An unabashed birder...

I love birds. They are such amusing feathered creatures, and each species has its own particular beauty. Their flight captures our imagination, and their songs enliven our surroundings. But why did I become obsessed with them?

I think that many of us who are birders have a general interest in seeing and watching all types of wildlife, especially large, furry ones. But these “charismatic megafauna” are hard to come by in our daily lives, or even in most forays into natural areas these days. Birds, on the other hand, can be found nearly everywhere, even in the middle of the largest city.

Until I became a park ranger-naturalist when I was 24, I paid little, if any, attention to birds. I hardly noticed they were there. I thought that only a few different species existed – the ones I’d seen at backyard bird feeders, like cardinals, sparrows and pigeons. But when visitors on my nature walks asked me the names of the birds we saw, I had to say I didn’t know. So I felt obligated to learn them.

I got a field guide and binoculars, and went out bird-watching. At first, many bird species looked very similar, until I learned to notice subtle differences in body size, bill length, tail length, etc. Over time, I began to want to see birds I hadn’t yet checked off my checklist. And the obsession began.

Years later, I have now seen hundreds of bird species, but there are still many I’d like to see. Some people scorn the activity of “listing” as mere sport, and indeed some birders do seem to be in it merely for winning the imaginary title of “most birds seen”. It’s not important to me that I see a certain number of species, but I do enjoy the challenge of observing birds closely (including listening to their calls) and identifying them.

Birding forces me to go out into nature and pay close attention to everything around me. It forces me to slow down and be patient. And when I come to a place that has a large quantity and diversity of birds, I sense that place to be biologically healthy. The more of these bird-rich areas I find, the more hope I have that all creatures on earth will survive, and that humans will continue to be able to enjoy the high quality of life that a healthy environment provides.