I have yet to find anyone who keeps bird notes beyond a list on ebird, so I setup my notebook my own way… Little bit log book, little bit nature journal, little bit grimoire.
Sharing because I love looking at other people’s notebooks so maybe you do too.
Three sections: a big list, notes by species, and dated session notes… I am contemplating adding a section for omens 🔮
People have different rules for life lists… I have never been a serious birder but I have been a casual birder my whole life. Lot of girl guide badges and relatives who always bring binoculars. So I started my list from the beginning, from memory.
I thought about including birds I saw in zoos or rescue programs, but when I reflected on animals I have seen both caged and free I decided not too. It’s really different seeing flamingos on the loose.
Most of my notebooks are various grimoires so I am in the habit of dedicating them. Seemed apropos to dedicate each section of this one to a bird.
To make bird notes easy to look up I numbered them in the same order as the life list, but I feel no pressure to fill them all in. I don’t usually reserve sections in notebooks but this seemed worth it. Most commercial/pre-printed bird journals have a reserved section for each species.
Same as the bird list, I added old memories here.
I like including notes by bird because it gives an easy way to figure out where to find them. I organize my urban foraging notebook this way too, by plant, so I can easily figure out options for gathering public fennel or plums or whatever.
Video from the day of that Northern Saw-whet bird note in 2017. Little owl sleeping in the city, directly outside my third floor bedroom window. Seems like sleeping in a windy tree might feel similar to sleeping on a boat.
I love this photo because you can see a chickadee perched above the owl, screaming, which is how I notice owls 90% of the time.
Dated notes section is the one part i did not add any retroactive info to. Just free pages to add notes from outings and classes if i want to. My goal is to include sketches even if they aren’t great.
![Photo of a handwritten notebook page.
Dated Notes - dedicated to Snow Owls and migration.
1 January 2026- Panama Flats (suburban wetland) Victoria BC with [redacted]
There is a list of birds, a simple sketch of a turkey vulture wing, and a note that other birders explained turkey vultures have translucent wing feathers, unlike eagles or ravens](https://pearlofcivilization.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/dated-notes-576x1024.jpg)
Other things I might eventually add to the bird journal: a checklist organized by bird family, space for goals like learning more local bird calls, and, for real, notes on bird omens because they are so dramatic sometimes.
Lol I just want to add that this is a photo of white paper that I took outdoors with southern exposure literally at noon. PNW winter gloom is no joke.
