How I Got Into Birding

Wildlife photography always fascinated me. The idea of being out in nature, waiting patiently, observing animals in their own space, capturing moments that can’t be staged, that felt like the purest form of photography to me.

But then reality kicked in.

Wildlife safaris in India are expensive. Like, really expensive. As a beginner, spending twenty thousand or more on a single safari felt impossible. I remember sitting there with my camera, feeling excited about wildlife photography but also stuck, wondering how people even get started with this.

So I asked myself a simple question.
If wildlife feels out of reach right now, what’s the next best thing?

The answer was birds.

At first, it didn’t feel like a big decision. Birds were everywhere. Around my house, near water bodies, in fields, on trees I passed every day without noticing. And the more I looked into it, the more I realised birding wasn’t as expensive or inaccessible as safaris. It required time, patience, and learning far more than money.

That’s where it began.

I started researching birding spots near me. Goa, thankfully, has plenty of them. I found a few locations close enough to visit without planning a full trip. Then came YouTube. Lots of YouTube.

As I watched more bird photography videos, I quickly realised that this genre plays by very different rules. Birds move fast. They don’t wait. Settings matter far more than I initially thought.

So I went back to the basics.

Shutter speed. ISO. Autofocus modes.
I learned why fast shutter speeds are crucial, how continuous autofocus works with movement, and how hesitation usually means a missed shot.

That’s also when I discovered something slightly discouraging.

Most bird photographers consider 600mm focal length ideal for bird photography. I was starting out with a 300mm lens. It felt limiting and, honestly, a little intimidating.

But instead of waiting endlessly for the “perfect” setup or that first expensive safari to happen, I decided to work with what I had. Going out into the field and learning felt far more achievable than waiting. And there was no harm in trying.

Before heading to well-known sanctuaries, I started closer to home. Goa is full of birds, and we live in a place where birds are frequent visitors. On the very first day of consciously looking and photographing birds, I realised how much I had been missing.

The first birds I photographed weren’t anything exotic. Pigeons. Crows. Sparrows.

Yet even on that first day, I spotted five to six different species without much effort. Pigeons, crows, sparrows, red-whiskered bulbuls, and Oriental magpie robins. Seeing such variety right around my own space felt encouraging. It reminded me that birding doesn’t begin with rare species. It begins with noticing.

Here are some of my initial clicks from around my home.

My first proper birding outing was to Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary. I’ll be covering that entire experience in detail in another blog, but this visit played an important role in strengthening my confidence. Being there, observing birds in their natural habitat, and attempting to photograph them made everything feel more real and achievable.

During one of my next visits to a plateau close to home, we met a group of people who were also photographing birds. They weren’t randomly clicking. They knew the birds, their behaviour, where they usually perched, and even the times they were most active.

I was standing there clicking whatever moved, while they calmly discussed birds by name.

That moment stayed with me.

Not out of comparison, but curiosity. I realised I didn’t just want photographs. I wanted understanding.

We spoke for a while, and they were incredibly welcoming. Before leaving, we exchanged numbers, and one of them added me to a WhatsApp birding group based in Goa.

When I joined, I was genuinely surprised. Around 900 people. Birders, photographers, enthusiasts. Every day, people shared images of birds they spotted along with locations and details. It felt like stepping into a quiet world that had always existed around me.

Being part of that community changed how I approached birding.

Slowly, I began recognising birds. Learning their behaviour. Understanding that knowing a bird makes photographing it easier. You stop chasing everything and start waiting for the right moment.

Then came the moment that truly sealed it for me.

I saw a kingfisher.

Not on a screen. Not in a book. In real life. Sitting there, perched beautifully, glowing in its colours. I managed to capture it properly, and the images turned out great. Seeing those photographs felt incredibly satisfying.

It wasn’t just about the photograph. It was about being present for that moment.

When I later found out that Goa is home to eight or nine different species of kingfishers, a new kind of excitement took over. Finding them, observing them, and photographing them became something I genuinely wanted to pursue.

Here is the kingfisher shot that changed everything for me.

Since then, I’ve continued learning. About birds. About patience. About slowing down. About accepting that not every outing ends with a great photograph.

And that’s okay.

Birding has become my happy place. The silence, the waiting, the small wins, the long pauses. It feels grounding. It feels honest. And it feels like a journey I don’t need to rush.

This is just the beginning.
And I’m excited to see where it leads. If you wanna know how my journey of photography actually started, read my previous blog and follow me on Instagram for regular updates