Why I'm a Birder

Eastern Meadowlark
A Central Florida Breeder

Around mid-May, things wind down here in Central Florida.  Migration is mostly over, with some stragglers still passing through. I'm likely not to add much to my lists until after July.  And it's hot again.  The temptation is to retreat into air conditioned room and enjoy the comfort of the great indoors, hibernating until the Fall.  But I never do.  Something about birding draws my out into nature with all the ticks, mosquitoes and heat of Florida.

Brown-headed Nuthatch
A Central Florida Breeder

Well I suppose that's not quite right--it's not "something," but "some things."  If you're a birder, you probably share many, if not all these with me:

1. Birding is beautiful.  I often joke with my non-birding friends that they ought not to look at some of the birds we can see here, because if they do, they'll be hooked just like me. 
2. Birding is fascinating.  Birds are not just beautiful, they're outright fascinating to watch. Weather it be a  Killdeer feigning injury, a Blue Jay chasing off a hawk many times its own size, the feeding habits of wading birds, or the way a Loggerhead Shrike impales its prey on barbed wire or thorns, it's fascinating to just watch birds being birds.
3. Birding is cooperative.  Part of the fun of birding for me is to cooperate with other birders and share sightings so that we all see more than I would see on my own. 
4. Birding is listographic. If that's not a word, it ought to be. I do like my lists, and I do set goals for what I would like to see in a year, and in my county. Listing and goal-setting is part of what makes birding a challenge for me year after year.  
5. Birding is educational.  When I got into listing, I realized I needed to learn more about birds, their habits and habitats in order to find more.  So I started reading.  Reading about birds, birding and ecology opened up new worlds to me.  I used to just go to birding hotspots to see what I might happen to find.  But reading has taught me to seek out habitats that might be good for certain species I'd hope to find at certain times of the year. And the more I learn, the more I find I don't know, making birding a hobby that will always require continued growth and learning.
6. Birding is scientific. The more I became interested in listing and learning, the more I've realized that my hobby can benefit science and conservation.  This can be as simple as using eBird to log sightings, since the Cornell Lab of Ornithology can use the data to better understand bird distribution and migration.  But this year, I also joined Florida's Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), a project of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.  Now when I go birding, I watch for evidence of breeding, and log that information on to the BBA website.  This allows ornithologists to have observational evidence of breeding throughout the state of Florida. It makes birding more rewarding to know that my hobby might actually help scientists have a better understanding of breeding birds in Florida.

Eastern Towhee
A Central Florida Breeder

This is the time of year when I get to make observations that can contribute to the scientific community.  So I get up early most mornings and give a little time to birding, braving the ticks, mosquitoes and heat in the process.  After all, responsible birding helps make the world a better place.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck
A Central Florida Breeder

Of course, Florida is not the only state with a BBA project.  If you're interested, check out http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bba/index.cfm to see if there's a project in your area.

Wood Duck
A Central Florida Breeder

Red-headed Woodpecker
A Central Florida Breeder

Limpkin
A Central Florida Breeder

Scott Simmons

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