You Should Be a Birder!

Part 1 in our Birding Series

By Olivia Hirst-Wilson

It seems to me like more people are starting to appreciate birds. When I first started birding about 10 years ago, there weren’t many people whose eyes didn’t completely glaze over when I talked about birds – especially other 20-somethings. Most of the people that would share my excitement over an uncommon species, compare binocular specs, and flip through identification guides with me were many decades older than I was. But recently, I’ve noticed so many more people putting up feeders, downloading bird ID apps, and getting excited over a new visitor to their yard! If you’re not one of them, here’s why you should consider dabbling in the world of the bird nerds.

Birding is accessible. You can do it anywhere you are. Long before I was a birder, I was a nature lover. I always hoped to see a bobcat, a black bear, a cougar – some type of “charismatic megafauna” as us nature nerds call it. But those encounters are rare and often I’d return from an outing feeling disappointed. Then one day it clicked: I was hoping to see wildlife, but ignoring the majority of the wildlife around me. Birds are everywhere: singing in my backyard, flying over the highway, bobbing on the water, even hanging out in parking lots. And compared to big furry mammals and other animals, birds are easy to spot. If you go looking for birds, you’re almost always bound to find something.

Once I learned to identify just a few species—like the difference between a soaring turkey vulture and a bald eagle—I was hooked. I realized how much excitement was happening all around me that I’d been oblivious to. Non-native birds swept up in hurricanes and deposited outside their normal range, record-breaking birds migrating tens of thousands of miles right over my head, bright pink Dr. Seuss characters come to life, rare hybrids. I didn’t want to miss any of it.

But birding isn’t just about spotting and identifying birds. It encourages you to slow down, be present, and pay attention to the world around you. It’s an excuse to hike slowly through the woods, to paddle your kayak into every tiny creek, or to sit on the sand and just watch. Birding helps you focus on the journey, not the destination—and that mindset makes every outing worthwhile.