If you are looking for a hobby that will get you outdoors, is environmentally friendly, and doesn’t take a big investment in instruction or equipment to get started, then bird watching may be for you.  You can even start in your own backyard or local parks, and you don’t need to be super fit or do a lot of research and training to get started.  Best of all, bird watching is one of the fastest growing hobbies, so it’s a great way to meet new friends.

What is bird watching?

Bird watching, birding, or twitching is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more readily detected and identified by ear than by eye. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity mainly for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who engage in the study of birds using more formal scientific reasons.

The term "bird watching" was first used in 1901; "to bird" was introduced as a verb in 1918.  The terms "birding" and "bird watching" are today used interchangeably, although many participants prefer "birding", both because it does not exclude the auditory aspects of enjoying birds, and because it does not have some associated negative connotations.

The term "twitcher", sometimes misapplied as a synonym for birder, is reserved for those who travel long distances to see a rare bird that would then be "ticked", or checked off, on a list. The term originated in the 1950s, when it was used to describe the nervous behaviour of Howard Medhurst, a British birdwatcher. Prior terms for those who chased rarities were "pot-hunter", "tally-hunter", or "tick-hunter". The main goal of twitching is often to accumulate species on one's lists. Some birders engage in competition to accumulate the longest species list. The act of the pursuit itself is referred to as a "twitch" or a "chase". A rare bird that stays put long enough for people to see it is "twitchable" or “chaseable”.

Twitching is highly developed in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Finland and Sweden. The size of these countries makes it possible to travel throughout them quickly and with relative ease. The most popular twitches in the UK have drawn large crowds; for example, a group of approximately 5,000 people travelled to Kent, England, to view a Golden-winged Warbler. Twitchers have developed their own vocabulary. For example, a twitcher who fails to see a rare bird has dipped out; if other twitchers do see the bird, he may feel gripped off. Suppression is the act of concealing news of a rare bird from other twitchers.

History

The early interest in observing birds for their aesthetic rather than utilitarian (mainly food) value is traced to the late-1700s in the works of Gilbert White, Thomas Bewick, George Montagu and John Clare. Although the study of birds and natural history became fashionable in Britain during the Victorian Era, it was mainly collection oriented with eggs and later skins being the artifacts of interest. Wealthy collectors made use of their contacts in the colonies to obtain specimens from around the world. It was only in the late 1800s that the call for bird protection began leading to the rising popularity of observations on living birds. The Audubon Society was started to protect birds from the growing trade in feathers in the United States while the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds began in Britain.  The term "birdwatching" appeared for the first time as the title of a book "Bird Watching" by Edmund Selous in 1901.  In North America, the identification of birds, once thought possible only by shooting was made possible by the emergence of optics and field identification guides. The earliest field guide in the US was Birds through an Opera Glass (1889) by Florence Bailey. Birding in North America was focused in the early and mid-20th century in the eastern seaboard region, and was influenced by the works of Ludlow Griscom and later Roger Tory Peterson.

The organization and networking of those interested in birds began through organizations like the Audubon Society that was against the killing of birds and the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). The rising popularity of the car increased the mobility of birdwatchers and this made new locations accessible to those interested in birds. Networks of birdwatchers in the UK began to form in the late 1930s under the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). The BTO saw the potential to produce scientific results through the networks, unlike the Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds (RSPB) which like the Audubon Society originated from the bird protection movement. Like the AOU in North America, the BOU had a focus mainly in collection based taxonomy. The BOU changed focus to ecology and behaviour only in the 1940s. The BTO movement towards 'organized birdwatching', was opposed by the RSPB which claimed that the 'scientification' of the pastime was 'undesirable'. This stand was to change only in 1936 when the RSPB was taken over by Tom Harrisson and others. Harrisson was instrumental in the organization of pioneering surveys of the Great Crested Grebe.

Increased mobility of birdwatchers ensured that books like Where to watch birds by John Gooders became best-sellers. By the 1960s air-travel became feasible and long distance holiday destinations opened up and by 1965, Britain's first birding tour company, Ornitholidays was started by Lawrence Holloway. Travelling far away also led to problems in name usage, British birds like "Wheatear", "Heron" and "Swallow" needed adjectives to differentiate them in places where there were several related species. The falling cost of air-travel made flying to remote birding destinations a possibility for a large number of people towards the 1980s. The need for global guides to birds became more relevant and one of the biggest projects that began was the "Handbook of the Birds of the World" which started in the 1990s with Josep del Hoyo a country doctor in Catalonia, Jordi Sargatal and ornithologist Andy Elliott.

Popularity

About 4% of North Americans were interested in birding In the 1970s and in the mid 1980s at least 11% were found to watch birds at least 20 days of the year. An estimate of 61 million birders was made in the late 1980s. The income level of birders has been found to be well above average.

North American birders were estimated to have spent as much as USD 32 billion in 2001. The spending is on the rise around the world. Kuşcenneti National Park (KNP) at Lake Manyas, a Ramsar site in Turkey was estimated to attract birders who spent as much as 103,320,074 USD annually. Guided bird tours have become a major business with at least 127 companies offering tours worldwide. An average trip to a less-developed country costs $4000 per person and includes about 12 participants for each of 150 trips a year. It has been suggested that this economic potential needs to be tapped for conservation.

Types of bird watching

Monitoring

Many birders take part in censuses of bird populations and migratory patterns which are sometimes specific to individual species. These birders may also count all birds in a given area, as in the Christmas Bird Count or follow carefully designed study protocols. This kind of citizen science can assist in identifying environmental threats to the well-being of birds or, conversely, in assessing outcomes of environmental management initiatives intended to ensure the survival of at-risk species or encourage the breeding of species for aesthetic or ecological reasons. This more scientific side of the hobby is an aspect of ornithology, coordinated in the UK by the British Trust for Ornithology. In the United States, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology hosts many citizen-science projects to track the number and distribution of bird species across North America. These surveys help scientists note major changes from year to year which may occur as a result of climate change, disease, predation, and other factors.

Competition

Birding as a competitive event is organized in some parts of the world. These are found to be more exciting by some. These competitions encourage individuals or teams to accumulate large numbers of species within a specified time or area with special rules. Some birders will also compete by attempting to increase their life list, national list, state list, provincial list, county list, or year list. There have however been criticisms of such events especially when they are claimed to aid conservation when they may actually mask serious environmental issues.

Competitive birding events include:

• Big Day: teams have 24 hours to identify as many species as possible.

• Big Year: like a big day, but contestants are individuals, and need to be prepared to invest a great deal of time and money.

Big Sit or Big Stay: birders must see birds from a circle of prescribed diameter (e.g.: 17feet). Once birds are spotted, birders can leave the circle to confirm the identity, but new birds seen may not be counted.

Where and when to bird watch

Most birdwatchers will keep an eye on birds around them at all times but will make specific trips to observe birds fulltime. The most active times of the year for birding in temperate zones are during the spring or fall migrations when the greatest variety of birds may be seen. On these occasions, large numbers of birds travel north or south to wintering or nesting locations. Early mornings are typically better as the birds are more active and vocal making them easier to spot.

Certain locations such as the local patch of forest, wetland and coast may be favored according to the location and season. Seawatching is a type of bird watching where observers based at a coastal watch point, such as a headland, watch birds flying over the sea. This is one form of pelagic birding, by which pelagic bird species are viewed. Another way birders view pelagic species is from seagoing vessels.

Weather plays an important role in the occurrence of rare birds. In Britain, suitable wind conditions may lead to drift migration, and an influx of birds from the east. In North America, birds caught in the tail-end of a hurricane may be blown inland.

And, of course, you can follow other bird watchers, or try to find out where birds have recently been seen. This is much easier to do today than in the past, where by the time news got around of an interesting sighting, the birds had often moved on. In the early 1950s the only way of communicating new bird sighting was through the postal system and it was generally too late for the recipients to act on the information. In 1953 James Ferguson-Lees began broadcasting rare bird news on the radio in Eric Simms' Countryside program but this did not catch on. In the 1960s people began using the telephone and some people became hubs for communication. In the 1970s some cafes, like the one in Cley, Norfolk run by Nancy Gull became centers for meeting and communication. This was replaced by telephone hotline services like "Birdline" and "Bird Information Service".

With the advent of the World-Wide Web, birders have been using the internet to convey information; this can be via mailing lists, forums, bulletin-boards, web-based databases and other media. While most birding lists are geographic in scope, there are special-interest lists that cater to bird-identification, 'twitchers', seabirds and raptor enthusiasts to name but a few. Messages can range from the serious to trivial, notifying others of rarities, questioning the taxonomy or identification of a species, discussing field guides and other resources, asking for advice and guidance, or organizing groups to help save habitats. Occasional postings are mentioned in academic journals and therefore can be a valuable resource for professional and amateur birders alike. One of the oldest, Birdchat (based in the US) has probably got the most subscribers, followed by the English-language fork of Eurobirdnet, Birding-Aus from Australia, SABirdnet from South Africa. Orientalbirding, India.

Several websites allow users to submit lists of birds seen, while others collate and produce seasonal statistics, distribution maps.

Equipment

Equipment commonly used for birding includes binoculars, a spotting scope with tripod, a notepad, and one or more field guides. Hides or observation towers are often used to conceal the observers from birds, and/or to improve viewing conditions. Over the years optics manufacturers have learned that birding binoculars sell, and virtually all have specific binoculars for just that. Some have even geared their whole brand to birders. 

To get started, the best investment you can make is a good pair of binoculars specifically designed for bird watching.  Most specialty outdoor, hunting, or wild bird  equipment suppliers will be able to help.  Expect to pay around $100 for a good entry-level pair of bird watching binoculars.  As you become more experienced, and develop specific areas of interest, or if you want to compete or photograph your birds, there’s a wide variety of equipment available to you.  What you choose depends on your interests and your budget, but some of the main categories of bird watching supplies are listed below.

Choose your field guides according to the types of birds you expect to see.  A selection of small guides for your specific locations, even seasonal guides, is much more convenient to carry on bird watching expeditions than a large volume covering birds of many areas or even countries.  There’s no need to carry a heavy guide full of information about birds you simply aren’t going to find in your area or at that time of year.

Sound equipment

Recognition of bird calls and noises is an important part of a birder's toolkit. Sound information can assist in the locating, watching, identification and sexing of birds. Recent developments in audio technology have seen recording and reproduction devices shrink in both size and price, making them accessible to a greater portion of the birding community. The non-linear nature of digital audio technology has also made selecting and accessing the required recordings much more flexible than tape-based models. It is now possible to take a recording of every birdcall you are likely to encounter in a given area out into the field stored on a device that will slip into your pocket, and to retrieve calls for playback and comparison in any order you choose.

Photography

Photography has always been a part of birding, but in the past the cost of good cameras and long lenses made this a minority, often semi-professional, interest. The advent of affordable digital cameras, which can be used in conjunction with binoculars or a telescope (a technique known as digiscoping), have made this a much more widespread aspect of the hobby.

Videography

As with the arrival of affordable digital cameras, the development of more compact and affordable digital video cameras has made them more attractive and accessible to the birding community. Cross-over, non-linear digital models now exist that take high quality stills at acceptable resolutions, as well as being able to record and play audio and video. The ability to easily capture and reproduce not only the visual characteristics of a bird, but also its patterns of movement and its sound, has wide applications for birders in the field.

Portable media players

This class of product includes devices that can play (some can also record) a range of digital media, typically video, audio and still image files. Many modern digital cameras, mobile phones, and camcorders can be classified as portable media players. With the ability to store and play large quantities of information, these often pocket-sized devices allow a full birding multimedia library to be taken into the field with a minimum of fuss. In the case of modern mobile phones with browsing capabilities, providing you have reception where you are birding they make possible the accessing and/or transmitting of image, video, and audio information via the internet.

Remote bird watching

New technologies are allowing bird watching activities to take place over the Internet, using robotic camera installations and mobile phones set up in remote wildlife areas. Projects such as CONE allow users to observe and photograph birds over the web; similarly, robotic cameras set up in largely inhospitable areas are being used to attempt the first photographs of the rare Ivory-billed Woodpecker. These systems represent new technologies in the birdwatcher's toolkit.

Code of conduct

As the numbers of bird watchers increases, there is growing concern about the impact of bird watching on the birds and their habitat. Bird watching etiquette is evolving in response to this concern.  Some examples of bird watching etiquette include promoting the welfare of birds and their environment; avoiding stressing the birds by limiting use of photography and playback devices; keeping back from nests and nesting colonies; and respecting private property.  

Who can help

Prominent national and continental organizations concerned with birding include the British Trust for Ornithology and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in the United Kingdom, the National Audubon Society in the United States, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the American Birding Association in North America (USA and Canada). Many state-wide or local Audubon organizations are also quite active in the United States, as are many provincial and local organizations in Canada. BirdLife International is an important global alliance of bird conservation organizations. Many countries and smaller regions (states/provinces) have "rarities committees" to check, accept or reject reports of rare birds made by birders.