The most enthusiastic bird watcher may often resemble a pack mule, loaded as he or she has different bird watching equipment. Certain bird watching equipment is a must such as a good pair of bird watching binoculars that must accompany a bird watcher if he or she wants to get some meaningful pleasure from the birding experience.

I will talk about bird watching binoculars on anther post. For now, I will just discuss about bird watching equipment in general.

Besides the binoculars, you may want to consider the following:

• A bird guide- help you to identify birds; this should be small and handy so that you can bring it along
• Water bottle
• Pair of good tracking shoes if you are thinking of moving through the woods
• Bird Watching Journal- help you take down notes along the way. There are some handheld digital versions nowadays on PDAs and such. You may want to consider them
• Map and compass for the more adventurous ones

Whatever, you choose to get, do always keep the cost and feel of these equipment at the top of your head.

Always choose a cheaper item which will not make you miss out on a sighting due to their quality. You should therefore keep in mind that there is no need to go overboard and spend too much on this kind of bird watching equipment.

Another important aspect to buying bird watching equipment is the feel of the whole thing and you should try and settle for those pieces of equipment that would last for another ten to twenty years. The bird watching equipment one buys should fit the buyer and they should not weigh too much since it can play an important role when birding for a few hours at a stretch.