A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
d, that is used to observe
wildlife
Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...
, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or
hunting blind
A hunting blind (US), hide or machan is a concealment device or shelter for hunters or gamekeepers, designed to reduce the chance of detection by animals. There are different types of blinds for different situations, such as deer blinds and ...
s were once built chiefly as
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
aids, they are now commonly found in
parks
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
and
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
for the use of
birdwatchers
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
,
ornithologists
__NOTOC__
This is a list of ornithologists who have articles, in alphabetical order by surname. See also :Ornithologists.
A
* John Abbot – US
* Clinton Gilbert Abbott – US
* William Louis Abbott – US
* Joseph H. Acklen – US
*Humayun Ab ...
and other observers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed.
A typical bird hide resembles a
garden shed
A shed is typically a simple, single-story roofed structure that is used for hobbies, or as a workshop in a back garden or on an allotment. Sheds vary considerably in their size and complexity of construction, from simple open-sided ones desi ...
, with small openings, shutters, or windows built into at least one side to enable observation. However, because birds do not recognize humans as predatory threats unless the human is standing in the open, a bird blind can be little more than a large shed open on one side in which birders stand, and motor vehicles are effective blinds even with the windows open.
Variants
Types of bird hide include:
* tower hides, which have multiple stories and allow observations over large areas.
* bird blinds, which are screens similar to one wall of a typical hide, with or without a roof for shelter.
* machans, covered platforms erected to observe birds and wildlife in high trees or on cliffs, particularly in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
where they were originally used by tiger-hunters.
* portable hides, tent-like structures made of fabric arranged on a frame, often used by photographers.
File:BirdhideCorsDyfi-01s.jpg, Bird hide in Cors Dyfi nature reserve
Cors Dyfi is a nature reserve located near to the village of Derwenlas, in the county of Powys, Wales. Located on land reclaimed from the Estuary on the south side of the River Dyfi, the reserve is under the management of the Montgomeryshire Wild ...
File:BirdhideCorsDyfi-02s.jpg, Bird hide in Cors Dyfi nature reserve
Cors Dyfi is a nature reserve located near to the village of Derwenlas, in the county of Powys, Wales. Located on land reclaimed from the Estuary on the south side of the River Dyfi, the reserve is under the management of the Montgomeryshire Wild ...
File:Birdwatching bird hide blind.jpg, Blind hide in Chiba
Chiba may refer to:
Places China
* (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei
Japan
* Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture
** Chiba Station, a train station
* Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...
, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
File:Camouflaged hide.jpg, Camouflaged hide in Kerse Castle, East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquart ...
, Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
File:Bird Hide, Saltram, Plymouth.jpg, Bird hide in Saltram Park, Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
File:Bird Hides, Stert Point - geograph.org.uk - 3285466.jpg, Bird Hide, Stert point
References
External links
Birds Australia Information Sheet No.8
Birdwatching
Ornithological equipment and methods
{{bird-stub