Area Birding Clubs?

[Griggs]

Does anybody know any area birding clubs? I'm interested in going out with a group that actually knows what their doing. =)

[buzzsaw]

Now thats a person looking to learn! Solid!! I'll take you out in time grasshopper.

[Steve Foss]

Griggs, plenty of birders out there who know what they're doing. Question is, do you want to go with birders or bird photographers? Their needs are different.

[Griggs]

Thanks Mike, that would be awesome! Steve, I'd go with either. But I think I could learn a lot from a birder, then do the photography on my own time. Although it would be good to kill two birds with one stone. Not literally =)

[Borealhunter]

Many birders birdwatch with cameras and they have the same needs as other birders. Then there are some birders that sit and wait for a particular bird to photograph ( professional bird photographers). If you want to go out with a group and have a contact number for the leader or an email address, ask him/her if it would be ok to take photos of birds during the hike and most likely the leader will have no issues with that. Some leaders will say " that is fine but if you stop to take a photo the group will be moving on along the trail and not wait for you"

I have led many trips with birders with or without high end SLR cameras and I always let birders without cameras to view the bird without scaring the bird off then ask the non-camera birders to move slowly out of the way and let the birders with cameras to photograph the bird.

Many times the birders without cameras will be interested in the cameras some birders will be using and soon enough those birders will be purchasing cameras.

Steve: Feels there are two distinct groups of birders, bird photographers and non-bird photographers and they do not mix well together. Which is not true at all! Like I said I have guided small,large and huge gathering of birders of both needs and I have successfully many times got bird photographers take great photos in the presence of non bird photographers.

If you want solitude or be in the company of professional bird photographers then you probably find someone in this forum to go out with.

I also want to say that if it wasn't for non-bird photographers many professional bird photographers would of never heard of Sax-Zim Bog or many bird locations in Minnesota. Many times I have seen serious professional bird photographers following the local or state bird listservs in Minnesota looking for owl sightings or other interesting bird sightings so they can photograph a certain bird. Also many bird locations are announced on the listservs and are used by professional photographers. So there is a trend for professional bird photographers to feed off or follow birder's sightings & locations. For example: Many professional photographers would of not went to northeast Minnesota to photograph birds in Sax Zim if it wasn't for bird reports from non-professional bird photographers. Many professional bird photographers rely on birders to find their subjects for them. This is not wrong nor do I have issue with that. I would like to see more professional bird photographers email the listserv and thank the birders for their reports they use during their photograph trip. I would also like to see more Minnesota professional bird photographers join the Minnesota Ornithologist Union since they use the MOU listserv for their own purposes. ( its a matter of giving back rather than always take ).

All in all we are all birders and love birds!

[SpitnArgueDuckClub*]

Does anybody know any area birding clubs? I'm interested in going out with a group that actually knows what their doing. =)

Look no further than the Spit N Argue Duck Club.

[Griggs]

Thanks for the input everyone. Is there a HSOforum for this Spit N Argue Duck Club? I wanted to go to the MN Landscape Arboretum bird walk, but it was Saturday and I worked. I went to one last year and it wasn't exactly the season, but I still learned quite a bit and I'd like to learn more from people who know their stuff.