Birders
Related: About this forumWhen I Became a Birder, Almost Everything Else Fell Into Place.
(Haven't read this yet, birding has added hugely to my appreciation of Nature, so HAPPY EASTER!)
By Ed Yong
Mr. Yong is a science writer whose most recent book, An Immense World, investigates animal perception.
'Last September, I drove to a protected wetland near my home in Oakland, Calif., walked to the end of a pier and started looking at birds. Throughout the summer, I had been breaking in my first pair of binoculars, a Sibley field guide and the Merlin song-identification app, but always while hiking or walking the dog. On that pier, for the first time, I had gone somewhere solely to watch birds.
In some birding circles, people say that anyone who looks at birds is a birder a kind, inclusive sentiment that also overlooks the forces that create and shape subcultures. Anyone can dance, but not everyone would identify as a dancer because the latter suggests if not skill then at least effort and intent. Similarly, Ive cared about birds and other animals for my entire life, and Ive written about them throughout my two decades as a science writer, but I mark the moment when I specifically chose to devote time and energy to them as the moment I became a birder.
Since then, my Birder Derangement Syndrome has progressed at an alarming pace. Seven months ago, I was still seeing very common birds for the first time. Since then, Ive seen 452 species, including 337 in the United States, and 307 this year alone. I can reliably identify a few dozen species by ear. I can tell apart greater and lesser yellowlegs, house and purple finches, Coopers and sharp-shinned hawks. (Dont talk to me about gulls; Im working on the gulls.) I keep abreast of eBirds rare bird alerts and have spent many days some glorious, others frustrating looking for said rare birds. I know what it means to dip, to twitch, to pish. Ive gone owling.
I didnt start from scratch. A career spent writing about nature gave me enough avian biology and taxonomy to roughly know the habitats and silhouettes of the major groups. Journalism taught me how to familiarize myself with unfamiliar territory very quickly. I crowdsourced tips on the social media platform Bluesky. I went out with experienced birders to learn how they move through a landscape and what cues they attend to.'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/30/opinion/birding-spring-merlin-ebird.html
elleng
(136,780 posts)AllaN01Bear
(23,281 posts)i also the little bushtits , so animated . they come to my feet.
Donkees
(32,437 posts)Layzeebeaver
(1,875 posts)Elysium
(41 posts)First you start with a backyard feeder...
Then you bird your local county parks...
Then you bird neighboring counties in your state...
Then you work on seeing all the species your state has to offer...
Next you want to see what birds are in neighboring states and eventually the entire US...
Next you want to see what birds in other countries...
It is a lifelong passion that is constantly expanding.