Birding Stuff To do in a Lockdown

• Do our Birding Year in miniature – Make your new ‘Zone of Happiness’ your backyard – one species posted per day – Facebook Page coming!
• Get on Ebird  - get your life lists up to date.
• Keep a notebook for your birding – especially write questions to search up.
• Find and buy a new bird book from an Australian store!! Suggestions? Where Song Began or The Big Twitch or ……
• Use Xeno Canto on the internet to study some bird calls or use an App. [What does a Regent Bowerbird sound like?!]
• Write a How to identify article for our blog – potential topics – Melithreptis  Honeyeaters ;  Bitterns and Striated Herons [plus juvenile Nankeen Night-heron] ; LBJ’s of the Sunshine Coast [Little Brown Jobs]; Chestnut and Grey Teals – ask some of the photographers on our facebook page for some images.
• Check out Birding Adventures on youtube – For example https://www.youtube.com/user/BirdingAdventures/videos
• Consider listening to an audio book on Audible – they offer a 30 day free trial. For example Kenn Kaufman’s A Season on the Wind [ https://www.audible.com.au/pd/A-Season-on-the-Wind-Audiobook/1982684488?qid=1584941397&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=771c6463-05d7-4981-9b47-920dc34a70f1&pf_rd_r=ERGKZYSH5AJ3YBKMVZ8R ]
• Watch Netflix – The Birders [Trailer here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT9hPCuncug ]
• Practise sketching birds [especially  Ian….] [https://www.audubon.org/magazine/november-december-2012/how-draw-bird ]
• Build a bird box http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/Nest-Box-Plans
• Watch this youtube about a great guy who builds nest boxes for Mountain Blue Birds in the USA - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRw-D_Nw9t8   [short version]
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg7vnYDu_U8&t=34s [long version] – both are great!
• Position some bird baths for easy viewing
• Check out some of my Birding blogs – For example - http://kenincosta.blogspot.com/
• Check out some bird related Ted Talks on youtube [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ted+talks+birds and https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ted+talks+birding ]
• Feed birds some grain [DO NOT feed the meat eaters!]
• Enjoy some Birds of North America with Jason Ward For example - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxj7LaJHTHo&list=PLZVnnAt5_5lbqaQNNg-LEPwdRbj_nf5hU&index=2
• Plant some more trees and shrubs
• Watch The Big Year on dvd
• Read a classic Gerald Durrell book or an old David Attenborough Zoo Quest  [for Example – The Bafut Beagle -  https://epdf.pub/the-bafut-beagles5ba9abfc99925392f9dcd86ae70aa67443343.html ]
• Research The Australian Wildlife Conservancy and, in particular, check out some of their videos on youtube -  For example this one on restoring biodiversity to Central Australia at the [former Birdlfie Australia Reserve] Newhaven - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_CnSHtKr8Y&t=2s
• Watch Netflix – Dancing with the Birds – Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6po8dWuvCI
• Consider the Kaufman Challenge….. https://blog.aba.org/2016/07/the-kaufman-challenge-v-0-5.html
• Cook a chicken
• Study the Butterflies in your backyard and try to get some photos.  
• Study the Frogs of your backyard or local area and try to get some photos. Get the Frog App – its free!
• Study the Reptiles of your backyard or local area and try to get some photos.
• Study the Mammals of your backyard or local area and try to get some photos.
• Dream of birding the neotropics -  Watch The Birders [a melodic journey through Colombia] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-jn1_thxK8 – recommended!! [ALSO – search on youtube for
• The Birders, A Colombian Birdwatching Documentary Film Series
•  Dream of birding in New York City – Watch The Central Park Effect - https://www.musicboxfilms.com/film/birders-the-central-park-effect/
• Dream of birding in England  - http://kceuropebirds.blogspot.com/2015/05/skomer-island-wales.html
• Dream of birding in Africa - http://kencrossafrica.blogspot.com/2017/10/october-19-palmwag-game-drive.html