What does it mean to travel like a birder? It means, quite simply, to be prepared.
Birding is different than other hobbies鈥攎ountain biking, for example鈥攂ecause birding can happen at pretty much any time. If you鈥檙e a traveling mountain biker, I鈥檇 just tell you to pack up your bike in a box, ship it to where you鈥檙e going, then open it back up and go riding. There isn鈥檛 generally occasion to go mountain biking in an airport.
But you can bird from airports. And taxis, and buses, and literally anywhere that has a view of the outside. If you want to travel like a birder, you need to be ready at all times to bird.
Thankfully, birding doesn鈥檛 require much, especially when you鈥檙e a gear-averse simpleton like me. Here are a few tips on how to travel efficiently and effectively, whether in the plane or in the car.
Flying
Have you seen those overhead images of all the gear some professional photographers travel with, and it鈥檚 like 50,000 different lenses and bodies and gadgets and gizmos all arranged together? . Okay, well, a perfectly acceptable birding version of that is just a pair of binoculars sitting all by themselves. That鈥檚 all. There are some things you can add to that if you want鈥攅nough to even rival the professional photographer鈥攂ut nothing else is required. To travel like a birder, you just need binoculars. Put them in your backpack and you鈥檙e good to go.
Column over? You wish. Let鈥檚 talk about some of the other helpful travel items. I am going to start with 鈥渟martphone,鈥 even though it鈥檚 not really a birding item. You鈥檙e going to have a smartphone with you no matter what. Well, load that bad boy up with birding apps. If you鈥檙e traveling in the United States, you鈥檒l need one of the available field guide apps like the one offers. I try to fly with as few paper field guides as possible. They鈥檙e heavy and take up valuable suitcase space that could better be used for an extra pair of socks or that camping stove you know you鈥檒l need.
There are other apps that also come in handy while traveling. I like some of the identification ones, like . And programs that help you learn bird calls, like , can be fun to prep with while also being useful for drowning out the snoring guy next to you on the plane. (Just make sure you鈥檙e wearing headphones).
If you鈥檙e traveling internationally, you鈥檒l have to do a search to see whether or not a phone-based field guide is available. There are apps available , but not everywhere, so check ahead and get a paper guide if you need to.
As I mentioned earlier, don鈥檛 forget to bird from airports themselves鈥攖hey can be a great place to pick up a few species, even on layovers. When I went to Ecuador in 2007, the airline lost my bags, so for five days straight I had to go back to the airport in Guayaquil to see if my bags had made it. I spent most of the time waiting around in lobbies and looking out windows, which is how I got my lifer Saffron Finches and saw some weird kingbirds. I鈥檝e also seen White-tailed Hawks and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers while taxiing to my gate at Houston鈥檚 George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Along with your bincoluars, you鈥檒l want a camera if you can manage it. I have a big lens that can be a pain to travel with. The lens has its own little padded case, so I usually wrap the case and the camera body with a bunch of clothes and then check my bag. I鈥檓 sure this is probably unsafe and exposes me to all kinds of theft and stuff, but nothing bad has happened yet. Hey, I didn鈥檛 say these would be the best tips!
Are there special birding clothes for travel? Sure, but I don鈥檛 wear them unless I鈥檒l be visiting somewhere that requires special clothing, like a swamp or somewhere real cold. I don鈥檛 really to special birding clothes, but that鈥檚 mostly because I鈥檓 a grump. If you鈥檙e looking for good birding clothes for travel, .
So, to fly like a birder is pretty simple: Just throw all your birding stuff in a bag and go! Oh, and don鈥檛 forget your phone charger.
Driving
Of course, you don鈥檛 need to fly to be a traveling birder. Driving is traveling! And when you鈥檙e driving, you can bring a whole lot more stuff with you. Your car is like your own portable birding battlestation.
Things I always keep in my car: big rubber boots , which are great for traipsing through snow or mud or grass with ticks; an extra field guide (paper is still better than squinting at a tiny smartphone screen when you have the extra space); gloves!; and my scope.
Yeah, I keep my scope in the car. I do. It鈥檚 not a good idea, but I鈥檓 pretty lazy. In 2011, I took my car to a mechanic in my new town and had my scopes in the trunk. He said he鈥檇 only have the car for a couple days, but after a lot longer than that, I eventually found out he was a deadbeat and had stolen my scope! Police were called and everything turned out fine, but the lesson is: I didn鈥檛 learn my lesson. Lugging the scope around is a pain, and I like to have it at all times. I still take it out if I鈥檓 going somewhere that I won鈥檛 need it, but otherwise I keep it on hand.
Some people pack lots of snacks and drinks when they go on roadtrips, but I鈥檓 not one of those people. Even though it鈥檚 more expensive, I always try to pick up food on the road. I like the excitement of not knowing exactly what I鈥檒l be eating, and I get bored just looking over at the dumb sandwich I made for myself. I don鈥檛 even like bringing my own food to work.
(This only really applies to food that I make, because I鈥檓 a bad cook. My friend Shannon used to make us breakfast sandwiches and chicken salad before we鈥檇 go birding in Mississippi, and it was better than literally anything available to purchase for miles.)
Also, and I am starting to sound like my dad here, make sure you have a spare tire, a jack, and whatever else you might need for emergency car maintenance. I鈥檝e never had a flat tire birding, but I have had to call AAA after locking my keys in my car in the wilds behind Lake Balmorhea, Texas. It took forever for them to get there, but I was looking at Cinnamon Teal and Black-throated Sparrows in the meantime, so I did fine. That reminds me: Get AAA.
Traveling like a birder is easy, so long as you鈥檙e prepared. Think ahead, and keep it simple, and you鈥檒l never miss a bird.