In 2011 I wrote an article for Birding magazine about bare-naked birding. The concept is simple.

That’s right; embrace “bare-naked” birding. Find a bird, gather as much information about its identity as possible without binoculars or field guides, hazard a guess as to its identity,then put glass to eye to confirm your guess. You will quickly become sensitized to the bird’s every aspect, by noting how it presents itself in life (not just the cartoonish field marks of field guides) and in the ways all aspects of a bird interrelate to form a living, breathing creature.

Ted Floyd, editor of Birding, has done yeoman’s work in promoting bare-naked birding, including completing the first bare-naked Big Day this spring in Colorado. Now the National Park Service has embraced this approach. Here is a link to the visitor’s guide for Big Bend National Park. Notice the section on page 8 about bare-naked birding and bird watching. The NPS had done a great job promoting the approach and explaining the concept, particularly for those who might be birding for the first time.

The lead story in the latest issue of the National Parks Conservation Association magazine describes birding Big Bend National Park by a first time birder. In the article the author embraces bare-naked birding, and explains how the approach helps with new birders. How nice to see a simple idea take hold!

Ted Lee Eubanks
15 July 2013