It works best if each person has their own pair. Look for an inexpensive pair of binoculars with a 7 or 8x magnification. Zoom lenses are not necessary: although they magnify the image, they also narrow the field of view. Smaller binoculars are easier to pack, less expensive, and good enough for all but the more serious birders.

Children may prefer a monocular. Less expensive than binoculars, a monocular is also lightweight and fits easily into a pocket.

A small set of the basic colors will do, along with a small pocket pencil sharpener. They are useful for making sketches in your notebook. Not all species are easy to identify in the field, and the sketch is consulted later on when making the tally of the day. The sketches also make your journal look good.

Just as essential as the binoculars, a field guide to local birds will help you identify what you’re seeing. Be sure to get a local guide to birds rather than something showing birds around the world, or you’ll end up toting too much weight. A paperback edition is also easier to pocket, and will be put to hard use in the field. Good photos or detailed color drawings are more useful than a lot of technical information.

Optional. If you want a ‘game trophy’ of your best sighting, bring one along. Be sure it has a good zoom lens.

Serious birders often use expensive little hearing aids to help locate birds in the wild. They are effective, but certainly not essential. Developing natural listening skills is satisfying, helps to focus concentration, and is a good basic skill to hone for enjoying and discovering more in nature.

While it’s fun to count the number of different species you observe, remember to record the number of birds within each species you see. This is a valuable element in the process because it gives you a look at the status of each species’ population year after year. If you see a flock of birds, try to estimate their number. When making repeat sightings, make a note and enter it later in your journal under the tally section.

Annual bird counts can be more than once a year. You can determine your own bird count schedule, and become an expert on local bird species and population during each season. Every season brings migratory changes, all worth observing and noting.

Any number can participate, and an annual bird count is a great community event. Larger groups will be noisier, but the sightings are fun to share together. Dedicated bird counters may want to divide an area up and split the large group into smaller groups to cover more area and to be less obtrusive to wildlife. A notice can be posted showing the overall boundary of the bird count, and people can choose any route they like. At day’s end all meet together to tally the results. A shared pot-luck dinner can make the event downright festive. It will likely become an annual event.

Some avid birders may want to leave the young children at home, fearing they will have a short attention span or spoil the sightings with distracting noise or behavior. But the young ones have keen eyes and can contribute to the sightings. And most importantly, children need to learn about our interest and respect for nature at the earliest age. These events may set a lifelong pattern of appreciation for nature.

Let the young ones make some of the sightings. If you see a ‘new’ bird, wait and give them a chance make the discovery. Let even the youngest ones have their own journal to keep their drawings and entries. They’ll be proud to share their entries with the group later on, and over time their journals will become family treasures.

Some in the group, especially the younger members, may want to rush ahead to see what’s next. Point out to them that most creatures in nature move slowly when not alarmed. When a person moves quickly or suddenly in the forest, the ripple of energy is noticed by surrounding wildlife who instinctively move away from the sound of activity. Your group should proceed at a measured pace, stopping regularly for a while, keeping a calm aspect and speaking quietly together.