Pulling into the parking lot at the Baltimore Woods Nature Center in Marcellus, the first thing you notice is several fields, the surrounding woods and a brush pile or two.

The fun starts by looking closely at the surroundings — and listening.

“Hear that?” asked Jason Mauro as he focused in on a bird chirping in a nearby tree. “That’s a red-eyed vireo.”

And that sound from across the street?

“That’s an indigo bunting. They have a beautiful color,” he said.

A few minutes later, he pointed to a tree top. “Look there, a ruby-throated humming bird,” he said.

It went on that way for the next hour and a half as Mauro, a junior high science teacher with the Onondaga Central School District, dissected the sights and sounds of the nature center’s fields and woods.

Among the birds sighted or heard: a male and female cardinal, a song sparrow, a house wren, a crow, a turkey vulture, an Eastern bluebird, a robin, a goldfinch, a cedar waxwing, an American redstart, a great blue heron — and possibly a pileated woodpecker.

The Onondaga Hill resident said for years he was pretty much oblivious to birds, enjoying the outdoors mainly through hiking and fishing. He did have bird feeders, though, in his backyard.

Four winters ago, he got involved during the winter in Project Feeder Watch through the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

He paid $12 and was sent a poster of the common birds that usually hang out at feeders, and other instructional materials. He watched his feeders for two days and noted 18 different species. “I got hooked,” he said.

Shortly after, he received a scholarship from the Audubon Society to spend time and get instruction on bird watching at the Hog Island Audubon Camp in Maine. He returned and joined the Audubon’s Central New York chapter and began attending its meetings and guided field trips for birds throughout the area. He now teaches a course in beginning bird watching at Baltimore Woods.

Suggestions for the beginning birder?

Mauro recommended buying a good bird field guide that concentrates on birds of the northeast, or of New York. He also said to get a pair of binoculars.

If possible, he continued, sign up for a bird watching course or seminar. Places like Baltimore Woods, Cornell and other places offer them. If you can’t find a course, go out with a veteran birder who can teach you what to look and listen for.

Mauro says identifying a bird is a lot more than just noting its colors. Many are similar in that respect.

It’s about noting certain “field marks,” which are defining characteristics of the bird’s external appearance such as a color or patch on its wing, the size of its bill, a tuft on its head. It’s also about paying attention to the bird’s overall size and the way it flies.

“Robins, for example, fly in a straight line,” Mauro said. “Finches and woodpeckers fly more like they’re on a roller coaster. They flap their wings and drop a little, and then flap their wings and drop a little.”

Most times, he said, you’ll hear a bird before you see it.

Lean to identify its song, Mauro said. That can be done by listening to CDs of bird calls, or going online to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s “All About Birds” Web site where sound clips are available. He recommended mastering the more common birds first, such as a robin, a cardinal or a house sparrow.

He said the best time to go birding is the early morning when the birds are really active, but quickly added the best time is actually “whenever you can do it.” He said local parks and nature centers make good locations — particularly places where there’s a diversity of habitat with trees, fields and shrubs.

Mauro said it’s a good idea to keep a list of what you’ve seen and where. Most of all, have fun and relax.

“When you’re birding, it’s about focusing your eyes and ears,” he said. “When you do both of those, it’s really hard to worry or think about the things that stress you out in life.”