Definition:

(noun) A local birding site one birder can easily and regularly explore. While a patch is not necessarily a well-known location, it can be either a hotspot or a personal destination. Any type of habitat is useful as a birding patch, but most popular patches share characteristics that make them more productive for regular birding, including:

• Habitat variety to attract a wider range of bird species

• Different food sources to suit different bird diet types
• Suitable water drinking and bathing, as well as to appeal to waterfowl or waders
• Convenient to access from home or work to allow regular and frequent visits
• Small enough to be thoroughly explored in each visit
• Seasonal changes that attract birds at different times of the year, including migration

Parks, gardens, isolated wetlands, stretches of woodlands, farms, cemeteries, campgrounds, university campuses, fallout hotspots and other unique habitats can all serve as ideal birding patches. As birders regularly visit the same patch, they grow more familiar with their local birds, developing rich, intimate knowledge of both familiar and less regular species and better noting long term changes and rare bird sightings in the area.

Photo – Woodland Birding Patch © Tom Brandt

Pronunciation:

PAATCH

Also Known As:

Hotspot