Visit us at the Utah State Fair Department of Natural Resources building, Sept. 4-14, 2025. This year's exhibit theme: Take flight with Utah's wild birds!

Becoming a birder

Bird-watching is easy and fun! And you don't need any fancy equipment to get started.

Hayley Pace
Program Specialist, Eccles Wildlife Education Center

If you asked me almost four years ago if I would be interested in birds or even consider myself a birder — someone who enjoys seeing, identifying and learning about birds — I would not have entertained the idea.

When I started my role as the program specialist at the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Wildlife Education Center (near Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area) in 2022, I could identify basic birds like a robin or a crow. But I quickly learned that there is a whole world of birding out the doors of the education center.

After an especially inspiring ID, I took to challenging myself to know more about birds, for myself and for the visitors who come here. I was sitting at my desk one day when a flock of dark birds with long legs and long bills flew by outside. I jumped out of my seat thinking, "What are those?!" and immediately ran to our big windows and grabbed a spotting scope. The birds landed on the playa in the front of the center in the midst of their flock.

Lo and behold, this white-faced ibis would be the very first bird I identified by myself, and I got so excited about it! White-faced ibis are a beautiful shorebird with iridescent violet and green feathers that shimmer in the sun.

I was amazed by the huge number and variety of birds that came to this wetland, and became enthralled thinking about how magical birds can be. They come and go with the seasons. Birds overcome environmental challenges, fend off predators, and build nests to raise their young and survive. Soon, I was hooked on birding, and I can now ID over 100 species and counting.

Watch, listen and learn

Becoming a birder takes patience. You have to actively watch for patterns and behaviors, and listen for cues, like the shrills and songs of birds. Before you know it, you'll find yourself taking the time to watch a barn swallow bring food to their babies, or a great blue heron stand motionless as it gets ready to strike its prey.

One of the best things about birding is that it's one of easiest wildlife viewing activities, and you can do it almost anywhere. You can bird-watch from inside your house simply by looking out a window. You can visit a local community pond or park just to see birds. No matter your age, it's great for your physical and mental health to get outdoors in nature.

Bird-watching is even easier if you live near the Great Salt Lake, where 12 million birds migrate every year, and there are up to 330 different species found at the lake and nearby marshlands.

Get started birding!

You only need some basic gear to get started:

• Binoculars or a spotting scope
• Field guide like a bird book or an app on your phone like Merlin, Audubon, eBird, etc.

We even have binoculars and bird books you can use for free to use while birding at the education center. Just come by the front desk to check them out!

Having some background on identification also helps.

• Size and shape: Birds come in many different sizes and shapes. If it's big with a sharp beak then you are likely looking at a type of hawk. If it's small and has longer legs and a long beak it could be a shorebird.


Red-tailed hawk
Courtesy Jim Shuler



American avocets

• Color patterns: Being able to identify the colors patterns of birds helps with quick identification. For example bald eagles have a white head, brown body and white tail. Red-winged blackbirds have a red shoulder patch.


Bald eagle



Red-winged blackbird

• Behaviors: How is the bird moving? Birds like killdeer will act like they are injured to lure predators away from nests. Some birds are nocturnal and come out at night, whereas others are more active in daytime.

Killdeer

• Songs and calls: Hearing a bird can also be an easy identifier, and luckily you can use apps on your phone to help. Merlin is my favorite for sound ID. You just record the bird song and the Merlin app will suggest a species match.
• Habitat and location: Some species of birds are only found in certain places of the world and only in certain habitats. For example you won't find a great blue heron in the mountains but you will find them in the wetlands.

If you are looking to start birding and want more in-person tips, the Eccles Wildlife Education Center hosts a "Birding with Buddies" event every last Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. Everyone is welcome and binoculars are provided!

Learn more

• Find more bird ID tips at All About Birds
• Wildlife viewing in Utah
• Participate in the Utah Birding Slam
• DWR WILD podcast episode 19: Bird-watching at the wildlife center
• See an illustrated list of all bird species that have been observed in Utah
• Print off a checklist of Utah birds

Hayley Pace

Hayley is a program specialist at the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Wildlife Education Center at Farmington Bay. When she's not having fun rounding up school kids at the nature center, she's at home rounding up two littles who are learning to love the outdoors as much as she does. (Photo by Linda Dalton Walker.)