Appropriate Birding Attire Guide

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. I think that the idea is to dress for the weather. Recognize that in many birding situations weather, obviously, can be less than optimum. Certainly in tropical situations where rain is an issue, it's always handy to have a light poncho or even a small portable umbrella that you can pop up during tropical rain showers. If you're birding on the water, dress in layers with a windbreaker and a sweat shirt or something underneath. In the winter, obviously, it's very critical to dress warmly with appropriate winter clothing. And these days, so many sports stores and so forth have all manner of outdoor gear and wear. Foot wear is especially critical. For many situations in the summer, sandals are just fine if you're going to be birding by the seashore. At the same time, if you're going to be hiking in rugged areas, lightweight hiking gear or hiking boots of various sorts. In many cases, it can be wet underfoot, and in some cases, particularly in the early spring or in situations where you're in marshy areas, actually having boots. And, I have here a pair of what are called "Wellies" or Wellington boots. These are basically just rubber boots. And, they are very effective in that they just slip on. And, you can then not be as concerned where you have to walk. There are boots now that can be pulled on over hiking shoes or sneakers, that if you throw them in a backpack, you can very quickly transition from, you know, sort of dry land to aquatic situations. So, just be practical in your packing. Don't think fashion first. Think in terms of, of what's going to be most appropriate for the environment that you're in and, what's going to be most, or least, I should say, disruptive to the birds that you're looking for."