Some great advice from our friends who publish the Birding Community E-Bulletin: Before you visit a birding hotspot, do some homework and know what to expect.
And it isn't only the birdlife of foreign locations that deserve prior study. Sure, if you're going to Panama, or Kenya, or Thailand, you'll want to study the relevant field guides, but it's also the locations just half-way across the country that deserve your brushing up on the birds.
Don't always depend on your local knowledge to carry you through. Don't simply depend on a local friendly fellow birder to hold your hand.
If you're going to a location that's well known for raptors, or shorebirds, or warblers, go over those particular pages in your favorite field guides.
Review the vocalizations. And study up on the regional abundance or the sequence of migration for that particular region or locale.
If you know what to expect, you'll be much better off. You'll save time and even reduce a sense of field anxiety. The whole experience should be more pleasurable. And you'll simply remember - and learn - that much more.
The Birding Community E-Bulletin is produced monthly and appears on the National Wildlife Refuge Association webpage.
