Why We Bird

Beauty

I often have people ask me why I bird. For me the response is easy. I ask them why they like to look at flowers. The answer is the same. We like to look at flowers because we perceive them to be beautiful. We derive some enjoyment from their beauty, and this beauty motivates us to learn more about these flowers more fully to enjoy this beauty. It is the same with birds. It seems in even the smallest, brownest sparrow I see deep beauty reflected in form, function, habit, place found, and the appearance of each bird. However, I have found that this is just one of many motivations for people to get into birding. There are others. Those who enjoy this type of birding the most generally don’t care what they see at all. They are the same types who can sit and watch the same solitary bird for hours.

Competition

Perhaps the other most common motivation people sight is the “thrill of the chase.” It is a challenge on a grand scale for people to see how many species of bird they can observe in the world, their nation, state, county, backyard; or on or in any one day, month, year, rolling 12 month period, etc… Sometimes they even form teams and compete with one another. This is the competitive aspect to birding and I believe it is very close to a hunting instinct or some derivative thereof. Many people find this sort of birding a complete obsession. And, as with any addiction—beneficial or detrimental—those taken up with this aspect of birding can’t wait to get their next fix. I am not competitive. It is not really in my bones, so it is hard for me to enjoy this aspect of birding as much as others. Those who enjoy this type of birding are often fanatical about lists of birds of any sort. They also tend to enjoy formal competitions of any sort. Many of these birders are also compulsive posters to “Rare Bird Alerts” or other online birding venues. Many will drive hundreds of miles a day to hit as many different habitats as they can in order to see as many species as possible.

Collection

There is anther motivation for many that I think is related but distinct from the motivations sighted above. That motivation is same that all collectors feel. Often for pure bird collectors there is a sense of enjoyment out of ‘collecting’ the sightings of different birds for the pure enjoyment of knowing they have completed or are on their way to completing “a set.” I share this motivation. Like a kid who is over the moon about finally completing a set of baseball cards for a particular year, these birders are overcome with similar joy after finally seeing all the breeding birds in their county, or all the hawks of the United States, or even all different plumages of any one species. This joy is independent of what anyone else may or may not see. A person with this motivation for birding could care less if another has seen every single species in all their plumages in the entire world. It only matters what they have seen, and the joy in what they have seen and catalogued is also quite indifferent to the beauty of the thing being catalogued. It is human to want to recognize, categorize, systematize and name. In this sense, the hobby can be a very solitary affair, although this is not necessarily so. Those birders who enjoy this type of birding may also be fanatical about lists, enjoy driving hundreds of miles in a day to see as many species as possible, although they are less likely to join formal competitions or post notes at online venues.

Sociability

Then there are the social birders. This is rather straightforward. Many people like to bird because running into other birders is often, and I should say nearly always, a pleasure. They just tend to be friendly types who are eager to share their passion with others. Some of these people can truly become lifelong friends. It is no surprise that the hobby is full of people who were ‘dragged’ into the hobby by a spouse. Many of those people initially found no joy in the birds themselves, some of them still don’t, but have come to love it anyway, simply for the joy of getting to know others through the activity. Think of the card player who shows up every week only to loose miserably. They aren’t there for the cards, and that’s ok. So, if you are the type of birder who is completely bored or even feels a little lonely if you go out by yourself, you might recognize yourself as a ‘social birder’. Perhaps counter intuitively, some ‘social birders’ can be the most dedicated. They also tend to make great volunteers.

So friendly birders are the rule. If, by unlucky chance, you run into a misanthropic jerk of a birder—just let him/her be—and know that that you have seen a true rarity!

By Way of Explanation to Others

So, above I have named at least four different major motivations people have for birding. I am sure there are others. I name these for the benefit of those getting into birding, so that they may recognize the ‘types’ of birding they may enjoy the most. But, I also name them for those who just don’t ‘get it’ so that the hobby/obsession/time sink they may admire or object to might be more understandable to them. For that unlucky birder who has a spouse or family member who resent their hobby, explaining the motivations above may be helpful to those they love.

The Goal Restated

In short, the ‘point’ of birding can be varied and even not very easy to define. Like all things that some humans enjoy, there are often a complex of pleasures induced by the habit, some more prominent than others at any one time. So, the goal of birding can be an elusive one. However, if you try it and at any point you find yourself enjoying it. You can be sure you have reached the goal. Savor the moment and look forward to your next opportunity.

Tags: biologists, Biology, bird plumages, birder spouse, Birding, birding competition, birding obsession, Birds, car birding, collector, competitive birding, Excursions, misanthropic jerk, misanthropy, motivations for birding, ornithologists, ornithology, Personal, purpose, rare bird alerts, social birders, sparrow, systematize, the point of birding, thrill of the chase, United States