Birding Lexicon

Lifer - A bird you encounter for the first time.

Old Friend - A bird you’ve encountered before. A Carolina wren and a northern cardinal are old friends at Kenilworth.

Nemesis bird- A common bird that you can’t seem to find. Verdin and pyrrhuloxia were two nemesis birds on my Texas birding trip in April, 2025.

Brahmaputra planning - When I was in NE India in April, 2026 I saw the Brahmaputra River. It is 20 miles across. During the monsoon season it is so powerful that it changes its channels frequently. It’s called a braided river. Planning for 7000to70 is a lot like the Brahmaputra in that my plans are constantly changing as trips I signed up for are canceled or don’t fill or friends invite me to bird in places that are very desirable or world events prevent a tour from taking place.

 Bins - Binoculars. Birders are an odd lot. When they meet another birder they immediately look at one thing. The binoculars the person is using. When I started birding I used Maven binoculars. They are a very good beginning set of binoculars. I bought a pair of used Swarovski binoculars used on Ebay. They had much better optics than the Maven binoculars I’d been using. Last September as an early birthday present I bought a pair of Swarovski Pure 10X42 binoculars. The optics on these binoculars is incredible. I noticed it the very first time I used them in Wanstead Park. They are very expensive binoculars but if you are doing serious birding you need good optics. Plus when the other birders look at my bins they know I’m a serious birder…LOL.

Binocular cover - Lots of birders use cups to cover their binoculars when it’s raining. I don’t like them. Instead I use a cover. It flaps into and out of place when I’m using my bins. And it keeps the lenses dry when its raining. The part I like the best is that I don’t have to be constantly taking off and putting on lense caps when its raining.

Patch birder – A patch birder is someone who birds the same spot, (their patch), every day. My friend David and I are both patch birders. David birds Walthamstow every day.

When I’m in DC I bird Kenilworth every day. Patch birders have their reasons for birding the same spot every day.

For me there are several. It’s super easy for me to get from my house to Kenilworth. I ride the metro two stops from Potomac Ave. metro to Minnesota Ave. metro. It’s a short walk from Minnesota Ave. metro to the entrance of Kenilworth Park on Deane Ave. Then I bird the park and walk the river path to the Aquatic Gardens. I bird those and then walk to Deanwood metro station and ride three stops back home.

Because I bird Kenilworth every day I know all the bike riders and runners and dog walkers and walkers and the park rangers. And because Kenilworth is the best place to bird in Washington, DC, (biased opinion of course), all of the birders of DC come to Kenilworth so I’ve gotten to know all of them as well. Whenever a birder comes to DC from out of town many of them bird Kenilworth. If I meet them I give them tips on how to bird Kenilworth and often I bird with them. The sense of community I have at Kenilworth is important to me.

And then there are the birds. Kenilworth is a fantastic place to bird. The habitat is varied and there are always a large number of species to be seen. I have birded Walthamstow with David many times and the same holds true for his patch. Varied habitat and lots of species. And David knows everyone at Walthamstow. His patch community.

Pelagic bird - A bird that spends its entire life on the open sea. Only coming to shore to breed.

Pelagic trip - A trip on a boat to see birds that live on the open sea. The trip can be for a day or can span several days.

Spark Bird - The bird that gets you interested in birding.