People birdwatching on Orchid Island in Indian River County, Florida. Orchid Island Florida, an Atlantic coastal Barrier island located in Indian River County Florida, is actually the Indian River County part of North Indian River County is a County located in the US state of Florida.

Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars. Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Binocular telescopes, or binoculars (also known as field glasses are two identical or Mirror - symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more readily detected and identified by ear than by eye. Most birders and birdwatchers pursue this activity for recreational or social reasons, unlike ornithologists, who are engaged in the formal scientific study of birds. Ornithology (from Greek ὄρνις ὄρνιθος ornis, ornithos, "bird" and λόγος logos, "knowledge" is the branch of

Birding versus birdwatching

Both in Britain and in the U. S. , 'birders' often differentiate themselves from 'birdwatchers'. At the most basic level the distinction is one of dedication or intensity. Self-described 'birders' are more focused on finding and studying birds than on general observation, and they tend to be more versed in such minutiae as moult, distribution, migration timing and routes, and habitat usage. In Biology, moulting (or molting, also known as shedding or for some species Ecdysis) signifies the manner in which an animal routinely Dedicated birders tend to invest more in high-quality optical equipment, such as spotting scopes, and many birders travel widely in pursuit of their hobby. A spotting scope is a portable Telescope, optimized for the observation of terrestrial objects Birdwatchers tend to have a more restricted outlook, often confining their birdwatching activity to local nature reserves, their own gardens, or places visited on holiday, and, in general, they invest less in optical equipment. ^[1][2]

The history of birding

Birding has emerged in recent decades as a popular hobby in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people consider themselves to be serious birders, and several million regard themselves as casual birders. Birding is even more popular in Britain than it is in the United States. Roger Tory Peterson played a central role in the emergence and defining of modern birding, both in the United States and Britain. Roger Tory Peterson ( August 28, 1908 &ndash July 28, 1996) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, artist and educator

Birding in the United States was focused in the early and mid-20th century in the eastern seaboard region, with persons such as Roger Tory Peterson and Ludlow Griscom being especially influential in the early days. In the mid- to late 20th century, many of the pioneering developments in American birding came out of California, where Guy McCaskie was particularly influential.

A history of birding in the United States is provided in a 2007 book by Scott Weidensaul (Of a Feather: A Brief History of Birding, Harcourt, Orlando).

A six-part History of Birding Magazine, covering the period 1968-2006, appeared in Birding magazine in 2006. Birding is the bimonthly members' magazine of the American Birding Association. This six-part history was broken down as follows:

• 1968-1974
• 1975-1980
• 1981-1987
• 1988-1993
• 1994-2000
• 2001-2006

Overview

Birders at J "Ding" Darling reserve, Sanibel, Florida. Sanibel is a City in Lee County, Florida, United States, on Sanibel Island.

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. Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of Birds Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability On these occasions, large numbers of birds travel north or south to wintering or nesting locations.

Early morning is typically the best time of the day for birding since many birds are searching for food which makes them easier to find and observe.

Birders who are keen rarity-seekers will travel long distances to locate new and rare species, intending to add these to their list of personally observed birds. These lists often take the form of a life list, national list, state list, county list, or year list. A Big Year is an informal competition among birders to see who can see or hear the largest number of species of Birds within a single calendar year and within a specific

Seawatching is a type of birdwatching where observers based at a coastal watch point, such as a headland, watch birds flying over the sea. Seawatching is a type of Birdwatching where participants observe Birds at Sea. This is one form of pelagic birding, by which pelagic bird species are viewed. Any water in the sea that is not close to the bottom is in the pelagic zone. Another way birders view pelagic species is from seagoing vessels.

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. The Christmas Bird Count (CBC is a census of Birds in the Western Hemisphere performed annually in the early Northern-hemisphere winter by volunteer Birders. This 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. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of Birds in the British Isles.

Increasing seasonal bird populations can be a good indication of biodiversity or the quality of different habitats. Biodiversity is the variation of Life forms within a given Ecosystem, Biome or for the entire Earth. Some species are persecuted as vermin, often illegally, as with the case of the Hen Harrier in Britain. The Hen Harrier ( Circus cyaneus) or Northern Harrier (in North America) is a Bird of prey.

Twitching

Birders watching Britain's fifth-ever White-tailed Lapwing at Caerlaverock, Scotland, 6 June 2007. The White-tailed Lapwing or White-tailed Plover ( Vanellus leucurus) is a Wader in the Lapwing genus WWT Caerlaverock is Wetland Nature reserve in southwest Scotland, one of nine reserves in Britain operated by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain.

Twitching is a British term, meaning "the observation of a previously located rare bird". In North America, this is often called chasing.

The goal of twitching is often to accumulate species on one's lists. Some birders engage in competition with one another 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 called "twitchable" or "chaseable". ^[2]

Twitching is highly developed among birders in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Finland and Sweden. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. The smaller regional size of these countries make it possible to quickly travel inside their borders with relative ease. The most popular twitches in the UK have drawn large crowds, such as a group of approximately 5,000 people who came to view a Golden-winged Warbler in Kent. The Golden-winged Warbler, Vermivora chrysoptera, is a New World warbler, 11 KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format

In the United Kingdom, twitchers have developed their own jargon. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For Wikipedia jargon see WikipediaGlossary. For hacker slang see Jargon File. 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. ^[2] Similar vocabularies have developed in other countries where twitching is popular.

Weather plays an important role in twitching. In Britain, suitable wind conditions may lead to drift migration, and an influx of birds from the east. Drift migration is the phenomenon in which migrating Birds are blown off course by the winds at the time they are in flight In America, birds caught in the tail-end of a hurricane may be blown inland. ^[3]

Some competitive birding competitions include the following:

• 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. A Big Year is an informal competition among birders to see who can see or hear the largest number of species of Birds within a single calendar year and within a specific
• Big Sit: birders must see birds from a 15-foot (4. 5 m) diameter circle. Once birds are spotted, birders can leave the circle to confirm the identity, but new birds seen may not be counted.

Organizations

Prominent national organizations concerned with birding include the British Trust for Ornithology and Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in the United Kingdom and the National Audubon Society and American Birding Association in the United States. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of Birds in the British Isles. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ( RSPB) is a British Charitable organisation which works to promote conservation and protection The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit Environmental organization dedicated to conservancy The American Birding Association (ABA is a Non-profit organization of people interested in birding. Many state-wide or local Audubon organizations are also quite active in the United States. BirdLife International is an important global alliance of bird conservation organizations. BirdLife International (formerly known as the International Council for Bird Preservation, not to be confused with Birds International) is the international conservation

Etiquette

As the numbers of birdwatchers increases, there is growing concern about the impact of birdwatching on the birds and their habitat. Birdwatching etiquette is evolving in response to this concern. ^[4] Some examples of birdwatching 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. ^[5]

Equipment

Birders using a tower hide to gain views over foreground vegetation. Bay of Liminka, south of Oulu, Finland. Oulu ( (literally "Flood" ( (literally "Ule River Castle" is a city and municipality of about 130000 inhabitants in the province of Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe.

Equipment commonly used for birding includes binoculars, a spotting scope with tripod, a notepad, and one or more field guides. Binocular telescopes, or binoculars (also known as field glasses are two identical or Mirror - symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and A spotting scope is a portable Telescope, optimized for the observation of terrestrial objects In Photography, a tripod is a three-legged stand for a Camera, used to stabilize and elevate the camera A field guide Bold textis a Book designed to help the reader identify Wildlife ( Plants or Animals or other objects of natural 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.

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. Photography (fә'tɒgrәfi or fә'tɑːgrәfi (from Greek φωτο and γραφία is the process and Art of recording pictures by means of capturing 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. Many compact digital still cameras can record Sound and moving Video as well as still Photograph. Digiscoping is a method of obtaining photos using a Digital camera through a spotting scope Telescope or less often Binoculars.

Socio-psychology

See also: Biophilia hypothesis

Ethologist Nikolaas Tinbergen considers birdwatching to be an expression of the male hunting instinct. The biophilia hypothesis suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems Ethology ( from Greek ἦθος ethos, "character" and λόγος logos, "knowledge") is the scientific study of Animal Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen ( April 15, 1907 &ndash December 21, 1988) was a Dutch ethologist and Ornithologist There have been suggestion that identification of birds may be a form of gaining status which has been compared with Kula valuables noted in Papua New Guinean cultures. Kula, also known as the Kula exchange or Kula ring, is a ceremonial exchange system conducted in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea ^[6]

Famous birders and ornithologists

See also: List of notable birdwatchers

• Salim Ali, Indian ornithologist
• John James Audubon, painter and adventurer
• Pete Dunne, author and raconteur
• Tom Gullick, current life-list leader^[7]
• Induchoodan, Indian environmentalist and ornithologist
• Kenn Kaufman, author, educator, and birding expert
• Bill Oddie, entertainer
• Ted Parker, scientist and conservationist
• Roger Tory Peterson, author and birding guru
• Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States and conservationist
• David Allen Sibley, illustrator and birding expert
• Phoebe Snetsinger, life-list leader at the time of her death

See also

• List of birding journals and magazines
• List of country and regional avifaunas
• Notable birding-related books of the 20th Century
• Birdfeeding

References

External links

General

• More Americans Are Birding Summary of U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service census
• BirdLife International is an alliance of bird conservation organizations
• wikiHow: How to Photograph a Bird, explains a way to photograph birds
• wikiHow: How to Bird Watch, explains how to birdwatch

Newsgroups

• alt. A newsgroup is a Repository usually within the Usenet system for messages posted from many users in different locations birdwatching
• uk. rec. birdwatching