Expanding the eyes of a birder, binoculars are quite helpful, as they possess the power to greatly enhance the overall results of a bird outing. Decent binoculars make for decent birding, while poor binoculars can create missed opportunities with birds, as well as intense headaches that come from double vision, blurry images, and straining of the eye. There is no denying the difference felt between a pair of binoculars that cost about $60 and a pair that goes for $900.

Read: Bird Watching Binoculars: Do's and Don'ts

The soothing sounds of a bird's song are sometimes a shrieking irritation to some people. However, the truth is that you can use specific tunes to recognize the kind of feathered friend emitting the sounds you hear, which allows you to look up the species in a field book. This is accomplished by "tuning" into bird songs. It is important to know that each and every species of bird delivers distinctive sounds, and that birding by ear allows you to identify a particular bird just as well as if you noticed their color and shape.

Read: Birding by Ear to Identify Birds

If you're like me and enjoy watching the birds in your own backyard, you'll find that the easiest way to bring a variety of birds into your yard is to place and fill one or more bird feeders. However, if you're new to this hobby, you may wonder which of the many different types of bird feeders is best.

Well, it truly depends on what you are trying to accomplish. For example, what types of birds do you want to attract to your backyard? What type of seed do you plan to feed and how often do you want to refill the feeders? Last, how much money do you want to spend? These are all questions you should think about before purchasing your feeders.

Read: How to Choose a Backyard Bird Feeder

I don't imagine that anyone is familiar with the sights and sounds of nature quite like an avid bird watcher is. An experienced bird watcher is able to take a quick glance at a small, darting creature of black, yellow and white feathers or take in a few moments of chirping musical notes and instantly know exactly what bird has just come into view or hearing range. To the beginning bird watcher, this may seem an amazing feat.

Read: Bird Watching for Beginners Part 2

Imagine yourself first waking up in the morning. The rays of the sun are just beginning to come through your window. Along with the sun, you start to hear the first melodious chirps of birds greeting the beginning of a new day.

Have you ever wondered why they sing like that? What they look like? Or why they sound so close to your bedroom window?

Read: Bird Watching for Beginners

On January 29th, the bird in the photo to the right visited our bird feeders. This picture was taken from our web cam, so I apologize for the poor quality. I pulled out my Ohio birding guide, and it looks like this bird is a Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker. My guide (Birds of Ohio by McCormac & Kennedy) says the following:

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are easy to miss because they are shy and retiring, are normally uncommon in migration and are currently listed as endangered in Ohio. There is a small breeding population in the extreme northeastern counties. They are more likely southward in winter.

I am hoping that one of our visitors can confirm that I have ID'd this bird correctly. Although not evident from the photo, the top of the bird's head was red with a white chin. According to my guide, this would be a female as the males have red chins.

I like squirrels, I really do. I think they are cute and fun to watch. I love their playfulness, and I can even admire their intelligence and tenacity. What I tend to find annoying is the critters' apparent belief that they are entitled to a large portion of the somewhat costly bird food that I keep our bird feeders stocked with. This is the primary issue that I have with those cute and furry squirrels.

My husband and I have been feeding wild birds for almost 20 years. This being the case, we have tried most if not all of the options available for making a bird feeder squirrel proof. The following is a list of the squirrel-proofing ideas that we have made use of over the years.

Read: How to Squirrel Proof Your Bird Feeders