Birding

How Twitter Can Make You a Better Birder

Harness the power of the tweet and up your rarity-finding success.
By Tom Stephenson and Purbita Saha
Published November 02, 2016

Your email pings: It's a message from the local birding listserv. A Swainson鈥檚 Warbler, the first ever for the state, was photographed moments听ago. You call out of work (that鈥檚 what sick days are for) and drive the 40听minutes to where the bird was last sighted. But once you get听there, it鈥檚 a ghost town. You check your email, all the relevant Facebook groups, your texts . . .听nothing. You need an update,听and听you need it fast.

That鈥檚 where Twitter comes in.

The decade-old social media site, which allows users to communicate through听140-character tweets that can also contain听images听and videos, is all about keeping you updated in real time. Best known for disseminating key information during global crises and broadcasting feuds between the rich and famous (does听 ring a bell?), Twitter can be a prized听source of birding news, too. It can clue you into rarities in your area (like said Swainson's Warblers), help you stay with the masses at festivals and events, and open up opportunities for discussion with other birders.听Through tweets, one person can share their knowledge with millions of interested individuals. There鈥檚 no such thing as too much information听on Twitter,听and听it's this听quality听that makes it a听perfect platform听for birders.听听

The first step, naturally,听is to create your own . If you want to get it to go鈥攁 must听for use听in the field鈥攄ownload the Twitter app on your phone. The experience can be addictive and might听seem overwhelming at first, but there are ways to filter your feed鈥攁 live listing of all of the听tweets from the accounts you follow鈥攖o make it less chaotic.听Here鈥檚 how you can customize your Twitter experience to best听meet your birding needs.

Embrace Advanced Search

It might seem strange听to听start out a how-to guide by recommending an advanced feature, but you'll quickly realize that the faster you can听narrow down the deluge of听tweets that are sent every minute, the better.听You can rely on the general search bar to track hashtags and users (see the "Local Lingo" entry below for more on that),听but听听lets you quickly听get into the nitty-gritty if you're听trying to research听any听bird sightings or news in your area. From there you can target words, dates, location, and handles to really hone the results.听

If you want updates on a rarity that you're already aware of, use听the species name, location, habitat type, and date mentioned wherever听you first saw the sighting (email, Facebook, or another tweet). This will help you听find people tweeting about the bird. So, for example, you might search "Painted Redstart," "Manitoba," and "record" between October 27 and October 31.听If you鈥檙e looking to do a blanket search for strange visitors听in the area, use the听听and听the听location. Birders rely on this ranking system to denote听extraordinary sightings, both on social media and on eBird.听Code 3s, 4s, and 5s are the most drool听worthy; Code 6s are escapees鈥攐r extinct birds.听

Find Your People

Of course, one of the best ways to stay on top of local and rare sightings is by following people. To听figure out which folks in your area use听Twitter to report species, do an advanced search for any terms related to birding听in your geographic area. If it听looks like the people who turn up听frequently tweet interesting sightings or bird听news, then follow them.听

Other prime users to add may be members or staff at regional birding clubs, wildlife refuges, banding stations, university ornithology programs, and 爆料公社 centers or chapters. So be sure to also听check听organizational accounts to see which handles they retweet (to听re-share someone's post on your听own feed)听and follow those. Finally, if you want to do some real digging, look up and check if they have a corresponding Twitter account.听

Also be aware that some birders听have two handles, with one just reserved for sightings. These are the accounts you want to follow.听You only need a听few听birders to keep your feed fresh and听local; once they pick up on a hot sighting, they might retweet it and send it your way.

It's also helpful to follow national and international accounts to be aware of听what else is out there (and to just live vicariously). Birds can go anywhere; who knows, maybe your neighborhood will get a mention!听Here are a few general accounts you might want to check听out.

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Stay Up-to-Date and Organized听

Depending on how many people you follow, tweets can get buried almost as soon as they appear in your feed.听How do you make sure you don鈥檛 miss the good ones? Once you鈥檙e following someone, you can get a text message every time they send a tweet by selecting 鈥淭urn On Mobile Notifications鈥 through their profile on the app. Unfortunately, there鈥檚 no way to filter the alerts, so choose wisely. To keep the blitz at a minimum, you might only want to use this feature for accounts devoted to birding鈥攁nd only during peak migration times, when more wayward species are bound to pop up.听

Another way to sift through the information is ,听which allow you to group different accounts and aggregate their tweets. Organize each list by geography or category: sightings, news, gatherings, photography, podcasts, science, lame bird humor, etc. If you鈥檙e planning a trip or attending a festival, you can make a temporary lineup with the top birders in the region or featured听guests. To see the tweets from all your lists side by side, try , an extra Twitter application that鈥檚 free for users.

Use It in the Field

Once you鈥檙e comfortable with the Twitter landscape, start folding it into your regular birding ritual. You can plan out trips to target rarities and听keep tabs on them if you can鈥檛 get听there right away. Even if your local birders aren鈥檛 heavy听tweeters, you might see a flurry of activity when a special species is in town. (The advanced听search works great in these cases, as long as you have a species name, solid geographic area, and date range.) Here are two examples.

In January of this year, New York City experienced its first Couch鈥檚 Kingbird on record. The bird stuck to the same neighborhood in lower Manhattan, but it moved between fire escapes. Luckily, birders who gave chase were able to follow the conversation through a series of timely updates by people on the scene. Many posted听photos and exact intersections of where the Couch鈥檚 was seen.


Meanwhile, in South Dakota last winter, a Great Kiskadee helped fire up a usually quiet Twitter scene. Birders tracked the bird for months, until news broke of its tragic parting.
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Know the Local Lingo

Birding is all about the details, so with Twitter's听140-character limit, people try to pack in as much information as they can into a tweet. That might mean swapping species names for 鈥,鈥 a system created and refined by bird banders听and now also used by some birders. Some places might also have nicknames for heavily visited areas. Do your research by reading up on local blogs and noting . If there are guides or 爆料公社 groups in the area, reach out and ask for advice.

Hashtags are also a good rallying point for some birding communities. Just enter a hashtagged term听into the search bar, and Twitter will generate a list of all tweets and accounts also using the hashtag.听In New York, for example, is used to collect interesting sightings from Manhattan鈥檚 Central Park. An automated account then tweets out all the messages that include this hashtag. On the California coast, 听will keep you updated on nifty #seabirds. Festivals also听inspire their own stamps: Attendees at the Biggest Week in American Birding are encouraged to include or when reporting sightings. In a busy festival atmosphere, it helps to have听a quick outlet like a hashtag-generated timeline to track spontaneous events.听 听

Make Small Talk

Tweets are a way to communicate en masse, but they can be surprisingly personal, too. If your tweets mention specific tags or users,听they'll likely听elicit a response. You can seek ID help, jump in听on discussions, or request more information. Sometimes听birders won鈥檛 reveal exact locations for rare sightings to protect the birds from harassment. If you ask them, however,听they might follow you back and send you a private message with directions on how to find the species.听

Beyond听rare sightings, tweets will听expose you to broad range of bird-centric conversations and personalities. Most U.S. birders are driven to use Facebook and email to disperse the news and connect with each other. While both of those mediums have their strengths, Twitter works much faster, immerses you in the experience, and expands your birding circle. It鈥檚 convenient for pre-trip planning听and in the field, and will make the thrill of the chase all the more exciting.

Correction: The alpha code system was not created by the American Ornithologist's听Union听as previously stated in the piece.