Intro to Slow Birding On Demand
This is a modified version of the full Intro to Slow Birding course; this version does not include live online discussions or resources. Please feel free to email me anytime with questions
you might have as you go through each session.
You’ll also want to consider becoming a member of the Slow Birding Community, where folks who have taken Slow Birding courses share their stories, questions, and observations about what they’re experiencing.
Scroll to the very bottom of the page and click the button to learn more about becoming a member.
Again, please feel free to email me at birddiva@gmail.com at any time with questions! ENJOY!
Video Tutorial 1
In this first session, I share what Slow Birding is and how to create a new routine of bird observation. During this session, you’ll learn about choosing a place for your Sit Spot Routine and how to begin your 20-minute per day practice. To improve our observation techniques, we’ll be using the prompts I Wonder, I Notice, It Reminds Me Of, which can be tracked in a journal. We’ll also focus on identifying your potential Usual Suspects.
Video Tutorial 2
Session In this session, we focus on learning how to look without relying on the bird’s plumage. This is birding by impression, using size, shape, and structural features - unchanging characteristics. The four focal points are studying one bird to build an impression, making comparisons between two birds, letting go of using plumage as the primary tool for observation, and sketching/tracing a bird's features to build our impression of a bird.
Video Tutorial 3
In this session, we focus on improving our listening skills through deeper observation. We use an ear cleaning exercise to begin to focus on listening to an entire soundscape, then breaking it down into components. Applying this to birds, we'll use our Usual Suspects as a foundation and begin to differentiate between vocalizations by understanding their function.
Video Tutorial 4
In this last video tutorial, we'll take a look at how to categorize bird behavior and use our Sit Spot practice to focus on what a bird is doing and why. I cover two categories of behaviors; maintenance and social behaviors. I share some simple shifts in body language to look for at feeders and play a set of videos to get you prepped for noticing new bird behaviors.