The year is 2023. I’ve found myself in Japan during November. I had only planned out the first few days in Tokyo, never mind the fact that I was going to be here for over two weeks. Both my knowledge of the Japanese language and bird life were questionable. On the outside, this has all the markers of a disaster. And that’s what is so funny to me. This trip was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
Let’s back up. Why Japan? If I’m being quite honest, I don’t know if I could totally answer that. I think everything about the country just fascinated me. Growing up in a westernized country, the culture is very different from what I knew. Although, one thing I was very aware of was that Japanese food is some of my favorite. I was also really interested in the fact that the wildlife is extremely diverse for an island nation. If I really had to put a finger on what the reason for going was, as weird as this might sound, I just needed to see all of Japan for myself. I’d seen videos on Japan and read about it in books, but nothing is going to compare to experiencing it for yourself. It also helped that I was living in Hawaiʻi at the time, making a trip to Japan much more accessible than growing up in mainland North America.
Not only was this my first time in Asia, this was also the first trip I took where I had specific plans of wanting to bird internationally. Even went so far as to tetris a scope and tripod into a 50 liter bag. Was birding even 50% of what I did? Nope! Going into this trip, I did some prep, but not nearly enough. I started, but as soon as more and more places to bird piled on, I started to feel overwhelmed and I just decided to play it by ear once I got there. Despite not having a clear idea upon landing, whenever I had the chance I birded where I could and enjoyed every bit. Each part of that trip held different surprises, like finding 24 species in Ueno Park (all within an hour), or conducting a semi-pelagic in which I saw 18 seabird species from a ferry that was fancier than any boat I’d ever been on.
I don’t regret the way I conducted this trip at all. So much of it was randomly strung together, but the experience I gained birding in a new country like this was unlike anything else. At the end of the day, I couldn’t have been happier! One thing I’ve learned about birding in new countries is that you just need to take the opportunities you have, and don’t stress too much about trying to fit in too much.
I didn’t just learn this overnight upon coming back from Japan. This lesson is something that I’ve had to learn over years, and is something I often return to when I feel the stress of a trip piling up. Travel is hard, but man is it so rewarding. When all your time is spent stressing about what could be, you begin to avoid paying attention to what’s right in front of you. Doing research on a trip can be hard, as pulling information from many different resources can take a lot of time, which we don’t always have!
That’s why I created Borderless Birding. I know I’m not the only one who is passionate about birding and travel. The hope of this website is to give you the foundational knowledge necessary to go out and experience those birds you’ve always dreamed of. I want this to be a resource of everything I wish I knew before going to bird in a new country. From travel tips to birding knowledge, I hope to provide a one-stop-shop for the traveling birder. I want to create a resource that hopefully everyone will be able to take something from. If I can encourage and empower people to get more into travel and birding (ideally both!), I feel like I’ll have completed that goal.
So anyways, let’s get down to the nitty gritty (the fact that Nacho Libre has a 5.9 on IMDB is criminal, by the way). What should you be expecting? Naturally, information on the two focuses: travel and birding. Country by country, I hope to create useful resources that give you a good foundation of what to expect and give you a sense of ease in the basics of getting there and getting around to see some of your target species.
On the travel side, here’s some of the resources I hope to provide:
- Information you need to get there, get around, and travel the country with confidence
- How to obtain visas and any other requirements when entering a county
- Where to stay to maximize your time
- Booking rental cars or providing tips on alternative methods of transportation
- Packing tips that will prepare you not just for the country, but the birding that you will do there!
Doing research on traveling in new countries can be really daunting (at least in my experience), so I want to be able to give you the tips and information you need in an easygoing way and hopefully get the ball rolling.
Naturally, most of the information I plan to provide will be focused on birding opportunities! I want you to be able to maximize your time in a new area (or maybe you want new insights into a place you’ve already been!),
- Hotspots: where to stay nearby, how to get there, featured birds to see, guides, and any details you need to know about the area
- Information on various birding guides available throughout the country
- Resources such as books, websites, and apps (hint: for those in the U.S. that often use Merlin sound ID, this doesn’t really work in many countries)
- Many areas also have amazing birding events, so I want to highlight those too!
There’s one important thing to note: while I’ve put a lot of care into building this resource, Borderless Birding isn’t meant to be just me. I see it as a project for birders, by birders, and something that grows stronger with input from the community. I’ll keep expanding and updating the pages over time, but there’s no substitute for insights from those who are out in the field right now. If you have tips, updates, or ideas you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you! Send me a message at keane@borderlessbirding.com, and let me know what you think should be included or expanded on. Together, we can make this a resource that helps birders everywhere.
The last point to speak on is that of which you’re reading right now, this blog! This is where I plan to share not just gear recommendations and ID resources, but fun stories of my travels, meaningful locations that I’ve spent time in and just a dive into my approach to the world of travel birding. Hopefully there will be something for everyone here!
In conclusion, I hope to give you the base of knowledge needed to go try something new. Getting to travel to new countries, experience new cultures, and especially see a new world of birds that I haven’t before is one of my biggest passions. I want to share that and contribute what I can to the furthering of one of life’s great joys.
If you’d like to check out more, visit my guide here on New Zealand that is out now! Sign up to my newsletter for more personal updates to the website, behind-the-scenes stories, gear highlights, recent birding and travel news, along with plenty of other perks! Would you like me to talk more in depth about that Japan trip, or maybe the Japan trip I took earlier this year, my first foray into the Hokkaido winter? Let me know!
Welcome to Borderless Birding!
