Birding is many things to many people — and birders represent an expansive cohort of tens of millions of Americans! For some of us, birding is a lifestyle, an ever-present part of our lives. For others, it’s all about the action at feeders outside their window, the birds along the golf course, or the flocks of birds at a national wildlife refuge an hour away. But for all of us, birds provide an interest that commands our attention and inspires a lively connection to nature that we enjoy sharing with family, friends, co-workers, classmates, and fellow birders.
Birding includes all kinds of outdoor activities, including listing and censusing the species we see, photographing, hiking, cycling, canoeing and kayaking, auto-touring, back-packing and camping, drawing and painting, field-studies, traveling to wildlife havens, and even to other states or countries to explore new locations with distinctive birds — and much more.
Birding also includes aspects of our home life, such as attracting birds by providing food and water, and landscaping our yards with flowering plants, shrubs, and trees to provide shelter, food, and nesting sites. We also install nest-boxes for cavity nesting birds to utilize in our yards and in the field.
Inside our homes we assemble libraries of field guides, bird books, and magazines and we display bird-inspired prints and paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and favorite photographs. Our computers provide access to a remarkable wealth of information, and we create files where we can keep records and digital photos, and use specialized programs that aid our birding endeavors. We can also extend our computer birding activities outside our home with our cellphones and tablets.
We can even add bird-oriented improvements to our work sites, whether that may be adding some bird-friendly landscaping or a hummingbird feeder outdoors, or adding a piece of bird art in a hallway or office. I’ve even visited restaurants that installed a line-up of decorative bird-feeders and water features outside large display windows that attracted a lively collection of birds that in turn attracted people to the business. Some people even choose bird-related occupations — birds, birds, birds.
Each week we provide an expansive look at birds and birding activities across the continent, and often beyond our borders, providing contact information and, hopefully, lots of inspiration. Perhaps you will be inspired to expand your birding horizons, or plan a special trip that includes some fun birding hotspots. Take your binoculars, your camera, and a journal or tablet to keep field notes and enjoy the great outdoors! Then too, enjoy your own yard and workplace and neighborhood too, ‘cuz birds will catch your eye wherever you go!
