Everything You Need to Start Birding, According to ‘Extraordinary Birder’ Host Christian Cooper
Christian Cooper wants you to know that you could go birding right now—this very moment—no matter who you are, where you are, or what stuff you do or don’t own.
“The most important thing—and really the only thing—you must have as a birder is yourself and your awareness,” says Cooper. “You don’t even have to step outside your front door; you can do it from a window. You don’t even need, say, eyesight, because there are people who bird blind using their ears.”
Cooper’s big-hearted zeal for birding makes him a natural fit to host National Geographic Wild’s new docuseries Extraordinary Birder With Christian Cooper (video), which is also available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu. But when it comes to essential birding equipment, he’s more pragmatic and minimalist.
“There are certain tools that you’re going to want to enhance the experience,” he says—although he insists the list is short. Below, Cooper runs us through the must-haves that accompany him on all of his birding expeditions.
February 7, 2025
Wirecutter Staff
Staff picks for Wirecutter.
Chunguza Maudhui Zaidi
Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari
Sawyer’s spray offers an impressive 12 hours of protection against mosquitoes and ticks, and a little less (eight hours) against flies, gnats, and chiggers.
Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari
Sawyer’s Permethrin spray has also worked as promised.
Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari
Sawyer, for example, checks to ensure that no pore size exceeds 0.01 microns, stating that “the filters are then checked four more times at crucial points of assembly for filter integrity before they make their way onto the shelf.”
Kutoka kwa kikosi
Mazungumzo ya Campfire na jamii yetu, kutoka kwa Wanachama wa Squad na Mabalozi kwa Washirika wa Brand na timu ya Sawyer.
