How to Dress for Bird Watching

Video Transcript

"Welcome to Expert Village. My name is Wayne Petersen and I direct the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Important Bird Areas Program for Massachusetts. Today we're here at the Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield, Massachusetts. And, we're going to be talking about the equipment needed to get one started in birding. In addition to optics, binoculars and telescopes, obviously having appropriate clothing is something that's worth thinking about. In the same way that hunter's for example typically will wear camouflage clothing to make themselves less conspicuous. Typically, you want to minimize your conspicuousness to birds. Light clothing, white shirts, white t-shirts, that kind of thing is something that particularly in wooded or forested environments can be somewhat disruptive and can alarm birds. So, generally speaking, darker colors may be significant. Think about what the weather conditions are. Obviously, I have a hat on here and in bright sun that can be a useful way to reduce glare, particularly if you're somebody who wears eye glasses. Sun protection is very important, obviously from a health perspective. And, if you're going to be spending a lot of time on the shore or in bright sun, hawk watching for example, looking up at the sky, appropriate sun block is useful. Likewise, insects can be pesky, so that for mosquitoes and black flies, you know basic insect repellent is often useful. In extreme environments, in Alaska and in Arctic situations for example where mosquitoes and biting insects can just be incredibly abundant, sometimes actually the use of a head net of various sorts, the same sort of thing that fishermen often use, can be useful."