Top 25 Birding Sites
Siskin and Egret's "4 Wings Up" Award presented to the following Birding Web Sites by Birding.com
- Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
The Bird Identification InfoCenter is a fantastic resource on its own. The other information found at this site is incredible! Find Breeding Bird Survey Results as well as Migratory Bird data. This U.S. Department of the Interior site almost makes you feel good about paying your Federal taxes! - FatBirder
Lots of sites are trying to become the "Ultimate" birding web site. In Europe the clear leader is FatBirder. The country links are extremely good — thanks to a stable of birders that contribute local knowledge. - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
The Cornell Lab is home to the largest collection of bird songs in the world. See results of "Citizen Science" programs like Project Feederwatch, the Great Backyard Bird Count, the House Finch Disease Survey and Project Pigeonwatch. More advanced birders help with studies like the Golden-winged Warbler Atlas Project. - Bird Studies Canada / Bird Links to the World
Over 5,000 links to birding web sites around the world. Enough said! - Birding.About.com
An extensive network of birding links and articles edited by Ms. Christine Tarski. Birding is just one of 700 topics featured at About.com. - BirdSource
BirdSource is a national database of bird sighting information. It is a joint venture of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. See the past results of Christmas Bird Counts for over 100 years! This is the future of Birding. In a few years we will all be uploading our daily sightings to this site to create a picture of bird distribution across North America. Today North America ... tomorrow the World? - eNature.com
The National Audubon Society Field Guides hit the web! Very slick site with information on each bird species as well as other animals, insects and wildflowers. If you need to write a report for school, this is a great place to start! This site is now part of the National Wildlife Federation. - American Birding Association
The national organization for U.S. and Canadian birders. There are links to many interesting areas in which the ABA is involved. This is a great site with a new look that is much easier to navigate! - Dutch Birding
This active national organization also publishes a magazine for their members. The web site does a very good job of describing the organization and its publications — as well as helping you to find birds in the Netherlands. - Bird Cinema
View and post videos of wild and domestic birds. An online community of bird watching enthusiasts with a focus on filming bird behavior. - Minnesota Ornithologists' Union
This is the best state ornithological web site. Things are easy to find. The links work. Hot Spots are shown on a "clickable" state map. Checklists are up to date. Go spend 30 minutes here — then click on your state or province web site. See the difference? - Texas Ornithological Society
This is certainly one of the top state birding web sites. Texas has a lot to offer and this site can help you plan your next trip to the "Valley" or the "Upper Coast" or "Big Bend" or the "Hill Country" or ..... - Surfbirds.com
A new web site full of articles and information on advanced birding. The emphasis is on UK birding. - Where Do You Want To Go Birding Today?
Pick a country or state/province. This site has lots of links to the birding Hot Spots there. There are 316 photographers and organizations that have contributed images to this website. This site contains images of over 40% of the world's birds (about 4,100 images). An amazing effort. - Birding on the Net
The original "mega" birding web site was created by Jack Siler. This is a new and improved version. Links to many birding sites are impressive. Transcripts of rare bird alerts are very useful. - Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Bird Checklists for thousands of sites are here — you just may have trouble finding them with all the other wildlife information at this government site. - BirdLife International
Features the latest bird and conservation news stories from around the world, huge amounts of information on globally threatened birds and the places where they live. BirdLife is a global partnership of conservation organizations working together to save the world's birds. - Owl Pages
Owls have fascinated man from time immemorial – to some cultures they are symbols of wisdom, while to others they are harbingers of doom and death. Here, the Owl Pages sheds some light on these mysterious creatures... - UtahBirds.org
This is an absolutely amazing web site! The details for the birding Hot Spots is very helpful to out-of-state birders. Everything is easy to find. - Birdwatching Australia
A very complete site with everything you would want to know about birding "down-under" mate. Arranged by Territories, information is very easy to find. - The Tennessee Ornithological Society
This site has recently had a major "facelift" and the results are great! The new design is clean and very attractive. - WildBirds.com
This web site is aimed squarely at the beginning and backyard birder. The focus is on answering the questions we all had when we first noticed the birds at our feeder. New discussion forums are very interesting. - Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory
A wonderful site by two of the top hummingbird banders in the country. - eBird
This is a great place to keep track of the birds you have seen and also help scientists at Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society monitor bird population trends. - The Maryland Ornithological Society
Another well though out web site with all the links a local or out-of-state birder could want.
Honorable Mention
- Whatbird.com
- online bird database with photos and birdsongs
- BirdingStuff.com
- A comprehensive site for novice bird watchers with tips and helpful articles.
- MrNussbaum.com
- North American Bird quizzes, puzzles, songs, and identification information
- Oriental Bird Club
- non-profit organization concerned with birding in Asia and the Orient
- African Bird Club
- non-profit organization concerned with birding in Africa
- BIRDNET
- a portal to 10 Ornithological Society web sites plus lots of information for ornithologists.
- The Virtual Birder
- an e-magazine that features virtual birding tours
- Chickadee Web
- everything you wanted to know about Chickadees
- New Jersey Audubon
- a great web site with lots of links to birding hot spots and product reviews.
- Ornithology.com
- an emphasis on science and research here.
- Joe Morlan's California Birding
- the California counties pages are very helpful
- American Bird Conservancy
- a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving birds and habitat.
- Birding in Canada
- lots of links to the Canadian birding community.
- North Michigan Birding
- follow the spring migration
- Birding Kenya
- lots of information about Kenya birding
Honorable Mention - Commercial Sites
- Bird Guides
- Bird Watcher's Digest magazine
- Birder's World magazine
- Thayer Birding Software
- Victor Emanuel Nature Tours
- Bird Watcher Buddy—Social networking for birders
See also
- Site Picks—Past Birding.com Featured Birds and Web Sites
- Other online Bird Information Hubs
If you would like to suggest a web site for Siskin & Egret to consider for inclusion in the Top 25, please email us at info(at)birding.com.