August 10th, 2014: Why Do We Bird?

Millions of people around the world participate in this outlandish pastime known as birding, but a question many people ask themselves is why? Why do so many people take pleasure in looking at these feathered animals? Being a young birder myself, I am frequently asked this question by my peers, so naturally this is a topic that I have pondered on for a long time. For me, my passion for birding is rooted in my great fascination for nature and the environment, which eventually led me to noticing the birds in my yard. However, for others, birding doesn’t necessarily stem from a preceding passion for the environment. It may actually be the other way around: because people are birders, they then develop an interest in the environment. But then, you may ask yourself: “How did they start birding in the first place?” Well, that’s hard to say exactly, everybody has their own story and their own reason for birding. But figuring out why people find birds and birding so interesting isn’t as personal and esoteric. 

For starters, probably the main reason for why people find birds so interesting and fascinating is because they are aesthetically some of the prettier animals of our world. Many birds as you probably know are blazoned in vibrant colors, from crimson-reds, to deep-blue azures, and even to some stunning ivory-whites! 

The Vermilion Flycatcher, a personal favorite of mine 

is certainly one of the more striking North American species.

However birds aren’t just eye-candies, they can also be music to your ears! A big part of birding is listening (which is why we prefer saying “birding” rather than simply “bird watching”, and it also lowers the creep factor). Birds can produce some of the most complex sounds in nature, from the liquid, flowing song of the Pacific Wren, to the incessant chattering and mimicry of the Yellow-breasted Chat.

Although, listening to calls and songs can be the bane of birding for some, I know it can be for me. Sometimes you’ll hear the faintest and most indistinguishable chip coming from 30 yards away and you haven’t the slightest clue as to what it is, which will continue to pester you as you try to resume your birding: “What was that chip note? Could it have been a vagrant warbler? Did I even hear that or did I imagine it? (which can happen surprisingly often)”.  However, listening can be, and usually is, the most fruitful way to distinguish two species from each other. Willow and Alder Flycatchers were once lumped into the same species (Traill’s Flycatcher), as were Pacific-slope Flycatcher and Cordilleran Flycatcher (Western Flycatcher). Gray-cheeked and Bicknell’s Thrush were never once the same species, but they look nearly identical. The only way to properly identify all of these species is by listening to their call. Here is an actual account of when this proved to be very helpful. My friend Logan Kahle got a tip from a friend about an Eastern Wood-Pewee that he found in an undisclosed location in California. This would be California’s 11th state record, a mega-rarity. I joined him on the hunt for it. We got there and not 15 minutes after having been there, a wood-pewee pops up onto a willow. We looked at it and picked out all the field marks to separate it from a Western Wood-Pewee, our local species. These two species are nearly identical, except that Easterns have a peaked eye-ring, an all yellow lower mandible and brighter wing bars. This bird showed all those features. However, we didn’t feel comfortable calling it. We could have very well made ourselves think that the bird had all these field marks, so that we could count it. We waited another hour and a half, following it as it sallied from branch to branch. Finally, it called: “pe-WEE”, and we knew we had located it. Although we were fairly certain from the start that this bird was in fact the Eastern Wood-Pewee, we stuck around long enough for it to emit its call, because hearing its call was the only way to positively identify it.

The famed Eastern Wood-Pewee that we only felt
comfortable identifying it after it called.

Yes, listening to the birds truly is an essential part of this pastime. There are even  some blind birders believe it or not! Because hearing a bird is the best way to identify birds, some people don’t even need to see the birds. I know I’ve definitely been birding in places where I only actually got a good view of a mere 10% of the species present. So there is no reason for why blind people shouldn’t bird. If anything, they are at an advantage compared to us because their sense of hearing is heightened, so they would be able to hear even the most faint and minute chip note, something I know many birders wish they could do. It’s almost like they have superpowers! One final aspect of birding I would like to touch on is the ubiquity of birds. Birds are everywhere! Besides arthropods, birds are the only group of animals to be found in every possible habitat in the world. Think about it. Where haven’t you seen or heard a bird? Even in the most remote and desolate area, birds have found a way to adapt and call that area home. Open ocean? Tubenoses such as gadfly petrels, albatross, shearwaters and storm-petrels have conquered this marine environment by developing sharp bills to grasp onto slippery fish, and tubular nostrils to excrete non-purposely ingested salt. Arid desert? Sandgrouse are able to survive without water for extended periods, and for when they need to quench their youngs’ thirst, they’ll dip their breast feathers in pools of water, from which the young will sip from. Frozen tundra? Ivory Gulls have evolved pristine white feathers to blend in with the ice and snow, and have learned to follow polar bears, because they will lead them to carcasses, from which they will scavenge. We even see birds in urban areas now! I live right outside of San Francisco, which is of course one of the most developed cities in the Bay Area, and I have seen numerous species of birds using mankind’s urban creations to their own benefit, such as the Peregrine Falcons that nest of the side of buildings, resembling cliff faces where they would nest out in the wild.

The Peregrine Falcon is one of those species that has adapted to
an urban lifestyle. I photographed this individual on a high-tension
power tower in Humboldt County.

I could drone on for ages about why birds are such unique and splendid creatures, which I hope I have helped you realize now. Birds truly are amazing animals, whether it’s their undeniable beauty, their sonorous voices that enchant us, or even the simple fact that they have been able to adapt to a vast array of different habitats and can be found just about anywhere. Birds have fascinated me for eight years now, and my fascination I know will never cease to grow and will last with me for as long as I live. Although not everybody appreciates birds at the same level as birders do, I have a hunch that everybody has a soft spot for our feathered friends.