Wednesday, November 10, 2021

We Are All Backyard Birders

Whether a Scott’s Oriole sings in your backyard, or if you travel to search for this bird of the Southwest, it’s all a part of the many ways we enjoy birding (photos by Paul Konrad)
If you find a Great Horned Owl watching you from an open window, is that backyard birding too?

As far as we can tell, all birders are backyard birders: We don’t know of any birders who are not backyard birders. Even the most hard-core listers, eBirders, and photographers also enjoy their feeding stations and bird baths while actively trying to make their yards more attractive for migrating, wintering, and nesting birds. The real factor of what kind of birder you are may be more a matter of geography than anything else: Like birds, some birders have small territories, while some of us have expansive home ranges. Some of us even migrate south for the winter to enjoy a whole new set of backyard birds!

Backyard birding is an excellent place to start and expand on the many ways we enjoy birding, yet some birders back into the backyard realm after an initial attraction to searching for birds at a local refuge or nature center. What’s great about birding is that there are so many different ways to appreciate and enjoy birds that anyone new to birding, seasoned birders, and advanced birders can always add another facet to their birding enjoyment.

For example, anyone can combine birding with other recreation such as walking through your neighborhood, or along a hiking trail; while bicycling, or even canoeing and kayaking; taking a birding drive, and during all kinds of travel. Photography and art are another way we combine interests as we photograph birds, illustrate them using a variety of mediums, and use art and photos to decorate our homes and offices.

There are many ways to make birding a social event: You can share your birding interests with your family and friends, join organized field trips, and attend birding festivals, or just sit back together and see what birds show up at your feeding station and water feature. Plus you can extend backyard elements of birding to your workplace, school, or even your church in the form or bird-friendly landscaping, adding a bird bath or an attractive fountain, or adding a simple hummingbird feeder as a point of interest.

Birders enjoy the company of other birders, and we join local birding clubs, state birding societies, the American Birding Association, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird fellowship. An interest in birds is often a stepping stone to conservation topics that lead many people to join such important groups as the National Audubon Society and a variety of others.

Yes, backyard birders are aware of the birds around them as they travel cross-town or cross-state, even if they don’t actively venture into the field on a birding foray. Many keep lists of the birds they see using binoculars in their yard and neighborhood, they report the birds they see to eBird and Project FeederWatch, and they take photographs of the birds in their yard.

All of us are interested in books about birds, starting with a field guide and expanding into other areas of interest. Before long, you realize you have a little library of bird books. And what better gift for any birder than a top-selling birding title. We also consume a variety of information on birding websites, including The Birding Wire.

In each weekly issue of The Birding Wire we provide a wealth of information to inform and inspire everyone to enjoy and expand their birding interests and activities. By starting issues with a Backyard Birding article, we follow up with a host of birding topics, activities, and products, usually providing additional resources and links that you can refer to beyond our articles and introductions.

Many birders are big shoppers, visiting birding product stores for feeders, foods, and more. We shop sporting goods stores for binoculars and other optics, plus outdoor clothing stores including shoe stores, along with websites that provide products beyond local options. Birders add a lot to economies, locally and as we travel – billions of dollars annually!

Yes, backyard birding is an important part of birding, but it’s not a closed door. We are all backyard birders and it’s just a matter of personal preference as to how we extend our birding activities beyond our yard. Ultimately, birding becomes a lifestyle for many of us. What’s your next step? How are you interested in extending your birding endeavors in new ways? Sometimes it’s just a matter of devoting more time to our favorite elements of birding, and it’s all about how birding enhances our lives over time, season after season. Happy Birding!

Share your backyard birding experiences and photos at editorstbw2@gmail.com