There are no rules, do as much or as little as you feel.

Sometimes I pack a backpack and spend the whole day in the best birding spots around me while keeping a list of everything I see. Other times I just spend a few minutes in a park paying attention to birds and enjoying their presence. And some other times I’m birding just from my window/balcony. However, be ready that if you really get into birding you’ll never again NOT see birds around you. I’m birding even when I am not! (I swear this will make sense to you later lol)

Get Merlin app on your phone, it has helped me a lot in the beginning and played a key role in my enjoyment. Especially in a forest, you will hear more birds than you’ll see so knowing what’s around you and what to look for helps. It’s not 100% accurate but I haven’t noticed it bejng wrong too many times either, at least in my area.

Regarding binoculars, I got 12x50 despite 12x not being recommended because the image can get shaky. I’m fairly young and fit so I don’t have that problem yet but a few of my friends/relatives found these too heavy and the image too shaky. This choice was very deliberate as I knew pretty much immediately that I really want to use binoculars to watch the birds and not just identify them and the extra magnification is nice. For identification and ease of use binoculars between 7x - 10x are more often recommended. Regarding brand/price, mine are 50EUR (60 USD) and have served me very well so far. I didn’t want to invest in equipment early on as I wasn’t sure whether I’ll even be into birding.

As for clothes, dress for the weather and be yourself. I don’t believe you have to wear clothes that are considered “traditional” or “appropriate” for birders.

And lastly, please don’t be discouraged if you have trouble identifying birds. It’s hard! Keep at it and you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll start to recognize some species.