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Tropical Birding 101
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Introduction
Peru is a birdwatcher’s paradise with more than 1800 species of birds. To put this in perspective, there are about 10,000 species of birds in the world and only about 700 species in all of North America! The diversity of birds in Peru is due to the ecological and geographical diversity of the country ranging from deserts on the coast to high Andean puna grasslands, cloud forest and a multitude of forest types within the lowland Amazon rainforest. Those people going on the post-conference rainforest trip to the Tambopata River will experience one of the richest places on earth for birds!
As you’ll find out, birds are the most visible of all the vertebrates in the rainforest. This lecture is designed to act as a beginner course in rainforest bird watching!
Equipment
Binoculars
First and foremost, good binoculars are essential for birding and come in two main types, the porro prism and the roof prism. The difference is in how the prisms are situated in the lenses and reflect the light to your eye. You’ll notice two numbers on your binoculars, such as 7X35 or 8X40. The first number is the power or magnification and the second number is the diameter in millimeters of the objective lens, which is the lens furthest from your eye. The larger this number is, the more light can enter and the greater the resolution. In a place like a dark rainforest, this second number is more important than the first number!
Spotting scopes
Spotting scopes are also useful, especially if you’re looking at birds that are stationary.
Field Guides
Field guides are an absolute must and The Birds of Peru book was just published a couple of years ago after more than 25 years of work by several dedicated ornithologists. For the beginner bird watcher, tropical birding can be very daunting, especially when you look at a page of birds such as the flycatchers!
Clock Method
As you can imagine, it can be very difficult and frustrating to point out birds to people in the rainforest, so the “clock method” is a handy tool we’ll use. Basically, twelve o’clock is either right at the top of a tree or right in front of the boat if we’re in a boat. Three, six and nine o’clock correspond to the position of those times on a clock! [...]
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