LISTS AND RESOURCES AND GUIDES
USFWS is for the birds
​Audubon California Chapters
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Bird identification resources and  methods:
Note: On PC's, "surfing" the "BIRDS" Menu is the way to go.  It can be very fast and direct if you have an idea of what birds you are looking for. Unfortunately, the "surfing" style of the menu only works best with mouse or touchpad.
Scroll the "ORDER" menu, which lists birds the way birds are ordered in scientific checklists
Also from "SIMPLEFECT" menu use sub menus "SOCAL CHECKLIST" or "ALPHABETIC FAMILY NAMES "

For bird identification when you only have some details of the bird, use Whatbird, Allaboutbirds, or
Audubon Society has a online Guide: Audubon guide
Understanding different plumages and molts can help with identification. 
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How to enjoy birds and birding:
​We will use the word "birding" vs "bird-watching". Birding, to us, means more than just bird watching. 
Birding can be just watching birds, or taking pictures, or counting species and numbers of a species.
At the top end "birding" is the the scientific study of birds "ornithology"
Birding, How To: Get to where the birds are (mostly outdoors) and keep your eyes and ears alert for shapes, movements and sounds. Well that is the simple definition of the process, so enjoy. For greater detail we offer a few web sites that detail the hows to birding. Plus a few of our tips. 
Tip: 1. Take the time to see, listen to, and enjoy the great outdoors. Birds are shapes, colors, movements and sounds. For starters: Go to a spot where birds go(eBird Hotspot type in your city > enter, then pick a red, orange, yellow or green pinpoint). But birds can be anywhere. When you can do so safely look around, up and down. When you see a bird look at the detail(size, shape, color) also note what it is doing or how it acts.. That's birding and we will enjoy it.
Tips: 2. Make good use of binoculars, cameras, scopes, and audio and video recording devices (including your phone).
​Tip 3. Web "how to" info: Audubon1, Audubon2, WikiHow, Ornitholgy.com, if you need more, search the web and you will find.
Tip 4. Equipment you need depends on where you would like to be in the birders pecking order:  No. 1 phone No.2 binoculars.
Tip 5. If you want to get passed the first level then you'll need: Good foot wear, and super zoom camera, and a guide. The guide can be on line or maybe the best is to get one of "Sibley's field guides".  To go up another level you will want a scope and connect with eBird.
Tip 5.5   learn/use 4-Letter notation for bird species names. 
There are more than a few "How to bird" guides online, here is one both interesting and informative; Claire Mitchell's how to. 

Tips from some of our younger birding friends:
A recent tip/birding guide from Hannah in the UK.. "Guide page"
 Birders are usually nature friendly and here is a group of youngsters that fits right in, the Green Tree Club . And club member Tyler informed us about the Tree Musketeers bird watching guide.
Thanks to  Grace Zimri 06-08-2018 for a good tip for young(or new) birders from a young birder: click here .
and another: click here thanks to Peter a 9 year old  bird admirer
More? try this too: Birding-guide   thanks Tabitha Frankel
This is a good guide  as well  "HomeAdvisor" from Tracy Edward 

What is California interested in?  "CD0fFW"
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​Orange County Messages
San Diego County Messages
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Birding Check Lists
For the birds we profile here in(all Southern California bird), see "SOCAL CHECKLIST"
​See Audubon Society’s online illustrated Checklist of North American Birds: click here
Ebird Checklists: Custom list for a hot spot near you -
1.  Go to Ebird hot spot 2. Enter zipcode  3. find and click on hot spot 4. view details 5. click on printable checklist
Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve​ Birding check list
 Wikipedia - List_of_birds_of_California online list
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For simplified bird species names notation see "4-LETTER CODE" under "SIMPLEFECT" on MENU bar.
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Here is a good article for general birding including building a bird house. "Click here"
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Learning >>We found our birds have an aptitude for attitude and altitude.
​Bird research and education: -All about the birds-
These following sites have a wealth of Knowledge:
Audubon, Bird-guide 
​Audubon California
​AOS American Ornithology Society with VIREO visual resources
Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Scientific bird data base allaboutbirds.com + BoNA + Neotropical Birds
Ebird counts data for science, now with bird profiles
California birds Records Committee  CBRC -- basically  records on rare or first time birds in California
The Institute for ​Bird Populations
​Birder's Dashboard eBird notables --not just Washington
xeno-canto  Bird sounds  -- Bird sounds from xeno-canto, are indicated by "AA-XC" and the author
Avibase extensive bird database 
USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
 Internet Bird Collection by HBW   "IBC"
IBP The Institute for Bird Populations studies
ABA American Bird Association - these people may be a 9 to 10 on the BOM(Bird Obsession Meter)
Bird Watcher's Digest California
ABC American Bird Conservancy
Wikipedia 
iNaturalist pictorial collections, Los Angeles example
University of California Irvine UCI
Birding World 
California Parrots
Birdnature.com eastern US only
10,000 Birds 10000birds.com
example of local birding: North Carolina Bird Club:  Club Site, Bird Site
examples of other Guides you can go to: 
 birdweb , National Geographic , Sibley guides 
Again, thanks to carolinabirds.org for bird pictures and information
​- as for the pictures we copied from them, we credit Carolina Birds and Photographer
 Bird Information: 
Ok I just got overwhelmed.   There is a universe of bird information out there.
To see a super view point just click Audubon or HERE (American Ornithology) or HERE (Cornell).
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So why are swallows classified as perching birds?  Why are Swifts and Humming birds put in the same family?  Ok it has something to do with small feet.
But Hummingbirds perch just as much as swallows, Swifts look like Swallows, and hummingbirds fly and eat way different then both.
That why we chose to simplefect. We made our menu based on what you or I might see.
Note-Click: Swift and Humming Bird Family ( Apodiformes ).
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My apologies to the scientific community for not following or not being able to completely follow scientific bird classification.
See:  BONA or Wiki  for the scientific order or see our SoCal Checklist page
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​​Camera recommendation Nikon Coolpix P900. I got one 02-25-2018.  Note: I am now using the Coolpix P1000 it's a longer zoom.
These camera like all cameras are not for everyone. But they are super if you bird like I do (taking a few pictures of every thing).
They features 83x and 125x Super-zoom lens.  They are very responsive, quick to focus and shoot. And picture quality is much better
than some reviews have stated. The lenses are wider than most super-zooms, this lets in more
light to provide that better picture.  It is fairly comparable to a good DLSR with long lens, but less expensive and easier to use.
It is good-to-great at all specifications but are a little heavy, could be 20MP, and have that bigger sensor.
Note, they has a very good image stabilizers, and that's a big help.
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​Here are other sites for birding information:

And more about birding-some basics:  Click it 
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