by Alexa Payne

Created on: April 04, 2007   Last Updated: May 04, 2007

What is the best place to see birds in the U.S.? There are so many fantastic birdwatching destinations in the U.S. that the question is almost meaningless. Whether a given spot is the best place for you will depend on what time of year you are there and what kind of birds you like to see.

We spent a day with a guide in the White Mountains of Arizona. The charming town of Greer was our base. We saw 65 species including a Red-Faced Warbler. If your goal is to expand your list, Arizona is also one of the few places you are likely to see an elegant trogan.

Traveling to see birds can make a great vacation, but I have found that the best birdwatching destination is my backyard, my local park, the nearby regional wilderness, or wherever I happen to be. After our family began to birdwatch it was as if a veil had been removed from our eyes.

Birds are everywhere. The first day we ventured on foot with binoculars and a guide to our local urban park to look for birds we identified 29 species. There is a 2-mile footpath around a small lake in the park, and it just so happened that a woman active in the local Audubon society was there jogging. Each time she passed she'd ask us what we had seen and if we needed help identifying anything.

In fact, nearly every time we've ventured out with binoculars and a guidebook we've attracted the help of a knowledgeable birder.

When I drive my kids to a class we pass a spot where 9 times out of 10 you'll see a red-tailed hawk on the lamppost. The local junior high often has two or three dozen turkey vultures resting in a field. My 6 year old spotted a burrowing owl by the roadside when we were going to pick up a pizza. We pulled over and got a good long look at both parents going in and out of their burrow, and some fantastic photographs.

On a hike when we hadn't even meant to go birding we found nesting phoebes, a fledged mockingbird, Bullock's orioles building their spectacular nest, and a baby American coot.

You don't even have to go anywhere to see birds. If you put up a hummingbird feeder, a finch feeder with thistle seeds, a suet feeder and a sunflower feeder, you may be able to see twenty different species in your own suburban backyard. Plant flowers for hummers, and cover for ground birds, and you'll see even more.

If you begin to look you'll find that any place is a great birdwatching destination. The birds have been there all along, you just need to watch them.

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