Top 30 Birding Web Sites

Siskin and Egret’s “4 Wings Up” Award
Presented to the following Birding Web Sites

#1   Internet Bird Collection
Over 13,000 video clips of birds of the world. Over 3,400 species represented. From the folks that brought you Handbook of Birds of the World. Amazing!

# 2  Xeno-Canto Bird Sounds
This is probably the largest collection of bird sounds on the Internet. You may download these for your own personal use. A great resource when planning a trip!

# 3  All About Birds
A great introduction to North American birds brought to you from the folks at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

# 4  eBird
Submit your bird sightings to this gigantic database and view the results of 100,000,000 sightings! Create a picture of bird distribution across North America.

# 5   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.

# 6   Bird Studies Canada / Bird Links to the World
Over 5,000 links to birding web sites around the world. Enough said!

# 7   Great Backyard Bird Count 
See the Great Backyard Bird Count Results.

# 8  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!

# 9   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.

# 10   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.

# 11  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!

#12  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.

#13   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?

#14  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 …..

#15   Surfbirds.com
A web site full of articles and information on advanced birding. The emphasis is on UK birding.

#16  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.

#17  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.

#18   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.

#19  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.

#20  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…

#21  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.

#22  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.

#23  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.

#24  Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory
A wonderful site by two of the top hummingbird banders in the country.

#25  Eremaea Birds – Birding in Australia
This is the Australian version of eBird. See thousands of bird checklists for virtually every birding location in Australia.

#26  Bird Forum
The Internet’s largest birding and wildlife community.

#27  WikiAves – Brazilian Birds
An interactive web site dedicated to the Brazilian community of birders.

#28  10,000 Birds
A birding blog covering birding, nature and conservation.

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