Best site?

[alexg]

Hi I have been birdwatching for a few years but only now have I started to look around on the web. What is the best / most enjoyable thing to do online with regard to birding here or on other sites?

Thanks
Alex

[Colin Key]

Hello Alex,

I do not really understand your question, or what it has to do with bird identification (which is the purpose of this section of the forum)?

Can you elucidate, please.

Colin :err:

[Bobolink44]

Hi Alex, really depends on what interests you. If you're in to rare birds and chasing after them for a life or county list, then the Surfbirds Stop Press gallery (http://www.surfbirds.com/cgi-bin/gallery/display.cgi?gallery=gallery9) is excellent and there is also Birdguides (http://www.birdguides.com) to get rarity news which a lot of people subscribe to or check out surfbirds listing section (http://www.surfbirds.com/rankings.html) to see what the listers are up to.

There are discussion forums like this one or Birdforum (http://www.birdforum.net) for general birding or wildlife chat or to ask specific questions. Recently, I've been enjoying the birding videos that you can find on Surfbirds video section (http://www.surfbirds.com/video2) and youtube.co.uk (http://www.youtube.co.uk). I think there's another one called birdcinema too. Google will tell you.

Have you also seen all the birding blogs out there? Amazing amount of material and some very interesting blogs - blogspot.com hosts the lionshare although both birdforum and surfbirds have lots of bloggers too.

Internet can be fun if there's a hobby like this you want to follow.

[alexg]

Thanks Bobo that's really handy info. So there is no one bird site that does it all?

(PS sorry if this is in the wrong place Collin, I thought it was to request information)

[Bobolink44]

Surfbirds does have all of those sections but I'm sure most people (myself included) like to surf around and pop their heads in to different sites and even different countries. Colin has a portugese community site for instance. If you want to get in on what's being seen (rarities and more common birds) sometimes the yahoo discussion groups are best - there's a couple in London. search this forum for yahoo groups london as the link for local london based sites has been posted in this forum before.

[Colin Key]

Hello Alex,

A belated "welcome" to the forum. Apologies, but I really did not understand the wording in your original post.

It might be useful if you gave a bit more information about yourself, level of experience, and where you go birdwatching (I note that you are from London - I also have a home there and know most of the popular localities around London as well as further afield in Kent and East Sussex).

As Bobolink says, there is no single website "that does everything" but as you 'find your feet' you will realise it is worth sticking your nose into all sorts of birding-related websites and forums, and I would urge you to "give" as well as "take" and don't be intimidated by too many "experts". This relatively new forum has quite a "fresh" feel to it and you will always get assistance whatever your query.

Enjoying birds, at whatever level, is all that matters.

Regards,

Colin :smile:

[Joe stockwell]

lucky for some colin!

hello alex and welcome

i have found this forum to be very helpfull indeed and if you want a good chuckle theres always some good blogs on blogspot and some really good photos on the forum gallery ( see colin key and john robinsons galleries)

Joe

[alexg]

I had the tracking software on my PC before but can see that logging bird sightings communally has its attractions! Does it ever get competitive?!

[Colin Key]

I had the tracking software on my PC before but can see that logging bird sightings communally has its attractions! Does it ever get competitive?!

Errrm, again, what are you talking about Alex?

Is it just me?

Colin :err::confused:

[Joe stockwell]

not just you colin!:err: