was an ornithological magazine published in Turku, Finland. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. Initially it was published in both Finnish and English, but the final volumes were published in English only. It was aimed primarily at birders with an interest in the birds of the Western Palearctic. The final issue of Alula was issued in 2008 after which printing ceased in 2009 due to financial problems.
Lee Evans is a British birdwatcher, author on rare birds and bird tour leader. He has seen 579 species of bird in Britain and Ireland; however his principal interest is British Isles yearlisting, where he aims to see over 300 species of bird in the wild in Britain and Ireland each year. He claims to have seen 386 species in Britain and Ireland in 1996, 704 species in the Western Palearctic in one calendar year, 222 species in Britain in January and 209 species in just one week.
The Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series is edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A. Christie.
Richard Millington is a British birder and bird artist. He lives in Cley-next-the-Sea, Norfolk with his wife Hazel.
Stephen J. M. Gantlett is a British birder. He lives with his wife Sue in Cley-next-the-Sea, Norfolk. A qualified optician, SJMG retired from this profession in 1982 to become a full-time ornithologist.
The British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC), established in 1959, is the national bird rarities committee for Britain. It assesses claimed sightings of bird species that are rarely seen in Britain, based on descriptions, photographs and video recordings submitted by observers. Its findings are published in an annual report in the journal British Birds.
D. Ian M. Wallace is a British birder, author and artist. He lives in Staffordshire.
The glaucous-winged gull is a large, white-headed gull. The genus name is from Latin Larus which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific glaucescens is New Latin for "glaucous" from the Ancient Greek, glaukos, denoting the grey color of its wings.
Hadoram Shirihai is an Israeli ornithologist and writer.
Alan R. Dean is a British ornithologist with a special interest in gulls and warblers. He lives in Solihull, West Midlands.
The Birds of the Western Palearctic is a nine-volume ornithological handbook covering the birds of the western portion of the Palearctic zoogeographical region.
Kenneth Edwin Laurence Ryder Simmons was a respected British ornithologist born in Kenton, Middlesex. He spent his early childhood in China and went to school in London, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. He completed professional training for a Teachers’ Certificate in 1946/7 and then took up a teaching post in Reading. It was at this time that he took up serious birdwatching and joined the British Ornithologists’ Union, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and, a year later, the British Trust for Ornithology. During a period of National Service from 1948-50 Simmons was posted to the Suez Canal Zone, Egypt where his observations of birds provided material for later published work. From 1947 onwards he published many notes and papers on birds. He became particularly interested in the taxonomic implications of certain simple behaviour patterns and in bird taxonomy generally and was listed in the 1961 Directory of Zoological Taxonomists. He was also a committee member, joint recorder and Chairman of the Reading Ornithological Club.
David Ian "Dave" Nurney is an English bird artist.
