Have you any idea of just how good bird eyesight is? I have gained a real appreciation of it over the years I have been a watcher of birds. When you combine that characteristic with a bird's seemingly natural reluctance to sit still, you get a real challenge for making observations. If you are not yet daunted, try adding the dimension of field photography and see what happens.

What happens is that you will have a lot of fun in the field.

Let me be clear about something right away. It would seem that walking  very, very slowly toward a bird would tilt the odds of keeping the bird quietS in your favor. That would be true if the bird were a flower. But birds are not flowers and they are naturally busy and in motion. I have found that, the longer it takes me to get in position, the greater are the odds that the bird will go somewhere else just to be about its own business. All I get to do is to watch it go and say something like "Gee, there goes that sweet little bird." Well, something like that. Painfully slow is generally not a good thing.

One positive thing that you can do when stalking a bird is to be aware of your silhouette. I try to keep myself between the bird and some kind of complex background such as a tree or a hillside. Little birds are always keeping a watch for trouble from the sky - hawks - which are easily spotted - and, if I stand out like a hawk would against a blue sky , then I am going to spook my subject pretty quickly. Try to take advantage of the fact that your body shape and the tree behind you can blend in such a manner as not to attract a bird's attention - for a little while anyway.

Another thing to consider is clothing color. Can you guess why birds are so brightly colored? Yep, the reason is that they can see color so well that they avoid close competition with each other. Another reason is that females can be attracted to buff looking males. However, that has a downside for you. If you are wearing bright colors, then you are more likely to be noticed by the birds you are trying to stalk so you might want to wear earth tones. One note: you might also want to modify your clothing during hunting season. There are times when being noticed is a good thing.

I am a lazy sort of a bird watcher and I believe in sitting still a great deal of the time. Over the years I have become aware that I miss most birds when I am constantly walking because most birds have seen me and are laying low waiting for the coast to clear. But if I simply sit down or stand still for five or ten minutes birds seem to materialize from nowhere. It has always seemed to me that birds have a need to be about their business and that they really can't give you very much time and attention. It is truly enchanting to simply wait and be so richly rewarded. Do not think that you must cover a lot ground or that you need to walk all the trails in a sanctuary. Relax and get comfortable. Let the birds do some work as well. Your time there can even become somewhat meditative and you might find that your subconscious solves some of life's problems.  It is very inexpensive therapy.

This brings up the subject of blinds. Blinds work well for duck hunters, so why not use them for bird watching? The reason for not building a blind is obviously one of making the best use of your time. However, there are times when a bush or a tree might give you a place to hide behind or beside. Remember what we said about your silhouette? The main value in using an object as a blind is, not to hide you, but to help you look like a rock or tree.

This is all about patience. I have tried to follow a particular bird and have discovered that birds seem to have the power to transport just like Capt. Kirk. I don't know where they go. It helps to understand that birds are territorial and are not likely to wander very far from the center of their home area. Of course, you have no idea if you found the bird at the center or at the edge and that makes a difference. I have had very little luck trying to follow a bird around its territory but I have had some success with just standing still and waiting for it to show itself again after I had disturbed it. Remember the old nursery rhyme which says :"... leave them and they'll come home, waging their tails behind them."? That's good advice.

My best general advice sounds a bit like what a Buddhist monk might say: "Become one with the habitat, Grasshopper." Another way of saying it is to take a line from a Simon and Garfunkel song: "I am a rock...". The song tells you that a rock feels no pain but you want to know that a rock draws no interest from a bird. So be a rock.